When I put the car together last year, I installed a new FMS King cobra clutch, pressure plate and TO bearing, FMS heavy duty clutch cable, and a UPR quadrant and firewall adjuster. Now, when the car gets warm, the clutch cable makes squeeking noises and feels stiff. It does this whether the engine is running or not, so I am thinking that the cable is bad, and that the TO bearing is fine. The only thing I can think of is that the heat from the headers caused the cable to go bad, because I checked it up by the pedal assembly and it is not frayed. I am going to pull the cover on the bellhousing tomorrow to take a look at it over there also.
My question is, for those running a 5 speed Mustang clutch setup, what kind of cable do you have and how long has it lasted? I bought the FMS non adjustable one, because supposedly it was better than the adjustable aftermarket cables. But I am suspicious of it because I heard tha Ford started outsourcing the manufacturing of the cable to China or something.
i have a generic adjustable cable. it had 10,000 of use on a mustang. i have had no issues yet. if the headers are causing a problem it should be fairly obvious. as long as you have the bracket that holds the cable mounted and its routed correctly you shoulddnt have a header/melting problem. it would have happened sooner i suspect. could be a frey inside the cable somewhere. i have a non adjustable cable, albiet used but in good shape you can have if you want to pay s&H.
BTW.....
what kind of booster do you have. my stock sport booster leaves no room for an adjuster. i bought a UPR locking xtreme adjuster for my car and there is no way it is going to fit with that booster.
I have the cable routed just like a stock Mustang cable, and the bracket is bolted to the correct spot. I made sure I installed it properly initially, to avoid these problems. It passes close to the header, but does not touch it. I used a Mustang for reference to install it properly.
I used a Mustang booster to clear the firewall adjuster.
Is that cable a stock Ford piece?
not sure..ill look in the morning and doublcheck the condition...
EDIT...didnt get a chance to get out there today. i will check for sure tomorow...sorry man..
I solved the problem!
The bearing retainer was dry. I greased it up (It was a pain in the neck getting my hand in there) and now the noise has gone away, and the clutch feels great! I did not realize it had gotten that stiff. I just thought it was odd because when I installed the clutch, I put plenty of grease on it.