When you detect unusual noises on your Land Rover Defender you commonly tend to stress. Especially when you feel a noise coming from the release bearing of your Land Rover Defender. It is immediately assimilated to an engine trouble and can therefore be serious. As we know that you do not take these concerns lightly, we have decided to create this article to help you locate the triggers and free yourself from this matter as quickly as possible. To do this, we will first concentrate on the function 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 Land Rover Defender and their sources.
What is the role and operation of the release bearing on Land Rover Defender?
Role of the release bearing on Land Rover Defender
The release bearing of your Land Rover Defender has a essential function 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 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 Land Rover Defender.
Objective of release bearing Land Rover Defender
Let’s now look at the technical side, the release bearing is composed of two units, 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 different variants of release bearing Land Rover Defender :
- Pulled release bearing
- Hydraulic 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.
The hydraulic release bearing, although more technical, is the form 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 directly from the clutch pedal.
More conventional clutch stop
Release bearing noises Land Rover Defender and their sources
I feel a release bearing noise on Land Rover Defender every time I drive and it stops when I release my clutch pedal
If you feel a noise from your gearbox, release bearing or clutch itself when your engine is running, but it ends when you press your clutch pedal, this noise often sounds like a bell noise, it is highly possible that your release bearing is the cause. Make sure that this noise stops when you disengage, in which case it is time to swap the release bearing of your Land Rover Defender.
I feel a release bearing noise when my pedal is up and I feel jolts in my foot
If you feel too much or too little resistance when you press your clutch pedal, and it is associated with jolts that you can feel 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 feel a grinding noise coming from the release bearing of my Land Rover Defender when I try to shift gears and they do not shift
This matter happens 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 Land Rover Defender, then you probably have a leak coming from your release bearing. It must therefore be changed promptly or risk damaging your gearbox in addition to the clutch. If you have a noise coming from the gearbox of your Land Rover Defender and it’s not from your release bearing, check this article to have more informations.
