possible clutch problem

ceracer33

New Member
Aug 30, 2005
118
1
0
a while back i installed a mcleod clutch disk with a spec pressure plate in my car. these parts were supplied to me when i bought my tranny used a while back. the clutch and plate looked to be in excellent condition and were suppose to only have 1k miles on them. from looking at the parts they looked practically new. im not sure if this is common with a racing type clutch or not, but its very grabby. its nearly impossible to get the car rolling without it shuddering a little. likes its grabbing and releasing really really fast. at first i thought maybe everything needed to break in, but i've put atleast 8-10k miles on it and its still the same. is this typical from this type of setup or do i have a problem? also i get a lot of noise when the clutch is not depressed. if i just put slight pressure on the pedal it goes away, so im assuming this is the tob. only problem with that is i was having a noise before i changed the clutch/pp/tob and after the install im still having the same problem with the noise. the old tob was shot, it literally was about to fall apart so i assumed that was the noise. replaced with a new one and i still have a noise. its slightly different but still noisey. none of my other cars ever did this, and my dads 03 mach 1 doesnt, so im assuming this isnt a normal noise. i've been racking my brain but i really dont have a clue whats going on with it now. just figured i would throw this out there and see if anyone has any idea what my problem is.
 
Did you get a Ford OEM TOB? Almost all aftermarket ones start squeeking right away after install. Also, when driving a Honda buddy recomennded that to help save the wear of it, keep the car in neutral when stopped whenever possible.

It sounds like the clutch might be too much for the car, or it is a high grip ceramic material one. It will grab like crazy for those guys with FI.

If your dad's Mach still has the OE clutch in it that could be why yours makes noise and his doesn't.
 
the tob was not an oem one b.c they didnt have one in stock, but i had a ford mechanic helping me do the clutch job at the ford dealership on a saturday and he got it for me saying its the one they use when they run out of them in stock. its definately an aftermarket one and this is what i was suspecting to be the problem. and yea the mach still has all oem parts. i can deal with the grabbyness of the clutch if thats just the nature of the beast, just wanted to ask and make sure i didnt have a problem. i was thinking that if the tob is already going bad it may have slack in it causing the shuddering when the clutch is engaging. im hoping this is not the case, i really dont want to pull the tranny anytime soon.
 
this is what i was afraid of. so is there a tob that is better than stock, or is the oem one the best way to go, i do not want to be dropping this tranny every 10k miles. especially after the bbk longtubes go on, what a pain that would be. should i go ahead and replace the pilot bearing as well since its never been done, car has 120k on the clock.
 
With that kind of mileage on the car I'd replace the pilot bearing. Mine was looking rough when I changed mine out at 96k miles. As for TOB I would just go with Ford OEM. Another option is to spray the TOB with white lithium grease. Sometimes you can get it in there lubicate the bearing enough to quiet it down.

Bill