Breaking in new SPEC clutch - having issues.

98GTSteve

Founding Member
Nov 8, 2001
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Las Vegas, NV
Hey guys its been a long time since I've posted on here, my car has been sitting in the garage for months with a broken stock clutch. I finally got the money to buy a new clutch and got a SPEC stage II. Now I have never driven any mustang with anything other than a stock clutch, so I need help. I am noticing a few things which I am hoping are not major.
First is the clutch play. There basically is none with this new SPEC, and it engages / disengages when the clutch pedal is fully released (at the top). I am using the stock cable, and the mechanic said that there is no way to adjust this (they are self adjusting he says). Is there any way to have some play in the clutch, there is like no way to feather this clutch because it seems like its either all the way engaged or all the way disengaged.

The second issue is more of a concern to me, as I was driving the car home from the shop, I noticed that the clutch seems to be slipping. No matter what gear Im in, if I blurp the gas pedal (not hard just about a quarter throttle), the car will start to accelerate after a few hundred RPM jump... specifically going about 45 in 4th gear I did this a few times and each time the tach jumped a bit but no acceleration (3.73 gear ratio, 293/312rwhp/tw, and when it does accelerate it doesnt jerk or feel like the clutch is engaging). Also, I did not smell anything burning. I figured the tires were probably spinnin due to the new clutch but I would be surprised if this is the case. Im just now starting to break in the clutch so Im hesitant to really romp the throttle to see what this thing does. When it grabs it seems to grab pretty hard (in between shifts it will jerk a bit). Is it possible to half ass install a clutch to where it would cause an issue with what Im experiencing? Should I buy a new clutch cable? Im pretty sure I'm going to hear excuses from the shop as to why certain things are happening, I just want to make sure I know what Im talking about before I take it back and complain. Thanks guys.
 
sounds like the cable is way too tight causing the clutch not to engage fully. You can try pulling the clutch pedal back toward you and see if itll adjust. if not your gonna need an solid quadrant and firewall adjuster
 
either on/off with Spec is normal. thats why i hated mine(took it off after 36 miles).
It shook and vibrate and everythin else in between when you try to drive like normal car. All i could do was pop clutch, and drive like I stole it. didn't fly with me. Out spec, in Kingcobra

As far as your socond issue goes, I would check the cable attatchemnt. I had an issue where stopper on end of cable was not seated right - there for made clutch slightly disegaged. And also pedal was really stiff at first. when i pushed clutch in for the second time, I heard pop. and cable adjusted itself, and was fine after that - and replaced cable stopper by the Clutch fork.

That and did you get your flywheel reserfaced?
 
Alright I drove it around some more tonight.. I had popped the clutch pedal back and heard a noise, sounds like the cable adjusted itself. It engages down a bit more now, and it is not slipping at all anymore.. Im thinking the cable was way too tight and causing the clutch to not fully engage. In any case there is definetely no more slippage.. and driving it on the street really isnt that bad so far.. from first gear it doesnt really roll out like it used to, but its a performance clutch and wasnt really expecting a stock feel... This car is not my daily driver and will only be driven hard when it is :).
Yes I did get flywheel resurfaced.
 
just make sure it is disenguaging all the way, or else your tranny will be short lived. Save up about $100 and get a quadrant and cable adjuster. WELL worth it. You can set the sweet spot right where you want it.

Oh, and this clutch will be mor like an on/off switch for power, slipping it is a bitch. You may even get some chatter if you do manage to slip it. if you do, it is normal for this clutch, don't worry.
 
just make sure it is disenguaging all the way, or else your tranny will be short lived. Save up about $100 and get a quadrant and cable adjuster. WELL worth it. You can set the sweet spot right where you want it.

Oh, and this clutch will be mor like an on/off switch for power, slipping it is a bitch. You may even get some chatter if you do manage to slip it. if you do, it is normal for this clutch, don't worry.
Fixed mine 200 million percent.