Hi. I have a 95 Dodge Dakota SLT with a manual transmission. When I press the clutch, it loudly squeals. It makes no noise when my foot is off the clutch either in gear or neutral. I made sure the master cylinder was full of fluid. I’m thinking it’s the throw out bearing.
I’m out of town, and have to drive 8 hours to get home. Can I get it home, or should I have it fixed ASAP?
If most of those miles are highway, foot off the cluth until you need to stop for gas, I’d give it a shot. If you get stuck at a light, toss the trans in neutral when the RPMs get low without the clutch, then on and off the clutch quickly to get back to speed.
Yeah, just be careful and nurse it back home…Minimize clutch usage…
@UncleViper…I’ve been in your same fix once before. I drove a Jeep pickup from Fairbanks to Seattle with a noisy throw out bearing. I purchased a new one in Fairbanks before I left, just in case, and minimized useage on the clutch. I learned to upshift a manual transmission without the clutch when I was a teenager. It all comes down to timing and releasing the accelerator at just the right moment. I don’t recommend doing this if you don’t have experience though. @BustedKnuckles and @Caddyman are right on the money with their advice. Good luck.
The squealing indicates that the pressure plate is taking a beating. The pressure plate can fail in several directions. It would be very advisable to get off that pedal quickly if you choose to make the trip. And as stated above, once you are in high gear and cruising with no noise everything is most likely OK.
You will almost certainly need a complete clutch replacement ASAP.