Whining clutch

[RedBook]

Hi all

I've a 1990 318i with 116K on the clock, backed up by MOT certificates. I do about 4K a year. It's recently developed a high pitched whine that can be heard in the cabin when the clutch isn't depressed. As you depress the clutch the whine goes up in frequency until it disappears when fully depressed. I mentioned it to the mechanic when it was MOT'd in March and he said (without hearing it) that it might be the clutch release bearing, or some dirt in the clutch. The whine seems to be there on some journeys but not on others.

Having learnt my lesson in the past, I've checked the Wiki which suggests the clutch is coming up to its life expectancy. Can I expect to get a few thousand more miles out of it without harm or am I risking some kind of catastrophic failure by continuing to drive it? Presumably it'd be cheaper to get it seen too now rather than wait for it to fail, or would that be a bit premature at this stage? Or am I just worrying too much?

Thanks in advance!

[Chris_B86]

iF IT'S STILL BITING AND NOT SLIPPING, THE PLATES SHOULD STILL HAVE LIFE IN THEM, BUT i'VE LEARNT FROM EXPERIENCE THAT ONCE THE RELEASE BEARING STARTS WHING, IT'S NOT LONG BEFORE IT FAILS

[Speedtouch]

Sounds like a worn clutch release bearing to me.

You could try bleeding the clutch hydraulic circuit to see if it improves things.

Sometimes, they can rumble on like that for ages. If the clutch works OK and doesn't slip, you may as well run it until it really needs replacing.

[Chris_B86]

Oops excuse the caps, I'm not shouting