Installed King Cobra clutch...and questions inside...

5spd GT · Sep 28, 2004

Well lets just say today has been a long day...

First off the taking it all off was the easiest part...we had some troubleshooting to do with the clutch cable but all worked out fine...I'll explain later...

Well right after school I went straight to my buddies house after picking up the flywheel being resurfaced ($25)...and we began the install...we had a potetially serious problem with the flywheel bolt holes (the ones where the pressure plate bolts into them) but I'm not going to go into that...

Anyways...we bolt up the flywheel with an impact wrench...center the clutch with the alignment tool and torqued it down...installed the transmission...hooked up the new speedo gear and connected everything back...put on the new aluminum driveshaft (You can't get any sort of socket or torque wrench on those bolts because it sticks out more than the stock one does by the u-joints...)...so a couple of us torqued it down as much as possible with a wrench...I'll check it in a week...

Here is where "my" problem came up...well after getting the H-pipe back on...we went to hook up the new OEM clutch cable on the Steeda quadrant (2 hooks)...and put it on the top hook...and found out the new OEM cable wouldn't reach...well we got to thinking after trying to adjust with the firewall adjuster and that didn't work either...well then we took off the rubber piece off the end of the firewall end of the cable and filed down part of the plastic piece that the rubber grommet was over (you guys that know clutch cables know what I'm talking about) and it slid in the firewall adjuster and gave us that extra inch we needed... ...and it popped right on the new clutch fork with ease...

The King Cobra is not hard to push in at all...my stock clutch with the adjustable cable (that was the problem ) was considerably harder than the King Cobra...the KC feels mushy compared to the previous...so I am happy

Okay here is the couple questions...

Alright (to make this easier on me in the morning)...my clutch is grabbing just a little higher than I want and the clutch wants...which way do I turn the firewall adjuster to make it grab towards the floor (make the grab happen lower)...do I got lefty loosy or righty tighty...

Also I noticed the first couple times I left in the car to test it that the clutch pedal shook (I could feel it with my foot) at the top of its travel as it is in the rested position...but it seemed to fade away the more I drove it...it currently has about 35 miles on it (most of it just cruising to 60)...I'm going to break it in easy...what is the flywheel vibration from even though it is pretty much gone if not gone...is that the "chatter" people talk about...is that normal...

Like I said the King Cobra isn't hard at all...and I found out why my clutch pedal was so hard...it was the "dirty" adjustable cable on there... ...the OEM one fixed it right up...

Also my speedo gear still bounces a tad at the lowest speeds...I guess it is my internal drive gear or my speedo sensor?...the new speedo gear definatly helped out...

Aluminum driveshaft at this point don't seem like it did anything that I noticed...

HISSIN50 · Sep 28, 2004

nice work.

if you did not, i might put some threadlock on the DS bolts (at the pumpkin).

some clutch chatter can be normal during the break in period.

good luck and nice work.

5spd GT · Sep 28, 2004

HISSIN50 said:
nice work.

if you did not, i might put some threadlock on the DS bolts (at the pumpkin).

some clutch chatter can be normal during the break in period.

good luck and nice work.

Thanks...well it has some loctite on the bolts already so we installed them as is...I'll check them...

93 teal terror · Sep 28, 2004

not sure which direction you have to turn your adjuster...but the cable needs to be loosened to lower the release point on the pedal. If its like everything else I would assume lefty loosey

Grn92LX · Sep 28, 2004

You been running a firewall adjuster AND the rubber bushing at the end of the cable on thw firewall? Thats incorrect to begin with if im reading this right. Glad you figured it out! Now get those vc's on and hit the track!

Turn your adjuster clockwise to loosen it and it'll grab lower.

Pitch4pd · Sep 28, 2004

For ur adjuster you want to turn it to the right (tighter) to bring it to the floor. Most of us are use to turning to the left to bring it up. Peddle vibration should go away once it is broken in. I had the same problem with an adjustable cable makeing it feel hard as hell so I know what you meanwith that.

goodluck
CHarles

jrichker · Sep 28, 2004

The binding common to adjustable cables is often due to misplacement of the adjusting nuts on the fork end of the cable. This will also cause the cable to wear and fray. 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.

