i have a 87 sammie that the trans was making a bad bearing noise, bought  a used trans for a guy on craigslist he said he got it with as a extra with a samurai he bought so he couldnt guarentee it, it scared me cause i coundnt turn the input shaft easy, talked him down form 100 to 60 bucks,  long story short i pulled my trans put his in and now with the clutch in it ok but let the clutch out in nutural and it makes a awful noise metal on metal scraping noise, i couldnt hold that thin plate and throw the trans up by myself so i got pissed and didnt install it, what is the purpose of that metal plate is it a spacer of some sort. just trying to figure out it i have a junk trans or that the noise has something to do with that plate not being on there
i test drove it and it goes through all the gears but makes that noise as ur going down the road PLEASE HELP
also if anyone has a spare trans just sitting around near auburn, IN ill buy it off of you
thanks in advance for you input!!!

Yes. Need the plate, I believe.

Check your clutch throw out bearing. If you can feel the bearings rolling (feels "dry") when turning it- get a new throw out bearing. It is constantly in contact with the pressure plate and will make noise. What about your pilot bearing on motor? Change it also if you drop trans again.

Change the trans gear oil- you did make sure it has proper fill amount before running??? Saw something about Pennzoil Synchromesh gear oil being the winner. Don't drive it much until you eliminate grinding or you will just end up paying more for your "deal/steal" transmission.

Also- many heavy posters here have good, reliable, used parts. I would trust fellow owners on here more than unknown, random individuals...

yea the clutch throwout bearing and pilot bearing were all replaced about 10k ago so i know theres not a problem there, i filled the trans with new fluid untill it came out of the fill hole so i thought id be good there
does anyone know what that plate is for???

is there a step by step kinda aritcle on rebuilding the trans, i found one on izook but its missing pages 1 and 3 i think im just gonna get the rebuild kit from low range and do work

yea the clutch throwout bearing and pilot bearing were all replaced about 10k ago so i know theres not a problem there, i filled the trans with new fluid untill it came out of the fill hole so i thought id be good there
does anyone know what that plate is for???

dont say never..... i replaced the clutch in my old nissan truck, put a new throwout bearing in it, and it whined every day till the day i sold it. i would have fixed it, but that damn tranny was like 6 million billion trillion times harder than a samurai to R&R

 but that damn tranny was like 6 million billion trillion times harder than a samurai to R&R

That's quite a bit. 

Check your clutch throw out bearing. ......  It is constantly in contact with the pressure plate and will make noise. What about your pilot bearing on motor? Change it also if you drop trans again.

The throw out bearing should NOT be in constant contact with the pressure plate - in fact - the only time the throw out bearing should be in contact with the pressure plate is when the clutch pedal is depressed - so - if the clutch is correctly adjusted the throw out bearing is not the source of the noise and neither is the pilot bearing on the motor.

The starter motor bolts to the bell housing and not to the block - the plate goes in between the block and the bell housing and sets the depth of engagement of the starter/ring gear teeth - or so I've been told.

If you are putting another trans in a throwout bearing should be changed. At minimum check good to see it is OK.

A bearing or clutch going bad in 10k could happen easily. Perhaps that bearing noise you heard was the throwout and you fixed the wrong problem??

yea i made sure it turned smooth...pulled it off and checked it, relubed the shaft it slides on, im a ase cert tech not that means a whole lot, just new to samurais the hella noise this thing is making doesnt sound like anything ive ever heard come from a throwout bearing, just didnt know if this noise was a common problem, ive done alot of searchs and mine is the same as alot of others no noise in 4th gear must be a trans issue, ordering a rebuild kit on monday, as for as the plate being used as a spacer for the starter, it starts fine with no issues

as for as the plate being used as a spacer for the starter, it starts fine with no issues

I never suggested that it wouldn't start - you asked what the plate was for - I told you what I've been told.

You have two gears, the ring gear (on the flywheel) is roughly 8mm thick, the plate isn't more than 1~2mm thick at most - leave it out and the starter gear moves just that much further - but here's what you don't know (and neither do I), where was that gear to start with - you could have a full flush engangement (unlikely) or you could be engaging on perhaps half of the gear thickness - it'll start - for a while, but you'll eventually reach a point where it won't.

Ever seen a ring gear with all of the teeth half worn?  Back when I was a kid, you could buy a new ring gear for most cars - not so common nowadays - and Suzuki does not offer then separately.

Long story short - the noise is present with the clutch engaged and the transmission in neutral, and goes away when you depress the clutch - it's IN the transmisson.

When I put the plate up there I used scotch tape to hold it in position. Just clean any oil or grease off first, so it will stick.

wow never thought of tape...lol ill remember that next time

The tin plate has two jobs , Its a spacer and a schield for the flywheel to help keep debree out of it, if this is a differant sound than befor you need to take it back apart,if it is in the clutch area you should be able to see what was rubbing . Where ever the noise is coming from you be able to tell by being under the rig whit the parking brake on and have some one deprees the clutch and start it up. Good luck 

I don't think i have that plate either, i can see the flywheel gear from underneath.  I thought to myself, wait, this can't be right....  What if mud/rocks/etc get thrown in there?  that could be bad news!  I have a metal on metal type grinding noise too, i wonder if this is the reason?  Doesn't sound like it, being that it's just a spacer and shield, but still, we have similar problems....

I don't think i have that plate either, i can see the flywheel gear from underneath.  I thought to myself, wait, this can't be right....  What if mud/rocks/etc get thrown in there?  that could be bad news!  I have a metal on metal type grinding noise too, i wonder if this is the reason?  Doesn't sound like it, being that it's just a spacer and shield, but still, we have similar problems....

You are talking about a different plate that what pete is, I think.  I think he is asking about the "spacer plate" that fits between the upper part of the engine and tranny.  You are talking about the thin plate that covers the bottom half of the flywheel.
Both plates should be used.  It's not like the factory added those plates "just for the hell of it".  They both serve a purpose.  So put them on.