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  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
  • 1994 - 1995 Specific Tech

Did my clutch cable snap?

  • Thread starter Thread starter will_95gt
  • Start date Start date Mar 28, 2010

will_95gt

Member
Jul 27, 2004
298
1
16
Austin, TX
Mar 28, 2010
#1
  • Mar 28, 2010
  • #1
I hopped in my car today ready to leave campus. As I pressed my clutch pedal down to start the car I hear somewhat of a pop and the clutch pedal loses all resistance. It takes a mere breeze to push the pedal to the floor now and the clutch obviously isn't engaging.

The pedal still returns to it's original position though, which is puzzling to me. Unless there is an actual spring somewhere around the pedal that pushes it back to it's original position, wouldn't the cable still have to be intact in order for this return to take place?

The car is stuck along side a pretty busy hill-side road so I can't do much with it without getting it towed but if anyone could point me towards some tutorials/diagrams that might help diagnosing the problem I would be very appreciative!

Thaaanks.
 

revhead347

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.
20+ Year Stangneter
Jun 14, 2004
9,289
1,632
214
Acworth, GA
Mar 28, 2010
#2
  • Mar 28, 2010
  • #2
Yeah, sounds like a clutch cable. Being on a hill is to your advantage. You can start the car in gear rolling down the hill, and just drive it to a better place where you can change the cable out. Buy an original cable, they are much better than aftermarket ones.

Kurt
 

will_95gt

Member
Jul 27, 2004
298
1
16
Austin, TX
Mar 28, 2010
#3
  • Mar 28, 2010
  • #3
Unfortunately, even if I got to the bottom of the hill, I'd have two red lights to get through before I would be on my way to anywhere helpful. Thanks for the info though.
 

Hef5.0weisen

20+ Year Stangneter
Mar 5, 2004
574
4
28
NorthWest Florida
Mar 28, 2010
#4
  • Mar 28, 2010
  • #4
good times driving a manual trans w/out a clutch to use...the looks you get...

might be worth a look under the dash, on the quadrant (assuming its the original), there is a plastic ratchet type gizmo on there...(I think) it is supposed to take the slack out of the cable over time...again its plastic, could have gone too far and disengaged....might be able to finagle it enough to get home...

just a thought,.... also never heard anything good about aftermarket cables...
 

revhead347

Apparently my ex-husband made that mistake.
20+ Year Stangneter
Jun 14, 2004
9,289
1,632
214
Acworth, GA
Mar 28, 2010
#5
  • Mar 28, 2010
  • #5
I actually have a BBK aftermarket cable in my car, been there for 10 years with a very heavy clutch, and I've never had a problem. I've heard the stock one is much stronger though.

Speaking of driving without a clutch. I remember about 3 years ago when the clutch slave cylinder went bad on my truck in the middle of the ghetto. It was 4 am in the morning, and I HAD TO GET TO WORK. I was on probation with the company, and you simply could not give less than 2 hours notice for not showing up. I started it in gear, and drove it the remaing 28 miles without a clutch.

Kurt
 
E

eatsricejcd

New Member
Mar 24, 2010
76
0
0
Mar 29, 2010
#6
  • Mar 29, 2010
  • #6
i drove from mizzou all the way to chicago with out a clutch ... to the op just get a quardrant and clutch cable. all the tools youll need are a crobar and some patience

pic below is what the quadrant looks like

Google Image Result for http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/mustangtuning/clutch-cable-install-17.jpg
 

will_95gt

Member
Jul 27, 2004
298
1
16
Austin, TX
Mar 30, 2010
#7
  • Mar 30, 2010
  • #7
revhead347 said:
I actually have a BBK aftermarket cable in my car, been there for 10 years with a very heavy clutch, and I've never had a problem. I've heard the stock one is much stronger though.

Speaking of driving without a clutch. I remember about 3 years ago when the clutch slave cylinder went bad on my truck in the middle of the ghetto. It was 4 am in the morning, and I HAD TO GET TO WORK. I was on probation with the company, and you simply could not give less than 2 hours notice for not showing up. I started it in gear, and drove it the remaing 28 miles without a clutch.

Kurt
Click to expand...

lol, now that's tenacity.

I checked under the dash like Hef advised and after maneuverer the quadrant back and forth a couple times in attempt to get a grasp of how things were put together under there, this literally fell into my hand:
 

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will_95gt

Member
Jul 27, 2004
298
1
16
Austin, TX
Mar 30, 2010
#8
  • Mar 30, 2010
  • #8
I guess my next question is, how hard is it to replace a clutch cable? I have a guide in my all encompassing "fix your mustang" book but it's fairly limited. Anybody know of a good pictoral guide online? Does any one have any specific tips for the process in our cars?

Most importantly, will this be possible for me to do myself and without jacking up my car? It's at stock height and I think I can get under there somewhat. The car is on the side of a busy road in a parking spot so I wouldn't be able to jack it up.

I'm also wondering if there is a temporary fix, like a way I could attach something to the other end of the cable or temporarily mend it back together until I can get it home.
 