Killercanary · Sep 28, 2004

Good you got it in. I didn't use a flywheel spacer either JFYI. I drove mine yesterday to help break it in and it performed flawlessly during the 120 miles I put on it. No chatter, less pedal effort than my FMS HD... I LOVE it. I'm running a Pro Motion clutch setup BTW.

5spd GT · Sep 28, 2004

Grn92LX said:
You been running a firewall adjuster AND the rubber bushing at the end of the cable on thw firewall? Thats incorrect to begin with if im reading this right. Glad you figured it out! Now get those vc's on and hit the track!

Turn your adjuster clockwise to loosen it and it'll grab lower.

No, I never ran the rubber bushing and the firewall adjuster...we were just wondering why it wasn't going on and got to looking at the old adjustable cable (2-3 times harder to pull the cable through)...and found out that it didn't have that rubber bushing on it so we took the rubber bushing off the OEM one and that was that...and it reached to the clutch fork then...

VC gaskets are coming in today along with my headlight adjusting plates...

Clockwise...alright I'll go out and try that here in a bit...

jricker - We had the "old" adjustable cable done just like you said...they locked against each other...the problem was that it had some sort of "smooth" friction in there...laying the new OEM cable and old adjustable cable by each other the OEM was much easier to pull in and out from a clutch cable stand point...it must have been dirty up in the ADJ cable...

Thanks for the firewall adjusting info...

killercanary - You got a much more "powerful" clutch than I do...glad you got yours on to...I like my soft pedal to

So the clutch pedal vibration was chatter huh?...it is almost gone now...if not already...

All in all it wasn't a bad day yesterday doing it...I got to watch a couple of my buddies in their (00 and 02 Gt's) do some "victory burnouts and flybys" before we all left...

5spd GT · Sep 28, 2004

Well today the chatter was there (it is there more when the clutch is "cold"...)...so the chatter is the vibration in the pedal right? Then once I get some shifts out of it (a few miles) then it almost completely goes away...normal correct? or no? During the break-in procedure...I do just need to be easy on the clutch to break it in right...?

The car seems to "die" harder...when I turn the key off...when the car is shut off it isn't as smooth?

86GT-Top · Sep 29, 2004

cold clutch chatter almost sounds like a pilot bearing/bushing. Im guessing you replaced that so i dont know what to tell you.

5spd GT · Sep 29, 2004

86GT-Top said:
cold clutch chatter almost sounds like a pilot bearing/bushing. Im guessing you replaced that so i dont know what to tell you.

Yeah a buddy of mine installed a new one...he popped the old one out and tapped in the new one...

I hear no squeeling or anything...so the TOB is greased right I guess...

I sure hope that chatter goes away...I'm assuming it is normal during the break-in period...

qtrracer · Sep 29, 2004

Not sure "clutch chatter" as described in your post is what I understand the term to mean. With that said, on some cars running an aftermarket quadrant and FW adjuster the pedal just "vibrates" in the resting position. In my kit, Steeda advised that there had to be "slight" pressure on the cable to keep the quadrant in the right position (to keep it from shifting around on the shaft). According to the manuals, the stock quadrant put pressure on the TOB/pressure plate, which generally kept the pedal from vibrating. The short of it is, with my KC clutch I have never had the "chatter" you describe (now has about 2,000 miles on it). I have adjusted my FW adjuster so that I have the "slight" pressure on my quadrant; the pedal engages the clutch just below where the brake pedal hangs. I don’t have the “vibration.” Car is an ’86 with 112K on the odo. Just my .02.

v8only · Sep 29, 2004

fyi, the fms hd and the k/c clutch are the exact same thing, with the only difference being pedal effort. Performance is the same.

These guys have it right. In your other post I told you to turn to the left, that was a goof, turn to the right to loosen the cable.

5spd GT · Sep 29, 2004

v8only said:
fyi, the fms hd and the k/c clutch are the exact same thing, with the only difference being pedal effort. Performance is the same.

These guys have it right. In your other post I told you to turn to the left, that was a goof, turn to the right to loosen the cable.

