Clutch Questions

[Rosco]

Well It has come to be that I hafto get a new clutch. Unfortunatly after 16k miles of when it was installed. I thought these clutches are supposed to last a decent amount of time? That is..when you know how to drive the car right? Well anyways, I've decided for the price...the King Kobra assembly is gonna be best for me. And I've decided that I'm going to replace the Clutch cable anyways, considering it's never been replaced and it has 110k on it. Well I'm not really sure what I should consider? I'm thinking about getting an adjustable one. You guys have any comments on what you think I should go with and where I could get it from for a decent price? Thanks alot

[Ponycar_302]

I use the adjustable linkage from FRPP. You can get it from Summit for $99.95. I like it. I hear good things about Steeda's Quadrant, but the cable stretches easily. (That's what I've read and heard.) Summit also carries the BBK set up for $99.95, and the Summit brand for $89.69. I haven't heard anything on either of these.

[zepherman]

ive been using the summit quad and cable since i swaped from AOD to T-5. Working gread so far and 10$ cheaper

[1BAD89]

I'd highly recommend a Centerforce II, or a Centerforce Dual Friction clutch. As for the quadrant, I used the BBK one, and it was a quality piece.

[Rosco]

Yeah, well as of now I've had the Centerforce II clutch in there. For some reason, I don't really know why, but it's out already in 16k miles, under normal driving conditions? Oh well, in my budget..the Centerforce Dual Friction doesn't really fit in right now. Next time though, I will deffinitly go with that.

[Jeb_Bush_2000]

How many miles did you put on the car before the clutch went? If it's a fair amount, I'd suggest replacing every component between the flywheel and the tranny, including the flywheel. One little problem somewhere in there can cause uneven wear and premature failure.


As for the clutch itself, I just got a FRPP pressure plate, throwout bearing, clutch disc, cable, and fork. Total, after tax, was about $280. On a stock engine, I see no need for anything beefier than the Ford unit. If you don't need the holding power, you're just putting more stress on your tranny and rear-end. Remember, the clutch acts as a damper. If it grabs too abruptly, it absorbs none of the shock when you pop it, and you might end up damaging something.

[Jeb_Bush_2000]

Shameless plug for my Fotki site.

[1BAD89]

Yeah, well as of now I've had the Centerforce II clutch in there. For some reason, I don't really know why, but it's out already in 16k miles, under normal driving conditions?

Did you put 500 easy miles on it after the install to break it in? Did you get a new throwout bearing, and have your flywheel resurfaced? If you didn't do those things, that is your answer to the premature wear. I had a Centerforce II, in my 89, and I made 50+ passes on slicks, launched at 4000+rpm, dumped the clutch many, many times, and it held up just great.

[Rosco]

Well, the clutch was replaced by the previous owner at the Dealership. The clutch now has, i'd like to say close to 16K miles on it. And it's still wearing down...getting worse day by day. Well I'm gonna get it replaced at the dealership as well. Suprisingly they have the cheapest replacement cost out of any place I've talked to so far. I'm gonna have the flywheel re-surfaced no matter what, and everything is pretty much going to get replaced. I was thinking anyways, just to let them install the new clutch cable anyways. I'm gonna be getting an adjustable one, i'm just not sure what kind yet. Where exactly do you adjust them at?

[Jeb_Bush_2000]

Is this all because of the engagement inconsistancies? That's usually caused by the cablt stretching or the quadrant being broken or out of adjustment.

[1BAD89]

Where exactly do you adjust them at?

On most of them, you adjust them from underneath the car. I never had to adjust mine one bit. I'd go with a BBK adjustable clutch quadrant. At about 100k the stock cables tend to go, and that will mess with the clutch and make shifting harder etc...

[Rosco]

Yeah, see that's my problem. The previous owner, who I went to school with, actually he gratuated 1 year before me. It was his fathers, but he was the one to drive it all the time. And he honestly told me that, he never knew what they replaced, he just knew his dad paid for it then he drove it. So i'm not really sure if it was well broken in or if the cable was replaced. The shop I stopped at before said it was the original cable still in there. Well, tonight you can really notice the clutch going. Other then having to push the clutch in completely now, you can feel it starting to slip while driving, it basically feels like you gotta give it more gas to get to the speeds you want. I would assume that means it's gotta be something to do with the clutch itself.

1Bad89....does Jegs carry the BBK adjustable? or where do I look to buy that? I saw one in Jegs, but i don't think it was the BBK adjustable.

[1BAD89]

1Bad89....does Jegs carry the BBK adjustable? or where do I look to buy that? I saw one in Jegs, but i don't think it was the BBK adjustable.

Yes they do, and the part number is 129-1505(79-95 GT and cobra , pg.173-k of the new Jegs) $99.99

[Rosco]

Thanks! Alright, well tomorrow I will commence with ordering everything. I'm stopping down at the dealership today to have them take a quick look at it so they can deffinitly tell me what's going on. Oh yeah, I was wondering, do you guys think I should just buy a new flywheel instead of having it resurfaced? They can resurface it for $85 which is pricey, I got quote of $32 from a local machine shop, but I don't think they'd let me take it somewhere else to get it done. I can pick up a new ford flywheel for my car for $106. Anyone know of anyplace cheaper?

[Rosco]

Well, I took it to the dealership today, and let some guy drive it. He does own 4 mustangs, 2 of which are Fox bodies. Also he does all his own work on his car. He told me it's not the cable, because the pawl would be self adjusting (it's set right about in the middle right now), and he said you can feel the pressure plate. So it's the whole clutch assembly. Thank god it's finally gonna get replaced next week. Thanks everyone for all the help!

[Jeb_Bush_2000]

But...sometimes the pawl breaks, and you end up with a cable out of adjustment.

[1BAD89]

Well even though it is only the clutch, I'd go ahead and get the aftermarket clutch cable, not for the adjusting capabilities, but for the strength. I've had 2 of my close friends, put in a brand new clutch, and not long after their clutch cables, broke, or stretched hardcore. It's a good idea to do it all at once.

[Jeb_Bush_2000]

Oh, I agree. If you're going to start replacing parts, do the entire clutch setup at the same time. But it sounds to me like your pawl broke, or your cable suddenly stretched. I don't see how a properly-installed clutch will go bad at only 16K.

[Rosco]

Well, actually What I found out I'm going to do is replace the flywheel (98.95), new clutch kit (either the king kobra 199.99, a model down from that 160.99, or I might be able to get a centerforce II kit for 163.99), rear main seal (stupid rubber stuff). I was thinking about a new cable, but now I really don't want to go with an adjustable one, maybe just a HD replacement. No matter how I look at it, I'm gonna be paying $250 for labor which includes removing the tranny, replacing the clutch, pulling the flywheel, and removing the rear main seal, and re-installing everything. I was also wondering If i should replace the pilot bearing? I've been looking all over for one of these, and I'm now thinking it might be a Dealership only part.

[1BAD89]

The throwout bearing? Yes you should DEFINATELY replace that! You can get them out of Jegs or Summit. Also why wouldn't you want an adjustable one, I had one and it's basically a real heavy duty cable that "you could" adjust, I never had to adjust mine once.