Ok, so this weekend I went about 4 hours north up to Acadia National Park, after the long highway ride I noticed that when in rev and not on the throttle, the clutch squeak, almost like a wheel bearing or such. The next day, after climbing some hills, I also noticed a knocking, which at first, sounded like engine knock, but wasnt at all consistent, and almost sounds like baseball cards in bike spokes, so I can only assume it has something to do with the clutch.
Anyone have any thoughts about what exactly is going on here? I have not noticed any slipage, just the noises, and the fact that its a bit harder to put in gear. Would this be just a simple clutch replacement, or will there be more to it?
Thanks in advance for any tips!

 

could be the clutch release (throw-out) bearing or pressure plate springs.

 

Yeah, I was thinking "throwout bearing", Would that also cause it to bog down on occasion? It sometimes feels like its sputtering, then around 2800 rpm, it goes smooth.

 

 

Yup, that's what happened to me. Truck started squealing (quite loud) while sitting in neutral. Figured out it was something clutch related because it would stop squealing when I *lightly* pushed the clutch pedal. Also, the same symptom of hard to get into first while sitting still. In my case, reverse wasn't all that easy either.

A new clutch set (clutch disc, pressure plate, release bearing, pilot bearing) and everything's groovy.

Shifting is much easier too.

My mechanic showed me my old throw out bearing, and it was LOCKED up. Hardly any movement.

 

Cool...thanks...I guess I'm going to order a new clutch kit from MC, any tips to doing this job? Do I really have to remove all that stuff that the fsm says, or can it just be worked around?