Bought my truck a few years ago, and only whines when the clutch is RELEASED. Like a monotone frequency. When you push the clutch in, the noise slows down to nothing. Soon as you let it out, its back. I have been told whining like this may be a bearing in the transmission, not a clutch issue. Has anyone heard the same thing? If you fixed it, how?

 

When the clutch is out, and the trans is in neutral, the input shaft and layshaft are spinning int he trans, as well as the all the gears on the main shaft (they spin freely unless a gear is engaged). Pretty much everything except the output shaft is turning. It's not unusual for this to make more noise when when the clutch is out and only the pilot bearing and throw-out bearings are spinning.

If it's a loud and unruly sounding noise, I'd take the time to double check the oil in the trans. Might as well drain it and replace it to make sure there's no water in the bottom of the case. Refill to spec. But if it's been un-lubed enough to make nasty noises, it's likely not going to last for a really long time from now.

A rebuild on the trans would likely be a lot more expensive than just finding another JY trans and replacing it.

Again, if the noise is minor, just ignore it. There's mechanical parts spinning around, they're going to make some noise.