Had a bad day

[falcongtho3]

Not the only bad thing that happened today, but one of the highlights was the clutch pedal going right to the floor on the way to work...and it stayed there. Got the car towed to the shop and the cable had obviously snapped, so we replaced that. Then the clutch is almost unusable, not releasing and hard as a rock. The cable doesn't seem to be in a bind, but the arm/fork doesn't want to do anything. I'll either try to go deeper or send it to my friend at my local dealership and see what needs to happen to get it straight. The clutch itself is only two years old, but the throwout bearing seems suspect at this point.

[jbrad88]

Sorry about that...throw out bearing dis-integrated a few years back. lucky the cable did not snap and i was able to get the car to work that day...cable was no good after that.
hope it is just the bearing...

[falcongtho3]

Thanks, the original Ford bearing went for nearly 90k and then turned to dust. This one only has about 1/3 of that on it.

[03Shadow Grey]

On a positive note , at least the cable didn't snap while you had it depressed and in gear behind a lawyer in a Benz ! No joke , hope it turns out to be something simple.

[Tony Alonso]

Ugh - any word on the cause?

[ab_mach1]

Glad it didn't cause you to wreck or anything like that. I'm hoping it was the TOB too. I've heard others say their replacement Ford TOB didn't seem to last as long as the original. On top of that, I've heard the Ford Racing TOB's aren't the same as the Ford parts TOB. I hope that's not true as I replaced mine with the Ford Racing TOB version in 2012, about 20k miles or so ago.

[Mach351]

happy thoughts going your way

[falcongtho3]

I like your happy thoughts!!
Word form my guy at the dealership is that the clutch is non-moving...frozen. The new cable is good, the level works fine, but the fingers won't move. It'll probably get a new Ford clutch. I don't remember what brand I used before, but I should have known better.

[jbrad88]

That's odd...well glad they figured it out...

[falcongtho3]

If it's odd, it'll happen to me. The tech is supposed to pull everything down today, but he said he'd never seen anything like it as well.

[jbrad88]

Trust me...I feel your pain...

[falcongtho3]

This just keeps on getting better and better.

Get the call with the diagnosis. No surprises. Estimate seemed abut high, but it's in the ballpark I expected.
Got the call the car was ready, go to pick it up. And the car WON'T MOVE. Can't get it into gear, unless the engine is off.

Seriously?

[Cumbersome101]

Mine did the same thing. Literally couldn't push the pedal in. It was a power grip hd. Throw out bearing was good too. I replaced all components and worked great.


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[falcongtho3]

They've replaced the pressure plate, clutch plate, t/o and pilot bearing.
The replacement clutch cable is suspect, but there may an issue with the self adjuster mechanism...or so I've been told.
Pressing down on the clutch is still like pressing on a brick.

[Tony Alonso]

Oh man - sorry about this

[falcongtho3]

Thanks.
At this point at least I feel a little less stupid for sending it out for repair. The tech whose handling it has worked on all of my Mustangs over a 25 year period and is extremely knowledgeable, so if he's at a loss I know I would have been in way over my head.

[Mach828]

I've snapped quite a few cables and battled with clutch cable adjustment for a while. In the end, after having the trans out far too many times I learned:

- Many aftermarket clutch and flywheel setups are thicker than OEM, causing the clutch fork angle to become misaligned increasing pedal effort. You need to install an adjustable pivot ball to put the clutch fork at the proper angle. These pivot balls also wear out, and need replaced.

- Stick with the Timken, McLeod or FRPP heavy duty TOB, and ensure there is not firm pressure on the TOB with the clutch released.

- The only clutch cable I haven't snapped is the FRPP adjustable clutch cable. This one allows additional adjustment under the car, and seems like the only cable long enough for some thick aftermarket clutch/flywheel assemblies.

- If you use an aftermarket quadrant or firewall adjuster, you need to ensure straight alignment on the clutch pedal using washers or the cable will rub and increase the chance of failure

[Cumbersome101]

I used a lethal performance clutch cable (non adjustable) a fire wall adjuster and a double hook quadrant. Several people I've talked to like to non adjustable cable from lethal. Use it only with fire wall adjuster and after market quad. U can get the adjustments with them.
Look in the window and see observe of the TOB is making full contact with the pressure plate finders. Check that fork too.

Go on and request your old parts back! Maybe a observation of them will help u out. And to just verify they installed everything that they said they did. Which I am sure they did.


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[03Shadow Grey]

I hope you can get it fixed by this weekend. I saw where you posted about the Back to Blue for Baton Rouge get together. Good luck !

[falcongtho3]

Thanks, I'm hoping to have it for the Back The Blue event, but I do have the Boss 302 to drive and I'll bring in place of the Mach 1. I've been showing both all summer, alternately, and enjoying them both. The Mach is still better, seriously.

[03Shadow Grey]

I know its the dealership but I wonder if they put the clutch in backwards,it does say flywheel side on there! lol. just a thought.

[falcongtho3]

At this point nothing would surprise me.

[NastyNate]

Mach828 has some good advice there! too bad I had to learn them by dropping the trans multiple times!

[falcongtho3]

Picked it up late last night. Feels right, but I'll know more today.

[jbrad88]

I hope they got it right...any idea what they said was the fix for the fix?

I have had my share of clutch issues, from snapped cables (my old fox), having to pull everything apart to "clock a flywheel" on one combination because without doing so everything was out of balance. I had a clutch in the mach once that was so bad it just about chattered the shaker off the engine...
after many different challenges in the almost 30 years of owning mustangs, i have a nice simple Exedy replacement....it is the best clutch i have had since the old motorsport heavy duty ones in my old fox...

Btw, i always keep a spare clutch cable sitting around, and at the first signs of any issues, i replace them...40$ every 3 years is easy maintenance...