T-5 throwout bearing arm

Newbie here. Helping a young friend with his '66. It's got a 302 from a '78 and it's mated to a T-5. I think we hooked up everything properly, but when we push the clutch pedal to the floor, the throwout arm hits the front of the bellhousing opening before the clutch is disengaged. The only things I can think of are that we have the wrong arm or the pivot ball is wrong. Any thoughts? TIA Cheers, Dave
 
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I don't think that's likely. With the offset clutch hub on the disc, I don't think the pressure plate will bolt up with the disc in backwards since the disc will hit the flywheel bolts. My guess without pics is that the throwout bearing has broken, or fallen off the arm during install.
 
I don't think that's likely. With the offset clutch hub on the disc, I don't think the pressure plate will bolt up with the disc in backwards since the disc will hit the flywheel bolts. My guess without pics is that the throwout bearing has broken, or fallen off the arm during install.
Ya, clutch disc was in right. Is there more than one kind of throw out arm? Will check the T O bearing. Cheers, Dave
 
If the clutch arm is contacting the front of the bellhousing opening before the clutch releases, it doesn't matter if it's cable, hydraulic or a branch off the neighbor's oak tree, it's having to travel waaaay too far. T5 clutch setups are designed to have slight pressure, which means the throwout bearing is in contact during normal operation. My slave cylinder only has about an inch of travel total and only uses a touch over half that to completely disengage the clutch. If yours uses as much as you say, check the arm, bearing and pressure plate. Something is wrong. As far as I know there's only one bellhousing/clutch arm for Fox body T5's so if your sure it's a stocker, and the ball pivot is not broken off, it should be good. Compare all the parts to pictures found online and you'll find the problem. One final thought: if the flywheel has been ground too many times or the clutch disc is completely worn out, those things will cause the problem you're seeing.
 
Not sure if this ever got resolved, but I just wanted to add that if you're using a bellhousing and clutch actuation system from an early Mustang, remember that you need to add a 1" spacer under the stamped steel fulcrum (it's an "L" shaped piece riveted to the bellhousing) for the clutch arm. Otherwise what you're experiencing will happen.
 
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