Spinning sound when clutch pedal is depressed - any ideas what it might be?

[TeaAndBiscuits]

Hi everyone,

I'd really appreciate some help here.  My car's gone awry and it's going to be difficult to get to the garage until the end of next month  .  Do these symptoms point to anything obvious?  DIY fixable/diagnosable by someone with time & patience?

The Problem:  There's a noise coming from my car when the clutch is depressed.  Happens when vehicle is moving and trying to shift to second/third.  It makes the sound for 1-2 seconds then disappears.  Happens exclusively in the minutes following a very cold start, then vanishes entirely until it's left for another cold night. Doesn't happen in neutral.  It's also difficult to engage 2nd until car has warmed up.

The Sound:  Sounds like metal spinning and very lightly making contact with something.  It's not a clunk, screech or whine.

The car: High mileage (140k+) Golf GTI MK5, non DSG.

Hugely appreciative of any input here

[pudding]

So clutch pedal pushed down whilst changing gear, and it's making metallic rubbing noise?

Foot off the clutch, all good.  Is that right?

Apart from 2nd, all gears engage smoothly and easily?

How old is the car?

[TeaAndBiscuits]

So clutch pedal pushed down whilst changing gear, and it's making metallic rubbing noise?

Foot off the clutch, all good.  Is that right?

Apart from 2nd, all gears engage smoothly and easily?

How old is the car?

Thank you for your response!

Yep, clutch pedal pushed down whilst changing gear = metallic rubbing noise.  Spot on, but only 1st->2nd with a very cold engine.

Foot off the clutch is mostly perfect.  The only things I'd mention would be a low biting point and aggressive/narrow bite.  Sometimes the clutch pedal sticks mid-way on release too.

All gears engage smoothly, yes.  I'm shifting 1st->3rd on occasion to avoid using excessive force for 2nd gear.

The car is a 2006 model with 140k miles, but is in excellent condition except for this concern.

[pudding]

Sounds like your car might have the gearbox shaft end float issue, it's certainly in that age bracket.    If you google "O2M gearbox shim", there's a lot more detail about it.  Your car has the O2Q gearbox, which is the same as the O2M, minus the speed sensor.