The throwout bearing finally burned up on the Cobra. I knew it was going to happen because it had been making a groaning noise when depressing the clutch when it was cold out. Now it howls on clutch actuation and makes all sorts of obscene noises. I took off the inspection cover and sure enough, I could see that the bearing internals had simply disintegrated. I sprayed some white lithium grease on it and the noise went away but I know that will only buy a small bit of time. In fact, I drove it a mile before it started howling again, so no luck with that.
This is exactly what mine is doing if you want to know what this horrible noise is like in real life.
I can’t do this job without a lift and there are no do-it-yourself rental garages around here. I will probably get a Ford Racing Parts throwout bearing for it since they seem to hold up the best from my research. I’ll have to hire out the labor which I am guessing will be $500 or so. This is the second time I have had to take it to a shop this year after having ZERO visits in 13 years. This sure is making the QuickJack system more appealing.
I am going to take it to Shuerman’s Auto Repair in Cedar Falls, Iowa. It is only a couple of blocks away and I really prefer to not drive it far. This way I can just drop it off and walk home. I will probably just get the bearing changed and leave the clutch if it is in decent shape.