Clitch Cable adjustment,

BowTie Eater 5 Liter · 01-20-2001, 07:30 PM

I have an 88 GT with a T-5.
My car wont shift into 1st-5th & when i try to put it in reverse it grinds.
I was told it was the clitch cable, & the clutch was replaced last march & been sitting since july.
Is it possible to adjust the clutch cable, or do i need a new one.If it is possible to adjust it how do i go about doing it.

thanks

BowTie Eater 5 Liter · 01-20-2001, 08:01 PM

Please Help!
Car wont drive!

SPEEDY88 · 01-21-2001, 09:50 AM

you might want to check your tranny fork. Just my two cents!

------------------
88GT-Bassani X-pipe,Two chamber flowmasters,3:73 gears, King Cobra clutch, Steeda clutch quadrant, pro 5.0, K&N, Hypertech chip, Underdrive Pulleys,High Volume oil pump....ALL POWERED BY MY FOOT!!!

wd302 · 01-21-2001, 11:48 AM

Hey man, the clutch cable is self adjusting. Unless you but a new one you cant do anything with that. The other thing is the quadrant. It could be wore out and you may need a new one of those. I had the same problem once before in my 89.There is a little trick I learned for adjusting the clutch but it doesnt always help. Grab the pedal with your hand and jerk up a hard as you can till maybe you hear it click. This allows the quadrant the skip a couple of teeth if it has slipped or wore down a couple. Hope you get it fixed man.

------------------
91GT w/Procharger, GT40 upper, lower and heads, F303 cam, 70mm T/B w/ 24lbs. and 190lph f/p, BBK headers, Bassani X-pipe, 2chambered flows with ss tips, 2800 stall w/ 4:10s, Cobra ground effect kits w/ wing and 2 1/2 cowl, etc.
More mods coming soon to a street near you, haha

BowTie Eater 5 Liter · 01-21-2001, 03:03 PM

Thanks! I'm going into my dads autobody shop & will try to fix the clutch. Im also gettin the stang in primer today!!!
it's goin a custom (a little too custom, cant find color in the books!) Candy apple burnt orange

BowTie Eater 5 Liter · 01-21-2001, 07:04 PM

wd302.
i tried your lil trick, but it didnt help the stang.
we couldn't primer my car(dads sick)& so we will do that next sat.
are you sure you cant go under the car & adjust the cable?

NoSlow5.0 · 01-22-2001, 02:10 PM

I tightened up my cable by turning 2 nuts on the end of it where it meets the clutch fork. It worked fine. Light Em Up!!

wd302 · 01-22-2001, 07:00 PM

How ever NoSlow5.0 did it I dont know. I never saw a nut on the end or that is what I would have done before I went a bought a stock one. The cable just goes right into the fork. Man your best bet is to get the cable and quadrant that steeda came out with. I dont have a five speed anymore but I heard through the grapevine that they were pretty good. Good luck buddy!

------------------
91GT w/Procharger, GT40 upper, lower and heads, F303 cam, 70mm T/B w/ 24lbs. and 190lph f/p, BBK headers, Bassani X-pipe, 2chambered flows with ss tips, 2800 stall w/ 4:10s, Cobra ground effect kits w/ wing and 2 1/2 cowl, etc.
More mods coming soon to a street near you, haha

90dpscoupe · 01-22-2001, 10:27 PM

I wanted to bring this topic up again, i know my clutch is good, but needs adjustment, i heard from a guy, you can grab the cable under the car loosen it, and pull the slack, then tighten it back up.

If anyone tried this, please help

Oh and the self adjustmet method just doesnt work for me, although i hear a "click" when i pull up on it.
thx..

------------------
90 lx coupe: Mac cold air fenderwell, accel supercoil,advncd ignition,3-core radiatr, FMS alum D/S, Black magic fan, 3.27grs, 3chbr flows.
Best time: 14.20(on 225/60/15 firehawks)
Best mph 97.80
Best 60' 2.1
next mods: subframes, 3.73's

DZEE'S LX · 01-23-2001, 01:18 AM

You guys are on the right track.

