Drivetrain Time to pull and lube the clutch cable

[LX Dave]

What kind of lube are you guys using on the clutch cable and how's it been working?

I have a pretty heavy clutch and was wondering how much effort would be dropped if I did a hydraulic kit instead.

Anything special I should be looking for also? This cable is pretty old...maybe even original.

Or if I go with a new cable, which one to get? I already have the aluminum quadrant and firewall adjuster.

Anybody have any tips/tricks?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[General karthief]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Or in MY case, keep fix'n it till it is broke

 

[Potomus Pete]

I had to get a knee replacment...After I did the car ran strong

 

[General karthief]

Ok, on the serious side, I would find a NOS factory cable if possible, I have a spare factory cable I pulled from a fox long time ago.
A lot of work for a hydraulic conversion but boy are they butter smooth.

 

[LX Dave]

Was going to lube it.to start, but not sure if regular wheel bearing grease is ok or not. If it's frayed or anything, it'll get replaced with Steeda or Motorsport cable.

Looked at conversion kits on a few sites and most have not so great reviews, so probably pass on that and stick with cable.

 

[LX Dave]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Or in MY case, keep fix'n it till it is broke

Same here, fix it till it breaks. Keeps things entertaining.

 

[AeroCoupe]

I would think that you would want to use graphite powder but I’ve never lubed a clutch cable.

 

[Noobz347]

There is no good way to lubricate an OEM style cable:

If the cable itself is stiff, it's because one or more of the layers has been chaffed through. The cable is telling you it's time to go.

Replace it before the braid breaks and leaves you on the side of the road with no shifter [if] it is in-fact the cable.

 

[limp]

There is no good way to lubricate an OEM style cable:

If the cable itself is stiff, it's because one or more of the layers has been chaffed through. The cable is telling you it's time to go.

Replace it before the braid breaks and leaves you on the side of the road with no shifter [if] it is in-fact the cable.

So true wha Noobz says... the " Black Bitch's " clutch cable was just about ready to go when I did a service on her..... New cable made it like new again... Cable clutch's sneak up on you as they wear slowly and you get used to the difference in a bad cable...

 

[LX Dave]

Don't really like talking about my personal life online, but to give some context on why I'm questioning this, a little over a year ago, I had a stroke and couldn't use my left leg or arm. Didn't think I'd ever drive a manual again. Got much better now and have taken the car out a couple of times, but the clutch feels really stiff. I know it's more than stock, but can't remember how much more (yeah, the mind took a hit too). That has me wondering if the cable is hard to pull, or if it's just me.

First thing I'll do then is pull the cable and see if it's smooth or pulls hard, then determine what the car has. This car had a few goodies on it when I got it and don't remember exactly what it's got. Then replace if it doesn't seem right. Don't mind doing that as cables are fairly cheap for a major component.

The reason I'm looking this now is I reused the cable that was in the car and I really don't know how old it is...and the clutch that's in it now is fairly stiff (got a whole kit when I bought the TKO-600 transmission, basically everything I needed except the flywheel, which I had a new one already).

I'll try to remember to post what it's got when it comes out.

Post was edited so may be a bit scrambled.

 

[Noobz347]

Some of the more popular mods for this platform are heavy clutches and fast release quadrants. Neither of those would be helpful in the [light pedal] regard.

Would be good to know what's in there.

 

[General karthief]

Have not looked but are there quadrant s with differing ramps or are they all pretty much the same?
Reason I ask is my old legs ain't like they ustabe.
I ain't give'n up my 'stick car'.

 

[LX Dave]

Dug through the invoices and found the clutch:

MDL Superior, Ford 10.4" Metric HD Clutch Set, Kevlar/Steel backed-Organic, 26-Spline, Cable

Check out the deal on MDL Superior, Ford 10.4" Metric HD Clutch Set, Kevlar/Steel backed-Organic, 26-Spline, Cable at Modern Driveline, Inc.

www.moderndriveline.com

Got a whole package through Modern Driveline.

 

[AeroCoupe]

Removing the cable and then seeing how it feels is not going to be the same as installed in the car. This is because of the bends it has when installed.

 

[limp]

Have not looked but are there quadrant s with differing ramps or are they all pretty much the same?
Reason I ask is my old legs ain't like they ustabe.
I ain't give'n up my 'stick car'.

