changing the quadrant

[canesstangnitro]

I have a centerforce duel friction clutch on my 1987 ford mustang and I put a ford racing adjustable clutch cable on today. I bought it with the quadrant but I dont know how to change the quadrant. I know it is by the pedal in the car but does anyone have any instructions on how to change the clutch quadrant? can I run the adjustable clutch cable on a stock quadrant. I need help! thanks

 

[dragnazz5.0]

i would just get the old quadrant out and put the new one in...you will be much happier in the long run.

this link will answer all your questions about anything quadrant related and clutch related. good luck

http://www.thompsontransmission.com...ustment.html#Clutch quadrant/adjuster install

 

[Saleen0679]

Ford Racing Quadrant installation instructions

http://www.fordracingparts.com/download/instructionsheets/FordInstShtM-7583-A.pdf

 

[dragnazz5.0]

Ford Racing Quadrant installation instructions

http://www.fordracingparts.com/download/instructionsheets/FordInstShtM-7583-A.pdf

haha, they make it sound so easy....obviously they have never replaced one before. the plastic pawl is the devil!

 

[Roland69]

brake the old one out.....it will save you time and you wont need to go for anger management when your done

 

[93GTosu]

brake the old one out.....it will save you time and you wont need to go for anger management when your done

i agree.

also...maybe take the drivers seat out? it was real irritating having to lay half in the car under the dash trying to swap that darn thing. woulda been real nice to have just layed down in the car. woulda been easier. just a suggestion.

 

[Roland69]

I will be taking my dash out to do a heater core and I will do the quad then

 

[jrichker]

Plan on taking the driver's front seat out and laying a piece of plywood over the exposed seat mount studs. I have been told that it is much easier if you peel the carpet back from under the clutch pedal.

The clutch quadrant kit I used (FMS) was somewhat of a pain to install. This was because I had a real bear of a time getting the old quadrant out due to lack of clearance between the shaft that supports the quadrant and a bracket that was welded under the dash.

When you put the new quadrant in, the quadrant support shaft and the pin in the end of the clutch pedal MUST be absolutely parallel. Mine wasn’t and I ended up drilling the clutch pivot pin hole in the new quadrant slightly oversize to get it to fit.

The FMS cable has a steel ring with an ear with a hole in it on the firewall end of the cable. I pushed the ring flush with the firewall and drilled a hole through the ear and put a sheet metal screw in it to hold the cable in place – makes the whole thing easier to assemble & adjust.

The binding common to adjustable cables is often due to misplacement of the adjusting nuts on the fork end of the cable. Both nuts should be on the back side of the fork so that the domed nut faces the fork and the other nut serves as jam or locknut to the domed nut.

Have fun and keep lots of Band-Aids handy – you may need them.

 

[ronburgundy]

just put a hayes kit in mine, the instructions make it sound so easy. that pawl is NOT cool. plan on spending a couple hours for the whole job. removing the seat is pretty much a must.

 

[bentley429]

You dont HAVE to take the drivers seat out depending on how big you are, Iam about 5' 7" and I can get under there fairly easy.

 

[Darkwriter77]

Ditto. I've done the last three quadrant swaps (on mine and my buddy's Foxes) in less than 2 hours without removing the seat or carpet, only needing to slide it back all the way. I kind of cheated, though - I took a little hacksaw blade on a handle (y'know, kind of like the ones you'd use to cut out holes in drywall for electrical outlets), sawed off that round little "ear" thing on the side of the pawl that keeps it from being able to be spun all the way around, and with the spring clips off, it all just slides right outta there.

Please, please, PLEASE do not use an adjustible clutch cable when you go to put the new stuff in there. You will NOT be happy when that thing eventually frays out and snaps on you in the middle of traffic one day. Stick with the OEM piece and a firewall adjuster, and you should be just fine.

 

[jrichker]

Everyone seems to bash the adjustable cables. I have had the FMS adjustable cable for 4 years without any problems with it breaking or stretching. Too bad that I have the only sucess story with adjustable cables. The other manufacturer's products must not be as good as the FMS parts.

 

[millhouse]

Everyone seems to bash the adjustable cables. I have had the FMS adjustable cable for 4 years without any problems with it breaking or stretching. Too bad that I have the only sucess story with adjustable cables. The other manufacturer's products must not be as good as the FMS parts.

I've had nothing but good luck with the FMS adjustables.

In no way should replacing the quadrant/cable take more than an hour tops. Seriously...as mentioned before brake the old one out as it's much easier. I myself never had a problem with leaving the seat in and I'm 6'1. Just fold the back down, grab your light and go to town. If your under their for more than 10 minutes you should take a brake and re-think your strategy anywys.

 

[Roland69]

I'm 5,11 and 185 pounds and I have been under a few mustangs doing quads and cables at work

 

[Graydon5oh]

brake the old one out.....it will save you time and you wont need to go for anger management when your done

thats what iv done on both mine and a couple friends stangs..........its the quick and easy way and its a part not worth saving anyways

 

[Roland69]

if mine still worked good I might try to save it. but it slips once in a while and I have to adjust all the time so it's going in the trash

 

[HISSIN50]

Everyone seems to bash the adjustable cables. I have had the FMS adjustable cable for 4 years without any problems with it breaking or stretching. Too bad that I have the only sucess story with adjustable cables. The other manufacturer's products must not be as good as the FMS parts.

You're not alone Joe. I've posted before that I liked my old SVO long-throw single hook quad and Ford adjustable cable. When I compared the Adjustable unit and the OEM-style cable, they were fairly close in terms of cable thickness and ease of movement (even though my adjustable cable was about 5 years old).



In general regarding adjustable cables (I can't speak for parts store stuff - I've not used it), tangibles like cable-routing and burrs on the quadrant, misalignment, etc would play largely into the longevity of a cable.

 

[88gt]

I also have an adjustable cable. It is 5 years old now. After getting it where I wanted it, no issues at all. I have the steeda quick release quadrant as well.


~you may need to move the clutch pedal around some to help in removing the pawl.

 

[canesstangnitro]

I have the fms adjustable cable on and quadrant on and now I am having problems with 3 things on it. The kit I bought from ford did not come with 2 spacers so it was hitting the shaft so I cut a piece from my old quadrant and made one spacer with it and it did not rub anymore. Now the cable will not stay on the quadrant because there is not much on the fms quadrant to hold the cable on it. when I release the clutch, it will fall off the quadrant. The clutch fork is also very loose under the car and I can move it a lot. Should the kit have come with the spacers or will the cable stay on the quadrant if I get a firewall adjuster? I hope someone has had problems when they got this far because I dont know if the fork is going out or the play in it will be tight when I get the firewall adjuster

 

[jerry beach]

This job can be a nightmare if you dont follow protocol. Bend that metal brace (dash support) that is in the way. The pawl will slide right off then. I stuck a pipe through the clutch cable hole in the firewall from the engine side and provided a little clearance. Be careful not to bend the firewall, it really doesnt take much to move the brace though.

I tried to demo the pawl, but its in a tough spot to reach and it keeps moving around.