Help Me Get My RMS Fixed Right the First Time

AUSTEXLX · Apr 1, 2021

Okay, so Blue Devil rear main sealer didn't work this time and I'll be dropping the transmission.

Here are some of the details:
Manual transmission
The car has just under 63k miles
According to the original owner and the short-term previous owner, it still has the original clutch.

I'll need the following:
rear main seal
thread sealer

Questions:
fresh clutch?
new flywheel?
any other parts that should be replaced while I'm down there?

This car has an authentic 63k miles, but it lived most of its life outside, on Long Island, New York and Central/Southern Texas. I'm seeing that while the miles are low, many rubber and vinyl bits are worse for the wear.

So, if there's more for me to replace while I have the transmission out, I'd like to hear it. Thanks!

96pushrod · Apr 1, 2021

A clutch and replacement flywheel are fairly cheap, it’s good insurance to have them on hand if you decide you need them after tear down. You’ll need loctite, not thread sealer. I usually use red on the fw bolts and blue on the pressure plate.

Also, get you a repair sleeve for the rear main. Install it with a very very thin coat of rtv or retaining compound. Sometimes the crank is good and doesn’t need it, but it’s good to have just in case.

nickyb · Apr 3, 2021

New clutch,fw, press.plate,Throw out bearing, steel bearing retainer,new flywheel and pressure plate bolts,new rms with a sleeve,trans mount,clutch cable. Your dropping the trans. Do it right , do it once.Enjoy.

AUSTEXLX · Apr 5, 2021

About the thread sealer. I've read in other message threads that the threads need thread sealer, but @96pushrod mentioned that not to be accurate. Are there other opinions on this?

Thanks!

General karthief · Apr 5, 2021

AUSTEXLX said:
About the thread sealer. I've read in other message threads that the threads need thread sealer, but @96pushrod mentioned that not to be accurate. Are there other opinions on this?

Thanks!

The bolts holes are open into the crankcase I believe, loctite should seal the threads, use the loctite, you do not want those bolts coming loose.

AUSTEXLX · Apr 5, 2021

General karthief said:
The bolts holes are open into the crankcase I believe, loctite should seal the threads, use the loctite, you do not want those bolts coming loose.

Great, thanks.

AUSTEXLX · Apr 19, 2022

I can't believe that it took me a year to get around to this. I finished up last night, and started the car this morning. It won't shift into gear and the clutch pedal has a weird resistance. Something isn't right, but I'm not 100% sure what I may have done wrong.

I replaced the clutch, pressure plate, pilot bearing, and throwout bearing.
I added new, fresh fluid to the transmission, being mindful of the proper fill to the upper fill hole.
The clutch cable was reused.

I was meticulous in my work.
I inspected everything. The fork, and fork pivot were in good shape.
All the right bolts are in the right places. Anything that needed Loctite got it.
Splines and contact points of the pivot and clutch fork were greased.

When I started the car up this morning, it ran like a top, just like when I parked it months ago.

However, as I put the clutch pedal in and tried to shift, nothing.

When the engine is off. I can shift through the gears.

Engine on, with or without the clutch, nada.

So, before I go tearing everything back apart, any thoughts on where to go from here?

To me, this seems like something related to the clutch fork or throwout bearing is off?

Monkeybutt2000 · Apr 19, 2022

Sounds like you may have put the TB on wrong.

AUSTEXLX · Apr 19, 2022

Monkeybutt2000 said:
Sounds like you may have put the TB on wrong.

That certainly could be, but I felt confident that it was installed correctly. What should I look for? Can I see if something is wrong if I look through the clutch fork hole?

Monkeybutt2000 · Apr 19, 2022

It's not hard to do wrong really. Watch a couple vids on Youtube to ensure you put it on correctly. And yes,you should be able to look through where the clutch fork goes to see if it's on right.

General karthief · Apr 19, 2022

You should be able to see the tob through the opening for the clutch fork. The fork is mounted to the back of the tob, if it was on backwards I would think the fork would hit the front of the opening or at least make a ton of metal to metal noise.

AUSTEXLX · Apr 19, 2022

Monkeybutt2000 said:
It's not hard to do wrong really. Watch a couple vids on Youtube to ensure you put it on correctly. And yes,you should be able to look through where the clutch fork goes to see if it's on right.

Yes, I made note of that from both the instructions that came in the box, and an LMR video, and another photo tutorial. It is possible that I installed the throwout incorrectly, but I can't imagine that I did after triple-checking.

AUSTEXLX · Apr 19, 2022

General karthief said:
You should be able to see the tob through the opening for the clutch fork. The fork is mounted to the back of the tob, if it was on backwards I would think the fork would hit the front of the opening or at least make a ton of metal to metal noise.

No grinding or metal to metal noise, but something definitely isn't right.

When I go to look through the hole, what should I be looking for?

General karthief · Apr 19, 2022

Look at the orientation of the tob on the fork, the bearing is in front of the fork, so it appears thicker in front of the fork.
best I can explain.
Are you sure the cable didn't unhook from the quadrant or the adjuster pawl broke?

90sickfox · Apr 19, 2022

The cable may have slipped off the quadrant up above the gas pedal. The clutch fork may have also come off the pivot ball. ( I've had that happen before.

If it's either one of those you can fix it without taking the trans back out.

No metal scraping or banging makes me think it's a cable / quadrant issue.

There should be no slack in the cable.

Do you have the stock plastic quadrant ? Or, do you have an aftermarket quadrant with a firewall adjuster ?

AUSTEXLX · Apr 19, 2022

90sickfox said:
The cable may have slipped off the quadrant up above the gas pedal. The clutch fork may have also come off the pivot ball. ( I've had that happen before.

If it's either one of those you can fix it without taking the trans back out.

No metal scraping or banging makes me think it's a cable / quadrant issue.

There should be no slack in the cable.

Do you have the stock plastic quadrant ? Or, do you have an aftermarket quadrant with a firewall adjuster ?

There's definitely slack in the cable, so I'm hopeful that your assessment is right. It has the stock plastic quadrant, I assume as the car is mostly original. It maybe came off when I pulled the pedal up.

AUSTEXLX · Apr 19, 2022

AUSTEXLX said:
There's definitely slack in the cable, so I'm hopeful that your assessment is right. It has the stock plastic quadrant, I assume as the car is mostly original. It maybe came off when I pulled the pedal up.

First off, thanks so much for coming to this thread. This community has been a wealth of information as I learn about my fox. I appreciate your help and I'm hoping this is an easy and quick fix, but I'm prepared to pull it all apart again if I absolutely have to.

Ok, so here's a clear shot of the throwout bearing and clutch fork.

There is a bit of slack in the cable when I'm down at the clutch fork. Maybe a 3/8" to 1/2" of play.

It has the stock plastic quadrant. I am having a hard time getting to it. I caught a glimpse of it on a video when I put my camera up under the dash, but I couldn't see where I'd make the adjustment.

When I push the clutch pedal to the floor, it has a lot of resistance and I don't feel that anything is happening other than maybe the cable stretching.

Also, when I started it up, held the clutch pedal in, and held the shifter in the position of 1st gear, it would creep forward ever so slightly.

Monkeybutt2000 · Apr 19, 2022

Looks like you have it on correctly. Do you have another set of eyes that can watch the clutch fork action when the clutch pedal is depressed?

TIGGER · Apr 19, 2022

Before you tear into it again, i would unhook the cable from the clutch fork and assess where the resistance is coming from. You should be able to slide the T.O. bearing back and forth along the bearing retainer. Also you should be able to check the clutch pedal and cable setup while it is unhooked from the clutch fork and see if there is any resistance there. The cable and pedal should move smoothly. Good luck to you

Monkeybutt2000 · Apr 19, 2022

Also,when you said you could put it in gear and it crept forward,is telling me everything is connected. You're stock cable is probably stretched IMO.

Help Me Get My RMS Fixed Right the First Time

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I think they're a little easier to get off

I gotta say i never painted my nuts, Never Ever

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wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

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Mustang Master

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Mustang Master

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

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wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

Wasn't a pretty sight...and I've got big hands

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