I recently purchased a used 2002 Chevy Prism LSI with 39000 miles on it. I have noticed a noise which is making me a bit nervous. I have a 5 speed manual tranny. Occassionally when I shift gears I hear a thudding noise between letting the clutch out and pressing the accelator. The shifter and gear changes themselves are smooth but I hear a thudding up front under the car. It is extremely noticable with shifts between first and second and hardly noticable between shifts in gears 2-3. After third, the tranny shifts smooth and silent as can be. What could be the problem? If I am extremely smooth on the shifts between first and second the noise is not noticable. Also when the car is rolling in neutral I feel and hear slight vibrating noises but not while the car is cruising in gear. In addition, once in a while while shifting into reverse I hear that thud and feel vibration. Is something loose? Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

I have a 1998 Chevy Prizm with 101,000 miles and it just started to make that exact noise. It only does it when you press the clutch in during a shift. Its sort of a winding noise it has to be the clutch is my assumption.. I hope someone can help us with this one.

This could possibly be caused by a glazed clutch disk. The "thud" could be caused by the clutch disk slipping between the flywheel and the pressure plate as the clutch pedal is released. It would be more noticeable while starting from a standstill and shifting through the lower gears, due to the fact that there is more resistance to the clutch disk under those higher torque periods. In the higher gears, when the speed of the flywheel and the clutch disk/pressure plate are more closely matched, it would be less noticeable. The previous owner of your Prizm may have been abusing the clutch by making jack-rabbit starts and super-fast shifts to maximize acceleration. You could be looking at a clutch replacement in the near future.

I wouldn't expect it on a 2002 with 40k miles, but another option could be a soft or broken engine/transmission mount. I know those were a perennial problem on some of the K-car derivatives (I used to own a Plymouth Acclaim), but usually at higher mileage and age than that.

Larry's suggestion also makes sense. Do you feel the clutch slipping at all (i.e., a bit of a lag or engine revving before acceleration happens when getting on the gas in gear)?

-Dave

I recently purchased a used 2002 Chevy Prism LSI with 39000 miles on it. I have noticed a noise which is making me a bit nervous. I have a 5 speed manual tranny. Occassionally when I shift gears I hear a thudding noise between letting the clutch out and pressing the accelator. The shifter and gear changes themselves are smooth but I hear a thudding up front under the car. It is extremely noticable with shifts between first and second and hardly noticable between shifts in gears 2-3. After third, the tranny shifts smooth and silent as can be. What could be the problem? If I am extremely smooth on the shifts between first and second the noise is not noticable. Also when the car is rolling in neutral I feel and hear slight vibrating noises but not while the car is cruising in gear. In addition, once in a while while shifting into reverse I hear that thud and feel vibration. Is something loose? Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Would you consider too personal for me to ask how much you paid for your Prizm LSI with 39K? Cash price.

I think the Chevy Bow Tie and the Manual Transmission are considered less desireable. I drive a Prizm with the 5 speed too, but it is a 2000, with a 100k and needs replacing.

Toyota quality, Less than Toyota cost, and you can park in the parking lot at GM in Dallas!

I agree with the above - either slipping disc, disc contamination or worn mount causing the noise. Since it only seems to do it under a heavier load (1-2 shift, reverse). Could also be suspension related - something is shifting under the weight transfer from the shift. Possibly a strut mount, anti-roll bar (related bushings), drive axle slop or CV joint slop.

I think I have a different situation then, I bought my car almost new ( dont rag on it) and the clutch slave fluid resevoir has never been filled it still is at the top of the line. Doesnt this mean that the clutch hasnt had much wear? Im more leaning towrads maybe the throw out bearing on the clutch is wearing out..... reason why its a winding noise and only happens during a shift. What do you guys think Prizm 98 102,000 miles

rivas - Just looking at the fluid reservoir for the clutch master cylinder to determine clutch wear is almost impossible. System doesn't use that much fluid and you could have moisture being sucked in there and offsetting the level. The color is more important - want to get that flushed out every once and a while to prevent problems down the road (mostly from corrosion). If your easy on the clutch - you should be able to get 100K miles easily on such a lightweight car. There are exceptions - but I would consider "normal" lifespan to be around 60K miles or more.

Since your noise pops up only when you engage the clutch - that almost zeros in on the clutch throw out bearing going bad. They make that whirring noise when they start to go. With 100K+ miles on the clock - might was well replace the disc as well - labor will not be much more for tearing into it for a bad clutch disc or bad throwout bearing. If you do this yourself - I would still replace the whole works - beats having to get back at it later for a worn clutch disk.

Thanks fishexpo101,

I think I'll tackle it my self, I've looked at the works and it seems to be a clean removal and installation. Have you done it?

Sounds to me from the description that it is the clutch plate making the noise. Since you are taking the transmission out you will probably see evidence of it being worn. Good project.