Clutch cable suggestions

Well, since you brought it up, maybe you can help me find the camera button on my phone....

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It's the button with an icon that looks like a potato. You probably thought it was a picture of Joe. :rolleyes:
 
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I will never use a cable again that has the white plastic ends. I've replaced probably 50 of them. On customers cars they would jam up in the sheath or pull the sheath through that white plastic. The last cable I bought for myself was a Ford one from a local dealer. One of the autozone cables was OK too. It had the black plastic and felt like OEM. I have no idea what brand they were. The cheap white plastic ones were sold by Advance, AZ, and a few other places. I'd ride around from store to store until I found a good one. Napa used to carry a decent one also.
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(Pic stolen from FastDriver's post #23 in this thread)

Question about the "white plastic ends" that you refer to.... Are you referring to the white plastic end at the clutch fork end of the cable or the white piece at the firewall adjuster?
 

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Both. I've had nothing but bad luck from that design. If your clutch is heavier than stock carry an extra cable in the car. If you notice the clutch release point getting closer to the floor. Check the end that goes through the firewall. If clutch starts getting tighter and tighter make sure the cable moves freely. I hate them but the better ones are getting harder and harder to find.
 
Would the only drawback of going to a Hydraulic set up be cost?

The hydraulic throw out bearings do fail. Transmission has to be pulled to replace them. The ones that mount on the bellhousing and push the fork are better but people have had issues with the travel not being far enough causing the clutch to not fully disengage. These issues were all over the forums when the kits first came out and may be solved now. Hydraulic clutches are so much nicer on the knee.
 
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I know E4ZZ-7K553-A is for a 1993 T5 V8 car or at least that is what Ford Parts Giant says it fits. I did run across a cable at Greens Sales Company but the part number is E4ZZ7K553B but I cannot seem to find that part number anywhere. Could be a typo so it would be worth a call to them tomorrow when the open if anyone is interested.

I would just ask that if you get it and it is indeed one of the last OEM cables and you hook Noobz up and post pics?
 
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The hydraulic throw out bearings do fail. Transmission has to be pulled to replace them. The ones that mount on the bellhousing and push the fork are better but people have had issues with the travel not being far enough causing the clutch to not fully disengage. These issues were all over the forums when the kits first came out and may be solved now. Hydraulic clutches are so much nicer on the knee.
I can almost guarentee that my McLeod "Original Street Twin" Disk, in 2 cars, is about as nice as it gets, even though it uses a cable.

I was told that the hydraulics would not work with my '03 Cobra Trans in Black Jack. Apparently, and I'm probably going to screw up the terminology, there's no base or backing plate on the trans case from which the TO bearing can press off of and into the pressure plate. So, I would say there are at least 3 downsides:
1. Compatibility
2. packaging - gotta stick a hydraulic reservoir somewhere
3. Cost. Was cheaper to have a clutch fork cut and shortened to clear my BBK longtubes than to buy a hydraulic kit. Plus, I trust the simplicity of the mechanical setup.

For me, familiarity with the cable + clutch fork meant that hydraulic wasn't for me.
 
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I've gone through several clutches on the same cable but they were mostly variations of the CenterForce clutch. They're not as violent on cables and quadrants as kits with high plate pressures, although, my first aftermarket clutch completely [ate] the stock quadrant and prawl.
 
I've gone through several clutches on the same cable but they were mostly variations of the CenterForce clutch. They're not as violent on cables and quadrants as kits with high plate pressures, although, my first aftermarket clutch completely [ate] the stock quadrant and prawl.
Good point. The 3 ways to get more power/torque capacity in a clutch:
1) Clamp load, which also means more pedal effort
2) Materials, which when aggressive can cause chatter & may bite more violently, making it *hit* the drivestrain harder, which combined with a sticky tire can break a glass trans, like the T5
3) Surface area (i.e. twin disk) - cost more, more finicky to properly adjust in my experience, but when right can provide awesome capacity at low pedal effort.

When I was stretching cables, it was happening on the high clamp load clutches, but only with :poo: cables.
 
.... did anyone try running the part numbers on rear counter yet?
Ran E4ZZ-7K553-A last night. Showed one dealer having one left. Sent an email requesting pricing and shipping costs. Got a response back within a couple of hours. Here is their response:

New reproduction cable is $75
New NOS Ford cable is $395
plus $10 shipping.

Regards, Gary NOS Parts Source 913-220-5746
 
Yea, but they don't quite look like brand new, unused parts. The fact the boxes are stamped "recovered material" over the Ford part number makes me very suspicious of their origin. I think that they are probably OE Ford parts, but they look like they might be some sort of take-off, or something other than a brand new, never-been-out-of-the-box (except for a pic) part. May be why they are so "cheap"!

A few years from now, we may be saying "Remember when you could get an OE Fox clutch cable for only $250". :doh: