2002 honda civic 5spd. The clutch pedal feels strong and the car seems to shift ok. Its when I accelerate while releasing the clutch do I get this rattling growling noise. It does not happen when I press the clutch without using the gears.
Maybe the transmission input shaft bearing is going out. That’s what I’d guess from the description. It is a 2002 so maybe 200k miles on it? You don’t say… Could be the throwout bearing. You don’t tell us when the last clutch was done, either.
Pull the transmission. You will need to either way. If the throwout bearing is fine, I’d be pulling the transmission apart.