I

igotyofire

Member
Feb 26, 2004
774
1
19
Southern California
Mar 30, 2010
#9
  • Mar 30, 2010
  • #9
is your car lowered? i remember when my mechanic did mine, we actually had to use a 96-98 4.6 cable becuz thats all they had in stock locally(but as a sidenote the 94-95 wont work with the later) & no firewall adjusters in stock either, but i know there is a cover on the outside of the T5 that needs to be removed. thats the 1st thing that comes to mind.
 

will_95gt

Member
Jul 27, 2004
298
1
16
Austin, TX
Mar 30, 2010
#10
  • Mar 30, 2010
  • #10
igotyofire said:
is your car lowered? i remember when my mechanic did mine, we actually had to use a 96-98 4.6 cable becuz thats all they had in stock locally(but as a sidenote the 94-95 wont work with the later) & no firewall adjusters in stock either, but i know there is a cover on the outside of the T5 that needs to be removed. thats the 1st thing that comes to mind.
Click to expand...

No my car is the stock height.
 

Adam95GT

New Member
Aug 14, 2006
2,564
3
0
Burlington, NJ
Mar 30, 2010
#11
  • Mar 30, 2010
  • #11
will_95gt said:
No my car is the stock height.
Click to expand...

Just drive it to a place you can fix it. I doubt you will be able to get the the bolt on the cover of the clutch fork.
 

Hef5.0weisen

20+ Year Stangneter
Mar 5, 2004
574
4
28
NorthWest Florida
Mar 30, 2010
#12
  • Mar 30, 2010
  • #12
pretty simple, old one out, new one in.

if you get a quadrant while you're at it you may have to take the pedal assy out, again, easy, no smoke and mirrors to it.

from memory, get underneath and take off the clutch dust shield, should be a screw and a c-clip to remove around there, then pop the cable off the clutch fork. Somewhere along the cable housing (under the hood now)there should be a bracket with a bolt, remove the bolt, bracket will stay on the cable housing and a new one (mine did) will have a new bracket. There might be 1 sheet metal screw at the firewall to remove...since yours is broke, no need to un latch it from the pedal, just pull it on out. that should be removal. opposite for install...I put mine on the pedal side first then ran it to the clutch, and had to compress the clutch a bit to get it to mate up, a good c-clamp helped out there.

not trying to advertise for them or spend your money for you, but Maximum Motorsports has a nice quadrant, adjuster and cable as a package, price was right as well.

not sure there is a temp fix, but you can drive it clutchless, not the nicest thing you can do to your car, but you won't kill anything...I do that kinda stuff in the middle of the night. If you can get to a safe parking lot you're golden, easy enough to swap out right there. Just bring a jackstand and some basic tools...I always have a cooler of beer when I mess with my car as well.............I'm usually in my driveway though.

hope that helps,
-Hef
 

will_95gt

Member
Jul 27, 2004
298
1
16
Austin, TX
Mar 30, 2010
#13
  • Mar 30, 2010
  • #13
HmmMMmmmMMmmm,


I'm almost tempted to pedal the road bike up there tonight at like 12:30 and see if I can get it home by trying to crank it up in gear. It's about 3 miles away.
 

Adam95GT

New Member
Aug 14, 2006
2,564
3
0
Burlington, NJ
Mar 30, 2010
#14
  • Mar 30, 2010
  • #14
will_95gt said:
HmmMMmmmMMmmm,


I'm almost tempted to pedal the road bike up there tonight at like 12:30 and see if I can get it home by trying to crank it up in gear. It's about 3 miles away.
Click to expand...

no big deal... just rev to match.
 

will_95gt

Member
Jul 27, 2004
298
1
16
Austin, TX
Mar 30, 2010
#15
  • Mar 30, 2010
  • #15
Well, wish me luck then! I'm mostly just not looking forward to the bike ride lol.
 

Adam95GT

New Member
Aug 14, 2006
2,564
3
0
Burlington, NJ
Mar 31, 2010
#16
  • Mar 31, 2010
  • #16
will_95gt said:
Well, wish me luck then! I'm mostly just not looking forward to the bike ride lol.
Click to expand...

make it home?
 

will_95gt

Member
Jul 27, 2004
298
1
16
Austin, TX
Mar 31, 2010
#17
  • Mar 31, 2010
  • #17
Sure did! In the passenger seat of a tow truck, lol. The stang wouldn't start!
 

will_95gt

Member
Jul 27, 2004
298
1
16
Austin, TX
Apr 10, 2010
#18
  • Apr 10, 2010
  • #18
Update:

Got this in the mail:
Steeda Double Hook Clutch Quadrant and Clutch Adjustment Kit

It took me about 3 hours to install everything: quadrant, cable, and firewall adjuster. There were a few tricky parts but it seems to be running smoothly. The only thing I'm a little concerned with is the small squeak thats emitted each time I press the clutch completely to the floor. The rubber cable shield must be rubbing on something in the engine bay and I'm not sure what it might be. Anybody else ever had this happen after replacing a clutch cable?

Do you guys think it will go away after a while?
 
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