Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) March 03, 2009, 08:58:15 AM OK, for some reason I can not get my car to hold its clutch cable adjustment. When I first did the T5 swap I did the initial pedal adjustment by holding the pedal all the way up, then pushing the plastic quadrant as far as I could and then engaging the pawl. This worked.For a day or two.The next time I wanted to move the car I could not get it into gear with the engine running. The clutch was not fully disengaging when I puut the pedal to the floor. I got under the dash again and re-did the adjustment procedure noted above. It worked again......until the next time I wanted to move the car. Once again, putting the pedal to the floor would not fully disengage the clutch.I've come to the conclusion that for some reason the quadrant and pawl are not engaging each other correctly. There are no damaged teeth on the quadrant or pawl, but for some reason it seems to be skipping a tooth. I've already got my cure in mind for that problem: An aftermarket aluminum quadrant and adjustable cable, which is on order.My question is about the pedal movement itself. As I noted, I did the initial adjustment by holding the pedal all the way up and fiddling with the quadrant. Even when the clutch disengaged, it did not do so until the pedal was right on the floor - there was no room for slop. And slop is my question: When first adjusted I pushed the pedal down by hand and noticed that the pedal moved a good inch or so before the quadrant even started to move. I know it's the pawl that moves the quadrant, and would normally think the slop is from the pawl slipping on the quadrant, but that's not the case: The pawl itself does not even move for that first inch or so of pedal travel. What's more, if I release the pedal and let it come back to its natural position it does not come all the way up - I can still lift it by hand that extra inch or so.In other words, it seems as though the first inch or so of pedal travel is not actually doing anything. It seems to me that if I could use this first inch of travel to actually move clutch stuff I wouldn't have to drive the pedal right into the floor to fully disengage the clutch. This is not a cable adjustment issue, because as I noted the pedal movement does not even try to move the cable. It's that the pedal itself does not even touch the mechanism for the pawl for that first inch. My question: Is this normal?BTW, it's a new clutch, new PP, and new (presumably aftermarket) cable... Quote Selected
Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) Reply #1 – March 03, 2009, 09:33:41 AM Is the cable actually tensioned? Is it an adjustable cable?I don't think any of my cars originally were manual equipped, so I never wasted my time with the plastic quadrants, so I can't help you much there. It does sound like a cable issue perhaps that is allowing things to go slack and "settle".One thing I ran into with my AL quadrant, you will want a pedal stop. I didn't have one on the 83 originally, and to keep the cable taut, the pedal was VERY high. It worked well enough, but it was very tedious because of the required leg movement. Anyway, I cam up with a pedal stop that was scary easy and solved my issue with the pedal height/travel. I'm using an adjustable cable and a FW adjuster as well, but I would think you could get by with just an adjustable cable. Quote Selected
Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) Reply #2 – March 03, 2009, 10:14:31 AM I've always used the aftermarket quadrant from day 1 so I don't have much experience with the stock type setup. Summit is selling a quadrant, cable, fork , and firewall adjuster for pretty cheap ($113.95!) http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=SUM%2DC701KIT&N=700+115&autoview=skusell the fork on ebay :)granted you have a cable now.. you WILL need a cable down the road so having one in the trunk will be a life saver down the road. To use the firewall adjuster you will need a stang style boaster so you have more room around the adjuster. Quote Selected
Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) Reply #3 – March 03, 2009, 10:30:50 AM your pedal assembly is SUPPOSE to have that inch of free travel. that is how you normally would adjust the clutch with a working stock pedal ass.To release the tension on the cable you pull up on the pedal and it will release the pressure on the cable. (something done when you replace the clutch) which is were that inch of play comes in.... then after pushing the pedal to the floor a few times, you will hear the adjuster ratcheting to the proper settings, til it is tight. the cable is SUPPOSE to ratchet to the proper setting, but most of these pedal ass. have way to many miles and are worn out so they dont function properly...I had the same problem with mine when I did the 5 speed swap. mine would work fine til I power shifted and it would slip a bunch of teeth and I couldnt shift gears... I threw a BBK adjustable cable and quadrant in mine. Quote Selected
Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) Reply #4 – March 03, 2009, 11:44:31 AM yeah, you should only have to work the pedal a few times. i think pull up on it as well and it should self adjust. they have always workd fine for me but this time im going to try out an aftermarket quadrant and adjuster. Quote Selected
Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) Reply #5 – March 03, 2009, 12:17:25 PM What car did you get your pedals out of? If it was a n/a 2.3 then the pedal won't disengage until it hits the floor. The clutch pedal arm is made different than a 5.0 or turbo coupe. Quote Selected
Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) Reply #6 – March 03, 2009, 05:24:42 PM Quote from: Chuck W;259324Is the cable actually tensioned? Is it an adjustable cable?I don't think any of my cars originally were manual equipped, so I never wasted my time with the plastic quadrants, so I can't help you much there. It does sound like a cable issue perhaps that is allowing things to go slack and "settle".One thing I ran into with my AL quadrant, you will want a pedal stop. I didn't have one on the 83 originally, and to keep the cable taut, the pedal was VERY high. It worked well enough, but it was very tedious because of the required leg movement. Anyway, I cam up with a pedal stop that was scary easy and solved my issue with the pedal height/travel. I'm using an adjustable cable and a FW adjuster as well, but I would think you could get by with just an adjustable cable.There's the funny thing: When I adjust it, it's tight, but the next time I go to move the car it's loose again. So loose that one time the cable end actually fell out of the clutch fork. That's what makes me think the teeth on the quadrant are slipping.Quote from: Bob;259332I've always used the aftermarket quadrant from day 1 so I don't have much experience with the stock type setup. Summit is selling a quadrant, cable, fork , and firewall adjuster for pretty cheap ($113.95!) http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=SUM%2DC701KIT&N=700+115&autoview=skusell the fork on ebay :)granted you have a cable now.. you WILL need a cable down the road so having one in the trunk will be a life saver down the road. To use the firewall adjuster you will need a stang style boaster so you have more room around the adjuster.I've found (and ordered) a UPR aluminum quadrant and adjustable cable for $35. I can't be bothered with changing the brake booster for a firewall adjuster, and there's nothing wrong with my clutch forkQuote from: 1WLD BRD;259335your pedal assembly is SUPPOSE to have that inch of free travel. that is how you normally would adjust the clutch with a working stock pedal ass.To release the tension on the cable you pull up on the pedal and it will release the pressure on the cable. (something done when you replace the clutch) which is were that inch of play comes in.... then after pushing the pedal to the floor a few times, you will hear the adjuster ratcheting to the proper settings, til it is tight. the cable is SUPPOSE to ratchet to the proper setting, but most of these pedal ass. have way to many miles and are worn out so they dont function properly...I had the same problem with mine when I did the 5 speed swap. mine would work fine til I power shifted and it would slip a bunch of teeth and I couldnt shift gears... I threw a BBK adjustable cable and quadrant in mine.The automatic adjuster is not working at all... yet another reason I think the teeth are slipping on the quadrant. The aluminum quadrant shoud eliminate that.Quote from: 5.0 bird;259351What car did you get your pedals out of? If it was a n/a 2.3 then the pedal won't disengage until it hits the floor. The clutch pedal arm is made different than a 5.0 or turbo coupe.The pedals are out of an '87 Mustang GT (same car I've got the DA1 computer from - I got the cable from this guy, too. The cable was new, but the guy decided to go with a Steeda setup on his Mustang and threw this cable in with the pedals as a freebie. Now I know why)Hopefully the aluminum quadrant and adjustable cable will cure my ills... Quote Selected
Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) Reply #7 – March 03, 2009, 06:47:36 PM Quote from: Thunder Chicken;259367The pedals are out of an '87 Mustang GT (same car I've got the DA1 computer from - I got the cable from this guy, too. The cable was new, but the guy decided to go with a Steeda setup on his Mustang and threw this cable in with the pedals as a freebie. Now I know why)Hopefully the aluminum quadrant and adjustable cable will cure my ills...exactly... now you know why... yes the quadrant will cure the problem. trust me... Note though... adjusting the cable is a bit more of a PITA with longtubes now.... LOL.:D Quote Selected
Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) Reply #8 – March 03, 2009, 07:16:59 PM the adjustable cable will work fine. its just not as easy as a firewall dealie. Quote Selected
Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) Reply #9 – March 03, 2009, 08:55:01 PM Aluminum quadrant......Yes. Quote Selected
Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) Reply #10 – March 03, 2009, 08:55:04 PM You should be fine with what you are planning.Here's my pedal stop. You may not need one, but in my car I did...1-1/4" x .120 wall square tube...fits right over the steering column mount.I had no issues getting the FW adjuster in around my brake booster...so your mileage may vary there. Quote Selected
Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) Reply #11 – March 03, 2009, 09:26:03 PM That pedal stop is a good idea, but it might interfere with the cruise cutoff switch, wouldn't it? I remember the switch being right at the top of the pedal travel - as soon as the pedal is moved the switch is open Quote Selected
Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) Reply #12 – March 04, 2009, 08:16:40 AM *shrug*On my cars that had cruise, the cut-off was on the brake pedal, not the clutch. This car doens't have cruise anymore anyway.Without this stop, the clutch pedal wanted to sit at least 3" higher than the brake pedal...VERY tedious to drive that way. Quote Selected
Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) Reply #13 – March 04, 2009, 11:16:15 AM T ripple or double hook quadrant would fix this no? Quote Selected
Clutch pedal question (cable clutch) Reply #14 – March 04, 2009, 11:44:39 AM Quote from: shame302;259473T ripple or double hook quadrant would fix this no?Fix what? Mine was a double. All they do is allow for the use of FW adjusters, etc. If there is nothing to stop the pedal, it wll travel all the way up as the slack is taken out of the cable.It was less of an issue on the swap I did on the 80 XR-7. It had the same quadrant but no FW adjuster. I think the fact it was a 5.0 had something to do with it. I think there distance at the bell end is longer on the 5.0 v the 2.3 with the straight-pull bell.I don't know. All I know is my application needed the stop. Quote Selected
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