CLUTCH OR CABLE ?

fastford91

New Member

Aug 15, 2006

254

1

0

Niagara ,Ontario, Canada

Sep 19, 2007

#1

• Sep 19, 2007

• #1

OK here's the problem! my car has been getting harder to shift through the gears! sometimes grinds going into 2nd and once it heats up it gets harder to go through the gears! Ive checked the trans fluid and its full! its a T5 !when it gets hot i have to almost push the clutch through the floor to get it into gear! so i am thinking either time for a new clutch or the cable is pooched!! some other symptoms are when sitting still on a flat surface in gear with my foot holding the clutch down i can kinda feel it grabbing on and off! not enough to make it go forward but enough that i can feel it wanting to go forward! no clutch smells! nothing like that !it a 91 lx 5.0 I'm the second owner of this car no winters on it at all ! and only 130,000 kms = to between 60-70 miles! I'm pretty sure it the original clutch as well as cable! I'm thinking cable and maybe an adjustable quadrant on the firewall might do the trick! but open to other suggestions and thoughts ! thanks

 

cenok is family

15 Year Member

Jun 25, 2003

1,409

69

79

Norman, Ok

Sep 19, 2007

#2

• Sep 19, 2007

• #2

sounds like your cable is stretched. time for a new one. get a Ford NON adjustable one. i personally have the ford racing adjustable one, and it's working well for me so far. this would also be a good time to upgrade the quadrant to an aluminum one as well. if you get a firewall adjuster, don't get one of the cheapo ones. my friend went through 3 of the 25$ ones in about 3 months...they would seize up on him and he couldn't adjust them anymore. i have the pro 5.0 firewall adjuster, VERY nice, solid piece. also if you get a firewall adjuster, you'll have to have atleast a double hook quadrant or a quick-release.

 

tank_567

Active Member

Mar 19, 2007

731

26

29

Raleigh, Nc

Sep 19, 2007

#3

• Sep 19, 2007

• #3

I had the same problem in my car I got a steeda cable and fire wall adjuster. Everything has been fine since then. If your clutch was gone you can shift it with out using the pedal.

 

fastford91

New Member

Aug 15, 2006

254

1

0

Niagara ,Ontario, Canada

Sep 19, 2007

#4

• Sep 19, 2007

• #4

hey i jacked up my car tonight and got under there and got the wife to push in the clutch pedal and release it a couple times while i was under there with a flash light! and right where the cable goes into the clutch the plastic casing is all melted away from the heat from my headers( i have long tubes) and i can see the cable moving back and forth! and it looks like its kinda stretched!its not frayed but kinda looks like it! so I'm guessing this is my problem! oh well ! i don't drive it much except for the weekends! only a couple more weeks before i put it away for the winter anyway! and now ill have a winter project to do and a reason to buy parts for my car! unless we get a lot of snow this year ! then ill be out on my sleds!! LOL oh well! thanks for the input guys!

 

twistedwankel

Member

Sep 7, 2006

200

0

17

Spring Hill, FL

Sep 19, 2007

#5

• Sep 19, 2007

• #5

fastford91 said:

hey i jacked up my car tonight and got under there and got the wife to push in the clutch pedal and release it a couple times while i was under there with a flash light!

Click to expand...

Get an auto trans. Then your wife can drive it, you can drive her home and watch a movie on your new cable. All year round.

 

S

spierce

Member

Jul 27, 2004

87

0

7

Tucson, AZ

Sep 19, 2007

#6

• Sep 19, 2007

• #6

clutch cable

well I've been through 3 cables so far and they all fail at where they go through the firewall .
so look under you brake booster and see if the cable hosuing looks all messed up.

the only one I've found so far that will not fail is the stock ford unit.
I've melted the Steeda unit, and 1 adjustable unit and one Checker/Autozone brand one.

Stock ones cost about 160 but it's worth it.

