Although I've had the T-5 for a few years now, I'm still not a pro with them. I swapped my ped out clutch today for a factory style replacement.
Now, the old clutch was a King Cobra, with a mildly stiff clutch, but not bad at all. The new clutch is super soft. I'm guessing because it's a stock style piece.
The adjustable clutch cable is almost out of threads (on the cable end) with not much adjustment left. I have the cable to a point that's it's tight, but not super tight. When I depress the clutch pedal, it goes to the floor, then, upon lifting the pedal, there is almost instant movement by the car. hardly any travel of the pedal at all. Is this normal?
I have a double hook quadrant and use the last hook to extend the cable as far as I can. I didn't use that much of the threaded end with the other clutch. With the wear of the clutch, does the cable nut need to be tightened, or backed off.
I guess I just need a refresher course in this matter.
If you use the second hook you can get more adjustment at the end of the cable
If I understand right
I think you want the take-up on a new clutch to be pretty much right away. The disc is the thickest it will ever be right now, and it's not yet worn in. I bet in a couple hundred miles, you see it start to feel more normal. You should probably think about a new cable also. The King Cobra is so stiff, it's probably gotten it all stretched out.
do you have a firewall adjuster?
I would swap the hook it will give you more adjustment
And a king cobra is nothing lol it's made by velao wich makes most stock replacements .... Try pushing the pedal in with a spec 3 lol
Ok, the KC is pretty stiff. It's not crazy, but over time, I still think it's stretched.
You can't rule in a stretched cable when it's adjustable ....... But I will agree in the fact that they always stretch and usually snap always lol
I'm not trying to be right just done this stuff a lot
I'm using the second hook. As I stated, I wasn't using that much cable with the other clutch. It is new, so, I'll give it a little time to break in and I'll keep reporting in until I'm either happy with it, adapted to it, or, if there IS a problem, I have found out what it is.
Thank God for the AOD & a Shift Kit!
The cable needs to be set a little tighter. The new clutch is as FOE explains FRESH. But the cobra clutch has a different lever position. 0* forward verses 7* But it will come around. Remember as the disc wears the cable gets tighter. The ball is adjustable you should have tweeked it with a stock clutch did you do it??? Best bet is a firewall adjuster. Remember a cable that is to tight puts pressure on the throw out bearing and will wear it out. In a couple of hundred miles the clutch will grab higher as FOE posted.
To be honest Tom, I have no bloody idea what you're saying. You say the cable should be tight, then you say "tight" will ruin the throwout bearing, And what do you mean by tweaking the ball? Wherever that ball is that the fork rests on is where it was when Ford made it.
I got on Ebay and looked at firewall adjusters. Are they, for the most part, created equal? Also, will they fit with the Thunderbird brake booster?
No Vinnie, you'll need to swap in a Fox Stang booster...if you want to see how bad it is, clearance wise, I can send you a pic of mine. I have the firewall adjuster, it's a PITA to get in, and still, offers little adjustment before I'm out of room.
BTW, I have the same issues as you do here (clutch wise) so I'm subscribing, and I'll also be swapping my T5 for another one..mine has an issue.
I'm starting to think my tranny is starting to have an issue as well. Every once in a while, it pops out of first gear on take off, Otherwise, it's great.
I'm just ready to learn as much as I can about all of this stuff.
The ball Tom is referring to is the one inside the bell housing that the clutch fork pivots on. The stock one typically just bolts down and there is no adjustment however you can buy an adjustable one and change the angle of the clutch fork which can move it more towards the back of the car thus requiring a longer clutch cable. I just switched from a King Cobra over to a RAM HD clutch and my pedal is down on the floor as well. My adjustable cable is pretty old and I have a couple of new ones so I am going to change it out and readjust the firewall adjuster as well.
I would think that all clutch quadrants and firewall adjusters are not the same just as not all throttle bodies are the same. Sure they all do the same function but over time some don't do it as well as others. I have the Steeda units on both of my cars on recommendation from several others and have had zero issues.
Good luck with the stock clutch as they are kind of marginal at best with a stock 5.0 car but that is just a personal preference. The King Cobra was a good clutch but with the 331 I did not think it would hold up much longer with the added torque.
Darren
I certainly will need a better clutch to handle the current engine, but as I stated, I needed one NOW, and there's nowhere in this town to get anything but stock. I'll do some research and buy a better clutch eventually, but for now, it'll do alright.
I took the Bird down to get gas a bit ago, and the clutch pedal seems to have a couple or so inches of initial play before I feel real tension. Maybe it's the cable, maybe it's the clutch. I may need a new cable. Mine looks fine, but, could be mildly stretched.