Assuming that your clutch is installed correctly, adjustment is the key.
A Haynes manual will explain this, but Ford did attempt to design an adjustment feature into the Stang clutch cable. The problem is that it doesn't work very well.
You are supposed to pull up on the pedal with at least 10 or more pounds of pressure. This is when you should hear the click that you are not hearing. If it were working the cogs will click to the next teeth on the quadrant providing a tighter cable. The teeth are made of plastic so they may be worn, and most likely are so worn that they will not seperate enough to move to the next spot.
I have this problem every couple months and always notice that it gets hard to shift and the engage point is close to the floor. Get your trusty flashlight, move your seat back, lie on your back, and move your head close to the firewall so you can see how the thing works. Move the clutch pedal and you will understand how the adjuster operates. You will need to get both hands up there so you can hold the quadrant and then manually click it to the next tooth. You might be able to have someone move the clutch pedal up while you hold the quadrant (it is stout) but I've always been able to handle it by myself.
It's a pain in the *** , but now I can do it in less than a minute.
Also check to make sure that the adjuster hasn't simply run out of teeth on the quadrant. That would mean that you are completely out of adjustment.

A T-5 hint. I think the manual also descibes the correct adjustment point (also might be a personal preference), but a properly adjusted clutch can take several seconds for the synchros to mesh when shifting to rev from nuetral. The east way to get most Stangs into reverse quickly (without grinding) is to go into 5th and then straight down to R.

Hope this helps. If not, try a new cable or different kind of (non-Ford) adjuster.

NoSlow5.0 · 01-24-2001, 01:48 PM

I have a BBK quadrant on my stang. The cable is stock and i could see were it rests in the fork, so i tightened it. I may have done it while the bell housing was off, i don't remember for sure. I also grind in to Reverse; i just go to 3rd then straight to R, Like DZEE'S LX said. It gets rid of the grind. Light Em Up!!

90dpscoupe · 01-24-2001, 02:01 PM

I sometimes put it in 1st, let the car roll an inch forward, then back, then go to reverse.

------------------
90 lx coupe: Mac cold air fenderwell, accel supercoil,advncd ignition,3-core radiatr, FMS alum D/S, Black magic fan, 3.27grs, 3chbr flows.
Best time: 14.20(on 225/60/15 firehawks)
Best mph 97.80
Best 60' 2.1
next mods: subframes, 3.73's

01-20-2001, 07:30 PM	#1
BowTie Eater 5 Liter Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Maple Ridge B.C. Canada, The Best Place In The World Posts: 871	Clitch Cable adjustment, I have an 88 GT with a T-5. My car wont shift into 1st-5th & when i try to put it in reverse it grinds. I was told it was the clitch cable, & the clutch was replaced last march & been sitting since july. Is it possible to adjust the clutch cable, or do i need a new one.If it is possible to adjust it how do i go about doing it. thanks

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01-20-2001, 08:01 PM	#2
BowTie Eater 5 Liter Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Maple Ridge B.C. Canada, The Best Place In The World Posts: 871	Please Help! Car wont drive!

01-21-2001, 09:50 AM	#3
SPEEDY88 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: TEXAS Posts: 110	you might want to check your tranny fork. Just my two cents! ------------------ 88GT-Bassani X-pipe,Two chamber flowmasters,3:73 gears, King Cobra clutch, Steeda clutch quadrant, pro 5.0, K&N, Hypertech chip, Underdrive Pulleys,High Volume oil pump....ALL POWERED BY MY FOOT!!!

01-21-2001, 11:48 AM	#4
wd302 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Lexington Park, Md. United States Posts: 20	Hey man, the clutch cable is self adjusting. Unless you but a new one you cant do anything with that. The other thing is the quadrant. It could be wore out and you may need a new one of those. I had the same problem once before in my 89.There is a little trick I learned for adjusting the clutch but it doesnt always help. Grab the pedal with your hand and jerk up a hard as you can till maybe you hear it click. This allows the quadrant the skip a couple of teeth if it has slipped or wore down a couple. Hope you get it fixed man. ------------------ 91GT w/Procharger, GT40 upper, lower and heads, F303 cam, 70mm T/B w/ 24lbs. and 190lph f/p, BBK headers, Bassani X-pipe, 2chambered flows with ss tips, 2800 stall w/ 4:10s, Cobra ground effect kits w/ wing and 2 1/2 cowl, etc. More mods coming soon to a street near you, haha

01-21-2001, 03:03 PM	#5
BowTie Eater 5 Liter Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Maple Ridge B.C. Canada, The Best Place In The World Posts: 871	Thanks! I'm going into my dads autobody shop & will try to fix the clutch. Im also gettin the stang in primer today!!! it's goin a custom (a little too custom, cant find color in the books!) Candy apple burnt orange

01-21-2001, 07:04 PM	#6
BowTie Eater 5 Liter Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: Maple Ridge B.C. Canada, The Best Place In The World Posts: 871	wd302. i tried your lil trick, but it didnt help the stang. we couldn't primer my car(dads sick)& so we will do that next sat. are you sure you cant go under the car & adjust the cable?

