When you locate unusual noises on your Citroen Xsara you commonly tend to stress. Specifically when you encounter a noise coming from the release bearing of your Citroen Xsara. It is immediately 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 article to support you find the causes and free yourself from this issues as quickly as possible. To do this, we will first concentrate on the role 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 Citroen Xsara and their origins.
What is the task and operation of the release bearing on Citroen Xsara?
Role of the release bearing on Citroen Xsara
The release bearing of your Citroen Xsara has a major role in the operation of your entire gearbox system. Indeed, its task 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 Citroen Xsara.
Action of release bearing Citroen Xsara
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 (determined by 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 Citroen Xsara :
- Pulled release bearing
- Hydraulic release bearing
It is the most unconventional of the two kind of release bearing . This one, as opposed to the hydraulic style, is operated by a mechanical pulling system that will release the clutch disc. In this case, the release bearing must be mechanically fixed to the mechanism.
The hydraulic release bearing, although more complicated, is the version most used in modern vehicles. It is however more sophisticated than the pulled release bearing. Indeed, it will be composed of a hydraulic tube that will receive the pressure immediately from the clutch pedal.
More conventional clutch stop
Release bearing noises Citroen Xsara and their origins
I encounter a release bearing noise on Citroen Xsara every time I drive and it stops when I release my clutch pedal
If you encounter a noise from your gearbox, release bearing or clutch itself when your engine is running, but it stops when you press your clutch pedal, this noise often sounds like a bell noise, it is highly plausible that your release bearing is the reason. Make sure that this noise stops when you disengage, in which circumstance it is time to change the release bearing of your Citroen Xsara.
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 associated with jolts that you can encounter in your clutch pedal, then the stop/fork release/blades grouping is damaged. Indeed, this noise often comes from the broken fork that no longer allows the system to work normally.
I encounter a grinding noise coming from the release bearing of my Citroen Xsara when I try to shift gears and they do not shift
This issues happens most often on models equipped with hydraulic release bearing. It is often related to a clutch pedal that has little or no resistance. If you are in this situation and you feel a grinding or cracking noise coming from the release bearing of your Citroen Xsara, then you probably have a leak coming from your release bearing. It must therefore be changed almost instantly or risk damaging your gearbox in addition to the clutch. If you have a noise coming from the gearbox of your Citroen Xsara and it’s not from your release bearing, check this article to have more informations.