 

fastford91

New Member

Aug 15, 2006

254

1

0

Niagara ,Ontario, Canada

Sep 19, 2007

#7

• Sep 19, 2007

• #7

thanks for the ideas and the one laugh!

 

fastford91

New Member

Aug 15, 2006

254

1

0

Niagara ,Ontario, Canada

Sep 19, 2007

#8

• Sep 19, 2007

• #8

twistedwankel said:

Get an auto trans. Then your wife can drive it, you can drive her home and watch a movie on your new cable. All year round.

Click to expand...

Oh my god this guy is hilarious!! someone please help me i cant stop laughing! god dam comedian!!

 

Bottomlesspit

I started the longest tech thread in the known uni

Founding Member

Jan 1, 1999

2,636

2

48

Del Rio, TX

Sep 20, 2007

#9

• Sep 20, 2007

• #9

Mine started doing the same thing earlier this week. Long story short, I had to have my car towed home today. The cable came all apart just before the firewall...bound the cable where it couldn't move. Firewall adjuster didn't help at all. This was a steeda cable. Unfortunately, I had to go with what was at hand, so I got a cable from Advance Auto...where I was stranded. Went in like a charm, and actually appears to be quite a bit better quality than the Steeda one? I know I will have to eventually get a Ford cable, but hopefully it will keep me going for a little while.
Moral of the story...don't wait too long or you might get stranded too. IT went from getting a bit sticky to push the gears to complete failure instantly.
Good luck,
Ken

 

fastford91

New Member

Aug 15, 2006

254

1

0

Niagara ,Ontario, Canada

Sep 20, 2007

#10

• Sep 20, 2007

• #10

thanks guys im going to change it this weekend! like i said its not a daily driver so no worries about getting stuck! i dont drive it enough ! i only drive it on the weekends and thats about it! this summer alone i havnt put 5000kms on it! not even one oil change! but im going to go by one this weekend and install it!

 

S

stalkercobra89

New Member

Jun 19, 2005

30

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0

Sep 20, 2007

#11

• Sep 20, 2007

• #11

best advice is to get either a stock or maximum motorsports non adjustable cable i bought the mm quadrant, fwa and cable and it literally feels like a hydro and it shifts like its a brand new car. whatever you do stay as far away from adjustable cables and quadrants made for adjustable cables as possible. there crap and cause the cables to wear out and break right at the firewall. check out mm's site and they explain it all

 

fastford91

New Member

Aug 15, 2006

254

1

0

Niagara ,Ontario, Canada

Sep 21, 2007

#12

• Sep 21, 2007

• #12

stalkercobra89 said:

best advice is to get either a stock or maximum motorsports non adjustable cable i bought the mm quadrant, fwa and cable and it literally feels like a hydro and it shifts like its a brand new car. whatever you do stay as far away from adjustable cables and quadrants made for adjustable cables as possible. there crap and cause the cables to wear out and break right at the firewall. check out mm's site and they explain it all

Click to expand...

whats mm's site? where is it ?

 

V

v8only

Active Member

Jul 3, 2003

2,378

22

49

Sep 21, 2007

#13

• Sep 21, 2007

• #13

maximummotorsports.com

however, for the cheapest cable that's the same exact oem, go to

buyfordracing.com

as well, I agree that you need to tighten slack out of your cable. read the link in my sig for complete clutch cable adj workup.

one more note. If you're grinding going into second, 99.99% of the time, it's the sincros in the trans that has already gone bad, and it'll need a rebuild.

 

squeak93

15 Year Member

Jun 2, 2005

2,256

358

164

Joplin, Missouri

Sep 21, 2007

#14

• Sep 21, 2007

• #14

Had a bbk quadrant and adj cable, darn thing broke off where it mounted to the tranny. Fun thing to have happen in the middle of traffic. (luckily it left 1 strand attached to pull it into a parking lot)

Stay with the ford cable, get an GOOD adjuster and quadrant. You will love life for it.




ps, I have since learned my lesson on cheap parts. You get what you pay for.......