01-22-2001, 02:10 PM	#7
NoSlow5.0 YOU HAVE NO MARBLES!!!!!! Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Jonesboro,Georgia,USA (Providence, Ri) Posts: 868	I tightened up my cable by turning 2 nuts on the end of it where it meets the clutch fork. It worked fine. Light Em Up!!

01-22-2001, 07:00 PM	#8
wd302 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Lexington Park, Md. United States Posts: 20	How ever NoSlow5.0 did it I dont know. I never saw a nut on the end or that is what I would have done before I went a bought a stock one. The cable just goes right into the fork. Man your best bet is to get the cable and quadrant that steeda came out with. I dont have a five speed anymore but I heard through the grapevine that they were pretty good. Good luck buddy! ------------------ 91GT w/Procharger, GT40 upper, lower and heads, F303 cam, 70mm T/B w/ 24lbs. and 190lph f/p, BBK headers, Bassani X-pipe, 2chambered flows with ss tips, 2800 stall w/ 4:10s, Cobra ground effect kits w/ wing and 2 1/2 cowl, etc. More mods coming soon to a street near you, haha

01-22-2001, 10:27 PM	#9
90dpscoupe Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: sanantonio, Tx, usa Posts: 1,407	I wanted to bring this topic up again, i know my clutch is good, but needs adjustment, i heard from a guy, you can grab the cable under the car loosen it, and pull the slack, then tighten it back up. If anyone tried this, please help Oh and the self adjustmet method just doesnt work for me, although i hear a "click" when i pull up on it. thx.. ------------------ 90 lx coupe: Mac cold air fenderwell, accel supercoil,advncd ignition,3-core radiatr, FMS alum D/S, Black magic fan, 3.27grs, 3chbr flows. Best time: 14.20(on 225/60/15 firehawks) Best mph 97.80 Best 60' 2.1 next mods: subframes, 3.73's

01-23-2001, 01:18 AM	#10
DZEE'S LX Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Salt Lake City Posts: 117	You guys are on the right track. Assuming that your clutch is installed correctly, adjustment is the key. A Haynes manual will explain this, but Ford did attempt to design an adjustment feature into the Stang clutch cable. The problem is that it doesn't work very well. You are supposed to pull up on the pedal with at least 10 or more pounds of pressure. This is when you should hear the click that you are not hearing. If it were working the cogs will click to the next teeth on the quadrant providing a tighter cable. The teeth are made of plastic so they may be worn, and most likely are so worn that they will not seperate enough to move to the next spot. I have this problem every couple months and always notice that it gets hard to shift and the engage point is close to the floor. Get your trusty flashlight, move your seat back, lie on your back, and move your head close to the firewall so you can see how the thing works. Move the clutch pedal and you will understand how the adjuster operates. You will need to get both hands up there so you can hold the quadrant and then manually click it to the next tooth. You might be able to have someone move the clutch pedal up while you hold the quadrant (it is stout) but I've always been able to handle it by myself. It's a pain in the *** , but now I can do it in less than a minute. Also check to make sure that the adjuster hasn't simply run out of teeth on the quadrant. That would mean that you are completely out of adjustment. A T-5 hint. I think the manual also descibes the correct adjustment point (also might be a personal preference), but a properly adjusted clutch can take several seconds for the synchros to mesh when shifting to rev from nuetral. The east way to get most Stangs into reverse quickly (without grinding) is to go into 5th and then straight down to R. Hope this helps. If not, try a new cable or different kind of (non-Ford) adjuster.

01-24-2001, 01:48 PM	#11
NoSlow5.0 YOU HAVE NO MARBLES!!!!!! Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Jonesboro,Georgia,USA (Providence, Ri) Posts: 868	I have a BBK quadrant on my stang. The cable is stock and i could see were it rests in the fork, so i tightened it. I may have done it while the bell housing was off, i don't remember for sure. I also grind in to Reverse; i just go to 3rd then straight to R, Like DZEE'S LX said. It gets rid of the grind. Light Em Up!!

01-24-2001, 02:01 PM	#12
90dpscoupe Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: sanantonio, Tx, usa Posts: 1,407	I sometimes put it in 1st, let the car roll an inch forward, then back, then go to reverse. ------------------ 90 lx coupe: Mac cold air fenderwell, accel supercoil,advncd ignition,3-core radiatr, FMS alum D/S, Black magic fan, 3.27grs, 3chbr flows. Best time: 14.20(on 225/60/15 firehawks) Best mph 97.80 Best 60' 2.1 next mods: subframes, 3.73's