When you discover unusual noises on your Alfa Romeo 156 you usually tend to worry. Specifically when you encounter a noise coming from the release bearing of your Alfa Romeo 156. It is directly assimilated to an engine issue and can therefore be serious. As we know that you do not take these concerns lightly, we have chosen to write this document to help you locate the causes and free yourself from this issues as quickly as possible. To do this, we will first concentrate on the purpose and operation of the release bearing of your clutch, and in a second step we will look in detail at the different release bearing noises on Alfa Romeo 156 and their origins.release-bearing-noise-alfa-romeo-156

What is the role and operation of the release bearing on Alfa Romeo 156?

Purpose of the release bearing on Alfa Romeo 156

The release bearing of your Alfa Romeo 156 has a essential purpose in the operation of your entire gearbox system. Indeed, its mission is to liberate the gearbox from the rotation of the engine block via its action. This will allow you to shift gears. It is operated by the clutch pedal and then by the release fork, which, when it is activated, will press on the clutch and release the gearbox from engine rotation for you allow you to shift gears on your Alfa Romeo 156.

Function of release bearing Alfa Romeo 156

Let’s now look at the technical side, the release bearing is composed of two parts, a first fixed part that slides only when the stop is pulled, or pushed (based on its type) and finally a rotating part that is composed of a bearing that will allow it to stay in contact with the mechanism and follow its rotation.
There are two distinct kind of release bearing Alfa Romeo 156 :

  • Pulled release bearing
  • It is the most unconventional of the two kind of release bearing . This one, compared with the hydraulic version, is operated by a mechanical pulling system that will release the clutch disc. In this situation, the release bearing must be mechanically fixed to the mechanism.

  • Hydraulic release bearing
  • The hydraulic release bearing, although more technical, is the version most used in modern vehicles. It is however more complex than the pulled release bearing. Indeed, it will be composed of a hydraulic tube that will receive the pressure straight from the clutch pedal.
    More conventional clutch stop

Release bearing noises Alfa Romeo 156 and their origins

I encounter a release bearing noise on Alfa Romeo 156 every time I drive and it stops when I depress my clutch pedal

If you encounter a noise from your gearbox, release bearing or clutch itself when your engine is running, but it ceases when you press your clutch pedal, this noise often sounds like a bell noise, it is highly plausible that your release bearing is the cause. Make sure that this noise stops when you disengage, in which case it is time to replace the release bearing of your Alfa Romeo 156.

I encounter a release bearing noise when my pedal is up and I encounter jolts in my foot

If you encounter too much or too little resistance when you press your clutch pedal, and it is connected with jolts that you can encounter in your clutch pedal, then the stop/fork release/blades grouping is deteriorated. Indeed, this noise often comes from the broken fork that no longer allows the system to run normally.

I encounter a grinding noise coming from the release bearing of my Alfa Romeo 156 when I try to shift gears and they do not shift

This issues appears most often on models equipped with hydraulic release bearing. It is often connected to a clutch pedal that has little or no resistance. If you are in this circumstance and you feel a grinding or cracking noise coming from the release bearing of your Alfa Romeo 156, then you probably have a leak coming from your release bearing. It must therefore be replaced fairly quickly or risk damaging your gearbox in addition to the clutch. If you have a noise coming from the gearbox of your Alfa Romeo 156 and it’s not from your release bearing, check this article to have more informations.