Clutch or Transmission Problem, Need Help, So I have a grinding noise coming from what I think is my clutch but n Options

[WALKER]

Alright, here is my situation. About two months ago I had this grinding noise start and it was coming from somewhere under the hood it sounded like from inside. It would come and go occasionally, but then got to the point that it was pretty bad and pretty frequent. I then reallized that it would stop when the clutch is fully depressed. As soon as I released the clutch the noise would occur again, it didn't matter if I was driving in a gear or if I was sitting stationary in neutral. So I took it into Toyota and they said it is probably my clutch release bearing, but it could be a problem with the transmission and we won't know until we fix the clutch. They wanted way too much money for the clutch repair ($1500) so I decided just to wait and think about what to do. About a week after that the noise stopped and therefore I just forgot about it and thought that maybe since the temperatures have increased the grease in the bearing moved around, so I went on driving and this lasted about a month. Now for the past week the noise has returned and it is worse than ever. It sounds like a metallic grinding noise, a horrible noise that I am embarrased to drive my car because of it. I notice now that the noise occurs even when my clutch is depressed to the floor, but it does seem to make it a little quieter. However if I am stopped and have the clutch depressed to the floor and I wiggle the shifter around basically left and right in the neutral position the noise will go away until I put it into first gear and start driving again. This is what is making wonder if I have transmission problems. I have no problems shifting and haven't had any slipping. The only problem that I have noticed (besides the rattling/grinding noise) is that it is sometime hard to get it into reverse after I first start my car (always park it with gear in first and e-brake on).

I am hoping that someone can give me some information that will help me diagnose my problem. I just don't want to get the clutch fixed then need a new transmission, especially since I would like to evenutally do an engine swap.

I am also hoping that you can give some explanation as to how to identify problems with the release bearing, pilot bearing, transmission bearing, etc.

I do not have a good grasp on the whole manual transaxle setup on cars and what each part does, therefore it is difficult to troubleshoot my problem and rule some items out.

Thanks.

[blu94gt]

I've had kind of a similar situation with my car. Always when coasting around 3k RPM makes a sound that sounds kinda like valve lash on a Honda engine and since my last car was a Prelude I was just accustomed to hearing it. Lately it's gotten a lot louder, and there's a lot of sound when I engage and disengage the clutch. When the clutch is disengaged it's quiet but if I engage the clutch with the car in neutral there's kind of a clattering sound. I just figure my clutch is going because the transmission still feels fine.

[WALKER]

Yes yours does sound like a clutch problem since the noise occurs when you engage the clutch, where as mine is the oposite in that the noise goes away when I engage my clutch.

Anybody else able to help explain the ways to troubleshoot clutch or transmission problems, or easy tests you can do to rule out certain parts? I would at least be ahead if I could rule out a few bearings, etc. Right now as far as I know it could be everything (slave, release bearing, pilot bearing, transmission, etc.)