Bad throwout bearing?

[TopNotch]

Today, on my way to work, my clutch seemed to get harder to push than normal. At lunch, I went out and pressed the clutch with the engine off, and it sort-of popped and then was easy to press again. So I started it up, and now, with the clutch pressed, it squeals, like a bad bearing. I drove the car home, using as little clutch as possible, and returned to work with my truck (my other Fiero's battery is bad).
Does that sound like a bad throwout bearing?

[Fierofool]

Sounds similar to the problem I had with my first 85.  It turned out to be a bad pressure plate.  Very hard to press.  Is it still hard to press with the engine off?  Do you get any pulsation in the pedal when you push it halfway with the engine running? 

[TopNotch]

It got easy to press again when I pressed it at lunch (and it sort-of popped) with the engine off. It's still easy to press and works normally, except for the squealing when I press it.
It's like something was binding and broke loose. In any case, I figure I have a lot of work ahead, which will have to wait until it gets warmer.

[Fierofool]

Could be that the bearing siezed.  The pop was it breaking loose from it's retainer and it's spinning against the release forks.  Check your private messages, Pat.

[TopNotch]

Clutch problem upgrade. I didn't mention before that as I approached home with the problem, the engine idle would go way down when I pressed the clutch. Well, I tried to start the car today to move it, and it made an awful scraping noise, and turned over very slowly. So I pulled the connector off the safety switch at the clutch pedal, jumped it, and tried starting in neutral without pressing the clutch. It turned over normally and started. So something is really toast in there.

[TopNotch]

Update on my car. Lee is working on it, and he said some of the springs on the pressure plate were broken. So there's no wonder that it was making noise. He saw some cracks in my exhaust manifold that he's going to weld up also. The car ought to be in pretty good shape when I get it back.

[GTRS Fiero]

Just to differentiate, my understanding of the throwup bearing is that that's what holds the shift lever in gear.  When the bearing goes, the car will pop out of gear--particularly on the highway.  I had this happen years ago on an '85 Escort.  I don't remember it being hard to replace.

[TopNotch]

Just to differentiate, my understanding of the throwup bearing is that that's what holds the shift lever in gear.

Well, the "throwup" bearing is what you get when you eat those leftovers that have gone bad. The throwout bearing, on the other hand, is what releases the clutch when you press the clutch pedal. And I've had to replace mine again since then (did it myself this time). Like any other part, there are good ones, and there are not-so-good ones. I think I got a good one the last time. No problems since.

[GTRS Fiero]

Yeah, the throwup bearing.  If an underpowered car falls out of gear under acceleration on the highway, the engine will throw up all over itself.

Thanks for the clarification.

[Fierofool]

The throwout bearing doesn't hold the transmission in gear.  It can be totally removed and if you could get the car moving, it would go and stay in gear. 

The function of the throwout bearing is to put pressure against the fingers of the pressure plate.  The pressure plate, being bolted to the flywheel, thence the crankshaft, is a spinning mass.  The bearing functions similar to a wheel bearing.  One part stays stationary while the other part rotates.  The flat face of the throwout bearing presses against the fingers of the pressure plate.  They pivot on an axis, lifting the pressure plate so that the clutch disk is no longer sandwiched between the disk and flywheel.  The clutch disk is mounted onto the transmission input shaft via it's splined hub, so if the clutch is depressed, the disk won't turn the input shaft, powering the vehicle. 

If the throwout bearing starts to fail, the brerarings between the flat face and the main housing of the bearing begin to seize.  That or the fact that the face isn't rotating with the fingers of the pressure plate can sometimes shame a screaming banshee. 

[GTRS Fiero]

I type corrected.