Yeah but what about your knee's and Hips??? Its SUCKS getting old

 

[limp]

Dug through the invoices and found the clutch:

MDL Superior, Ford 10.4" Metric HD Clutch Set, Kevlar/Steel backed-Organic, 26-Spline, Cable

Check out the deal on MDL Superior, Ford 10.4" Metric HD Clutch Set, Kevlar/Steel backed-Organic, 26-Spline, Cable at Modern Driveline, Inc.

www.moderndriveline.com

Got a whole package through Modern Driveline.

I would guess that while being good stuff the clutch in that kit will be more performance oriented and a bit stiff......
Do you have any clutch shops around you?? They could build you a softer clutch....
Had my stock 83 clutch rebuilt by a local shop and its really soft.. No horsepower in my car so I am not worried about any slipping....

 

[Noobz347]

The quadrant ramp you're looking for is the one that looks most like the OEM quadrant. It's about as round as you can get it with no flat surfaces leading ot the curve.



Quick Release Style:

More Gradual:

Other things to consider:

Amount of pedal travel
High or low release (distance the pedal is from the floor when it releases)


I've seen just about every hydraulic retro-fit release bearing that has passed through this forum in the last 15 to 20 years. The dude that I thought had the largest chance of success with one of these things, moved on to other pastures once his car was done. I didn't hear back. Others were plagued with issues.


My thoughts in your situation:

Stock clutch or Centerforce
Full radius clutch quadrant
New SN95 Cable (if your old one checks out, keep it for a spare)
Billet Steel flywheel (if your current setup is lightweight aluminum)
Micro-Click Firewall Adjuster (whoever the hell stole this an is making it now, UPR, I think)
Maximum Motorsports Clutch Pedal Adjustment kit (put the pedal where you want it regardless of the quadrant or FW adjuster settings)
Always replace the Throw Out Bearing when you're in this deep (I recommend OEM or Centerforce but with my luck, they're both China-Junk now)
Ensure that the clutch fork is 1000% good to go as well as the fork pivot point

 

[AeroCoupe]

And put a new pilot bearing in the end of the crank. I have been running Ford Motorsport pilot bearings and RAM throw out bearings with pretty good success and by that I mean no failures other than just wearing a throw out bearing out or what I considered worn out.

Clutch fork and pivot ball stud wear are real and there are a few threads with that subject in there (one is mine).

I will say I run the Steeda adjustable clutch cables on both cars and have had only one fail but that was my dumbassery by not wrapping the one on the T-Bird and the 1-7/8" primary smoked it.

Some great advise above and good luck man!

 

[LX Dave]

Gonna ramble here...The car this is in is my avatar, 84 GT350 with a built 351 Windsor. The only reason I got the TKO transmission is I'm sure a stock T-5 would not hold up to my driving, which sucks because I have extras of those.
The quadrant in the car is a Steeda.... picture of actual quadrant:

Anybody recognize this one and have any info on it?

When I built the car, it got a Steel billet SFI flywheel, throwout bearing, pilot bearing, etc.. Basically everything is new and good stuff. Pedal pivot rod and bushings are in really good shape and greased up.

For having the clutch "lightened or rebuilt by a shop", there's nobody in the area that does that anymore. Heck, the last engine shop in the area closed up about a year ago and I have a Cleveland I would really like to build. Now it's drive three hours away to the next shop I trust.

It also has the micro-click firewall adjuster (came with that too). Pivot ball stud is also new from Modern Driveline. I had stuck a poop-ton of money into this thing as I don't like doing things twice for crap parts. If you are wondering what a poop-ton is, its waaaay over the budget you set. Which I really didn't mind because I really like the car and plan on keeping it. When I give people rides all I get is a HOLT SH!T response...worth it....or maybe they are really thinking Holy Sh!t, thing is slow.

If anyone would like to see the full build, I can put up a thread on the car. Just seeing if anybody is interested.

As I said, just rambling here. Seem to be good at that with not really saying a thing worth while now.

 

[AeroCoupe]

If it was me I would call Modern Driveline and talk to them about the order and they might be able to look it up and see which clutch they sold you. From there they could even recommend a different one.

When you start getting up there in hp and torque the battle of grip, chatter, and clutch pedal effort starts.

The guaranteed way to get a lighter clutch pedal is to go hydraulic. Modern has those setups as well. I seen a few installs and they ones with good parts all can down to properly bleeding the system for them to work well. Won’t be cheap but done right it will work well and lighten up the clutch pedal.