When you locate unusual noises on your Jeep Wrangler you commonly tend to stress. Specifically when you experience a noise coming from the release bearing of your Jeep Wrangler. It is directly assimilated to an engine issue and can therefore be serious. As we know that you do not take these problems lightly, we have decided to make this article content to help you locate the causes and free yourself from this matter 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 Jeep Wrangler and their sources.release-bearing-noise-jeep-wrangler

What is the task and operation of the release bearing on Jeep Wrangler?

Purpose of the release bearing on Jeep Wrangler

The release bearing of your Jeep Wrangler has a crucial 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 controlled 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 Jeep Wrangler.

Objective of release bearing Jeep Wrangler

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 (depending 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 variants of release bearing Jeep Wrangler :

  • Pulled release bearing
  • It is the most unconventional of the two variants of release bearing . This one, in contrast to the hydraulic version, 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.

  • Hydraulic release bearing
  • The hydraulic release bearing, although more complicated, is the type most used in contemporary 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 right from the clutch pedal.
    More conventional clutch stop

Release bearing noises Jeep Wrangler and their sources

I experience a release bearing noise on Jeep Wrangler when I drive and it stops when I depress my clutch pedal

If you experience 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 situation it is time to change the release bearing of your Jeep Wrangler.

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

If you experience too much or too little resistance when you press your clutch pedal, and it is associated with jolts that you can experience 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 device to function normally.

I experience a grinding noise coming from the release bearing of my Jeep Wrangler when I try to shift gears and they do not shift

This matter appears most often on models equipped with hydraulic release bearing. It is often linked 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 Jeep Wrangler, then you probably have a leak coming from your release bearing. It must therefore be changed quickly or risk damaging your gearbox in addition to the clutch. If you have a noise coming from the gearbox of your Jeep Wrangler and it’s not from your release bearing, check this article to have more informations.