The car has been giving stirling service for the last hundred thousand miles, and is now demanding that I spend money on her. I think that the plastic thingy in the clutch release bearing which keeps the steel balls apart has broken. This means that they are free to rattle around inside the bearing when you put your foot on the clutch bearing lightly. When you depress the pedal fully the noise stops since the steel balls are doing what they are designed to do.
You would think that such a small item would be cheap to replace and indeed on old cars this is so. Unfortunately with high tech machines, engineers deem that the flywheel has to be replaced as well.
Just in case some of you out there are thinking that it is unwise to use such such an expensive car for driving lessons, think on. Most new cars have dual mass flywheels and it is becoming common practice to replace this item when changing the clutch.
I will be a grand out of pocket but a little wiser. I will fit a little light in the foot-well. This little detail will help me check if drivers are riding the clutch.
You may actually save money by taking driving lessons with me!