Yeah I kind of adjusted it the other day...(turning right)...Do ya'll think that my clutch pedal vibration is all in the adjustment?

My clutch pedal didn't vibrate before with the Steeda quadrant, adjustable cable, and stock clutch from NAPA...but now it does...

It only does it when you have the car in gear...in neutral the pedal does not vibrate if that helps pinpoint a possible problem...

HISSIN50 · Sep 29, 2004

5spd GT said:
Yeah I kind of adjusted it the other day...(turning right)...Do ya'll think that my clutch pedal vibration is all in the adjustment?

My clutch pedal didn't vibrate before with the Steeda quadrant, adjustable cable, and stock clutch from NAPA...but now it does...

It only does it when you have the car in gear...in neutral the pedal does not vibrate if that helps pinpoint a possible problem...

my two cents. are you sure your clutch is COMPLETELY disengaging? in other words, think of another car with a properly operating clutch. if you were to put it in gear and let the clutch out ever so slightly, to just begin to bog the motor - you get some vibes. if you have done this before or know what i mean, does that sound plausable? it would be disengaging enough to allow gear engagement, but not disengaging all the way.

good luck.

5spd GT · Sep 29, 2004

HISSIN50 said:
my two cents. are you sure your clutch is COMPLETELY disengaging? in other words, think of another car with a properly operating clutch. if you were to put it in gear and let the clutch out ever so slightly, to just begin to bog the motor - you get some vibes. if you have done this before or know what i mean, does that sound plausable? it would be disengaging enough to allow gear engagement, but not disengaging all the way.

good luck.

How can I guarantee the clutch pedal is disengaging? What tests can I do...I read I can jack up the rear end and push in the clutch while someone spins the tires and let off the clutch (while in 1st?) and see where it locks them up? But how would that tell me if it is disengaing all the way...I guess the closer it releases off the floor the more likely it is disengaging all the way right...

Oh yeah...I can push in the clutch (3/4-1 inch) and the vibration (chatter) will stop...does that mean it is to loose up top? Could that be related to the disengagement theory...?

v8only · Sep 30, 2004

The fact that you say this leads me to believe it is too loose.

does it pick up RIGHT off the floor?? is it a little stiff putting into gears? excessive grind in reverse??

That little bit of vibration is likely the throwout bearing moving around because it's not tightened snug against the pressure plate like it should be.

you've kinda got the jack thing right, but not all the way. Jack the car up, JACKSTANDS in the rear. fire it up, put in first gear, leave your foot on the clutch. If your adjustment is too loose, and if you are not disengaging all the way, your rear wheels will spin on their own with it in first and your foot fully pressed down. If this happens, leave it in first with your foot on the clutch, and have a friend tighten the firewall adjuster until those wheels stop spinning.

Honestly, you've got to get a feel for this, it's simple. PUt the car in first gear, press the clutch down. VERY VERY SLOWLY let up, give it no gas. Do the rpms bog or does the car start to move forward RIGHT away, or do you have to let up on the clutch a little before it bogs/moves forward? You want to have to let up a little before it bogs, and that means you're fully disengaging. I (think) you are probably a little too loose right now from what you describe. let us know what you find.

5spd GT · Sep 30, 2004

I'm going to go try all that here in a little while...I'll report back soon...

So if the tires don't spin (when jacked up) that means it is disengaging all the way?

HISSIN50 · Oct 1, 2004

V8, glad to see we are on the same page (not disengaging all the way equaling being too loose, as you put it).

5sp, yep, if the wheels dont turn with the clutch pedal in and it in first, it is disengaging all the way.
do be very careful with the car while it is on jack stands. i mean real careful (it is actually something i personally dont recommend to strangers, as it can go wrong).

now NOTE: since you say the vibes go away when depressing the pedal an inch or so (which i did not know before), i agree with V8 about the TOB. i would just dial in a bit of preload (as you should anyhow) so you know you are disengaging the clutch as much as possible and see what gives. it may simply be a TOB/retainer issue.

good luck bud.

Installed King Cobra clutch...and questions inside...

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