Shop called yesterday says the clutch release bearing was fine but the clutch release plate is bad. Estimate is $1500 could be more or less plus delivery charges. They explained that when the tractor sits some time that the clutch plate doesn't get enough lubrication and causes friction. I am not really 100% following this he also said there is a lever that should be activated when parking the tractor in the shed that locks the clutch pedal in the pressed down position.
They also say this is not covered by the drive train warranty since my tractor is over 2 years old. The tractor is actually 2.5 years old now with 157 hours on it. The service guy was really nice and helpful. I plan to call the shop manager or general manager to voice my displeasure.
The only other thing is the metal I found in my HST filter looks like the outer ring of a bearing housing. I am definitely no expert but this just doesn't seem right.
Sorry, but I'm going to say your dealer is shooting you a line of BS just to make money.
It's a dry clutch there is no lubrication.
The only reason to block the clutch pedal down in to keep the DRY clutch disk from rust setting to the flywheel, newer tractors are nowhere near as susceptible to that as the older tractors were.
They also didn't normally stick to the pressure plate they stuck to the flywheel.
The only reason you should have to replace the clutch disk or the pressure plate is if it was physically damaged (should be warranty), worn out (not warranty), heat warped (non warranty) or severely rusted, (borderline warranty or not), as the underlying cause is either the case was not properly sealed from the factory or the drain wasn't working properly.
None of that explains it making noise when you have your foot off the pedal, all of those would make noise when your foot is on the pedal!