When I'm idle and even when I'm driving, I notice this whirring noise that sounds similar to the fan belt running, but I know it's not the belt fan because when I press in the clutch the strange noise stops, but the fan belt can be heard in the background. What can this noise be? I tried checking everywhere, but I can't isolate the problem.

well i can bet you good money its not your fan belt, since our cars run electric fans not belt driven ones..haha

does it sort of sound like a rattle that goes faster when you rev the car, but goes away when you push the cltuch in ? if so, its your clutch/throw out bearing making noise. mine does it all the time

So it's completely normal? I've also been smelling some foul stuff when I drive for a while now, could it be related to the clutch too?

I've never had a manual transmission car before, so this stuff is relatively new to me.

try this....

rev up the car...and listen for the noise.... then push your clutch in and rev it up again.

if it stops with the clutch pushed it. its most likely a clutch related issue. tho no funny noise is ever a good thing....many people report having this type of sound and never develop any issues because of it. so chances are its probably nothing to worry about. i myself have a rattle type of sound on a brand new clutch.

I did what you recommended, and I definitely think that the noise is related to the clutch.


However, today when I started driving, the car started making a new noise, a whistling/air flow noise in second gear and up. It's really irritating and it's a high pitched noise. I can't seem to pinpoint what the problem is. Is it usual for any unusual noise coming from the engine bay when you have clutch problems?

The knocking/whirring sound was coming from the transmission and the clutch bearing also went out too. Just had the tranny/clutch all changed out from a family friend.

glad you figured it out