Gearbox or Release Bearing?

[Polo_SA]

Hi people. Recently my car has been making a whining sound. When I step on the clutch the whining sound goes away but the moment that I release the clutch the whining sound comes back. This only happens when the car is in Neutral. When I am in gear then the whining seems to go away although it might stil be there and simply masked by road noise etc. Is this my release bearing or my gearbox or maybe something else?

My thinking is that it might be the gearbox as the moment that I step on the clutch the release bearing is put to work and the gearbox is dis-engaged and the sound goes way. But the moment that I release the clutch the gearbox engages and the whining sound comes back. I also noticed that when I cold-start the car in the morning the whining sound is gone, only when I drive the car for a while does the sound become noticeable.

Different people seem to have different opinions on what it might be. I am going to replace my gearbox oil and see if that makes a difference. Anybody got an idea of what else I can try before taking it down to the mechanic? Anybody else experience the same or similar problems and if so what was the cause?

[gaz2000]

i would say release bearing

say this as ive had the bearing whine on different cars,on the polo when the clutch pedal was down,another car as the pedal came up,both times it was the bearing.

gearbox whine usually increases with speed,from what ive had previous anyway

try bringing the clutch pedal up rreeaaalllyyyy slowly and see if it doesnt make the noise

[Polo_SA]

Thanks gaz. I'll give it a shot.

[NOZ]

When you get the whiring noise it's usually the bearings as my box was reconditioned twice previously. If you have the cash it's best to get the whole thing reconditioned for the best price you can find as valver boxes take more strain then the other models and suffer as a result.