Clutch Question

[dsilva9889]

Had an '84 mustang years ago, unfortunately it was totaled by an idiot passing in the wrong lane while my late husband was pulling out of a parking lot. Loved it while it lasted though....

Now almost 20 years later, I have purchased an '87 Mustang GT 5-speed, my problem is, last night while moving it, my son heard a loud "TWANG" and now the clutch pedal is just dangling loose under the dash. We've checked and the cable is intact as far as we can tell. Having spent almost every available penny to purchase the car less than 24 hours before this happened, I am hoping someone might have a suggestion as to what we should look for, and if it can be fixed by "amateurs". Was bought through a private seller, inspected by a certified mechanic, but as the seller said when I called him about this, "hey, who knows, all the big $ stuff is replaced can't be much to fix!" In other words, "tuff, it's your problem now...." My son (16) would like to try & fix it himself with a friend, I just don't want him to take on a project better taken care of by a pro.

I wish my late husband was still with us as he would have loved playing with this baby, and was a wizard when it came to the repair/rebuild/& maintenance of Fords.

[82 GT]

It sounds like the clutch cable snapped. Most people when this happens, buy an adjustable clutch quadrant with the new cable so that they can manually adjust the clutch cable as the clutch wears.
If you are looking for a "quick fix" then all you need is a new clutch cable with takes about 30 minutes or less to install.
If you want the adjustable quadrant, then you're looking at about an hour depending on how much your son and friend know about cars.
Whoever does it, will be spending some time on their backs on the floor under the dash. LOL
Don't worry, it's not an expensive fix.

[Jthompson]

BTW. welcome back to the world of mustangs. Just to let you know, there is NOTHING on that year mustang that is over complicated. The car was built very simple, and with patience can be figured out easily.

I agree with the above post. While the cable may look intact, it most definetly is not. The cable goes around the quadrant, threw the firewall, through a long sleeve through the engine compartment, and into the side of the transmission.

I would Definetly go with the adjustable setup. You can get a nice firewall adjuster from steeda performance.

[dsilva9889]

Thanks to everyone for your replies. After spending the whole day checking the various parts of the clutch to make sure they were intact, (IE..the Cable, the Quadrant...) it turns out the hex nut was missing from the end of the axle that the clutch pedal was on. (We had noticed this before we had the problem, just haden't had a chance to get a new nut on the axle yet.) The kid we bought the car from had "forgotten" to replace it when he changed the quadrant. What had happened was the axle slid out so far to the right that the pedal no longer had anything to "grab". Once we got the Axle back in place and replaced the pedal, it was just a matter of adjusting the clutch. (the Quadrant is a heavy duty aluminum one from Motorsport, & the cable is new & adjustable!!!) Luckily we have a neighbor who is good with cars & he gave my son a hand. Had the car back on the road by Saturday afternoon.....Definitely a learning experience for a young man & his "new" car.....LOL

Thanks again,
Deb