New clutch in, questions about adjustment

[302GTS]

Well the night before last was spent with some friends, a case of beer, and a brand new clutch kit courtesy of Ford Racing. It was DEFINITELY the throwout bearing. It came apart into 3 pieces in my hand, along with the ball bearings spilling over the ground as soon as I pulled the tranny away from the old clutch. New one went in real nice, and overall I love the pedal feel, and the lack of noise from my throwout bearing! However, when refilling the tranny with ATF, I ran out after about 2 quarts of it going in. I plan on filling it up all the way tonight or tomorrow, but had some questions regarding my clutch's engagement. It releases a bit above halfway off the floor now, but when I tried adjusting it with the pedal being pulled up, it won't pull up. How hard do I have to pull it? I'm wondering if a previous owner may have put in an aftermarket quadrant possibly? Also, going into first or reverse from a stop takes a good amount of work most of the time to get into gear - could that be caused by not having all the tranny fluid in it? Or would it be related to the cable needing adjustment? Anyone have pictures of where the quadrant is located so I can get to adjusting?

 

[HISSIN50]

The quadrant is above the gas pedal. Look up there and see if you have a yellowed piece of plastic or shiny metal. If the latter, you need a FWA or adjustable cable (choose the former, with a non-adjustable cable).

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

First, get the right amount of fluid in there. Second, make sure you are using a stock cable. Third, to pull up on the pedal, do just that, pull up, then push it down. If it's out of adjustment, you'll hear a click or even a snap. That's the teeth releasing and reseting. Then push it down and it's adjusted.

 

[302GTS]

Sorry, I forgot to get back to this thread. The shifting is smooth as silk now, and the clutch is operating just perfectly. My guess is that the new ATF had to make its rounds through the tranny before the shifting smoothed out I guess. As for the cable, it wasn't an issue. It's perfectly adjusted, and is operating smoothly. I have 200 miles on the clutch, and have another 300 to go before I can really test it out. It's been a torturous week of driving at <3000 rpms, haha.

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

You can take it higher than 3,000 RPM's. It isn't the RPM's that kills a new clutch. It is shifting hard and banging gears.

I had a new FMS 10.5" clutch installed in my 96 Cobra in November 2008. After the install, they drove it around the shop for like a mile or two, then strapped it on the dyno. He made two 4th gear pulls and retuned my car. It was fine, they do it all the time. He told me to just take it easy shifting.

 

[302GTS]

You can take it higher than 3,000 RPM's. It isn't the RPM's that kills a new clutch. It is shifting hard and banging gears.

I had a new FMS 10.5" clutch installed in my 96 Cobra in November 2008. After the install, they drove it around the shop for like a mile or two, then strapped it on the dyno. He made two 4th gear pulls and retuned my car. It was fine, they do it all the time. He told me to just take it easy shifting.

Very good info! I really appreciate it, considering I miss hearing the car at WOT, severely. I'll definitely take it easy on the shifting though. Thanks.