This little guy’s job is pretty specific. It pushes on the fingers of the pressure plate to disengage the clutch. Basically, when you press the clutch pedal, it transfers that movement – through the linkage – to this bearing, and that bearing then does the work of separating the engine from the transmission. It allows you to shift gears smoothly. It lives inside the bellhousing, right next to the clutch and transmission. It doesn’t spin constantly like a lot of other parts; it’s only really working when you’re actually pressing the clutch pedal in, or when the clutch is briefly disengaging during shifting. It spins on the input shaft of the transmission, and it’s designed to handle that momentary, but repetitive, stress. It acts like a shield between the spinning shaft and the non – spinning parts when the clutch is disengaged. Well, if this thing goes bad, you’ll notice it. You’ll probably get a really loud squealing or grinding noise when you press the clutch, especially if it’s been going bad for a while. Sometimes, it'll make noise even when you aren't pressing the clutch if the grease has dried out or something’s worn inside. If it fails completely, you could lose your ability to disengage the clutch, meaning you won’t be able to shift gears at all. It’s usually replaced when you’re doing a clutch job because the labor to get to it is the biggest part of the repair. You can find a good release bearing, and complete clutch kits, at places like Fixparts Online. They’re a pretty critical part of keeping things moving, so you want a good quality one. Year-round reliability: Release Bearing (MPN 21517570228) includes a 12-month warranty!

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