Two clutch cables went bad on me. What's going on here?

FastDriver · Nov 5, 2004

Last weekend, I replaced my clutch cable because it had become so stretched out that I couldn't put the car into gear without first shutting off the car. I replaced it with an adjustable clutch cable and adjusted it making sure to lock the adjustment screw tight, but now it's doing the same thing. There is plenty of adjustability left on the cable, but I fear it will simply continue to stretch out. So, who's gone through this before and what is my problem?

Things that come to my mind are that the pressure plate is bad and requires too much pressure to disengage from the clutch plate thereby putting so much stress on the cable that it is stretching. Another possibility is that I need an extended clutch fork for my tremec bellhousing. This clutch assembly came with the car and I'm not sure if it has the extended fork. All I can say for sure is that 1, I wasn't having this problem for the four months prior to last week, and 2, The clutch pedal is unusually stiff. It seems even stiffer than my old car which also had a King Cobra clutch setup.

Thanks for any insight you may have,

Chris

Boss_Mustang_69 · Nov 5, 2004

Well I went to look at a mustang a few weeks ago who had the same problem that you have, and I talked to some mechanics I know and they said 9 times out of 10 it is the clutch itself, the pressure plate has had its time.

GroverDill · Nov 5, 2004

most aftermarket cables are complete crap.

get a real ford cable, no more problem.

I went thru 2 cables in a week last year.

Went back to a FoMoCo cable and its all good now.

Funanin · Nov 5, 2004

I had same thing as well. My clutch fork was bent. And i think my pressure plate was done too. Also, he was right, get a Ford cable because some of the aftermarket ones dont have the perminant lube stuff on the cable and it wears out quicker.

JB66 · Nov 5, 2004

"Give me a lever long enough and I can move the world!"
Measure the length of the two throw out bearing forks from the ball pivot to the center of the cable connect hole. I think you will find your replacement fork is shorter. This will cause greater effort to press the pedal down. The longer fork will be less pedal effort.

94Silverbullet · Nov 5, 2004

welcome to the club! I've had 5 break! I went to OEM like some already stated.. so far so good. Check my thread on the problem and solution:

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=503990

FastDriver · Nov 5, 2004

Looks like good advice. I never had problems on my old car with the stock cable.

Thanks,

Chris

85_SS_302_Coupe · Nov 5, 2004

You don't by chance have full lengths do ya? Is your cable running too close to your headers?

94Silverbullet · Nov 5, 2004

85_SS_302_Coupe said:
You don't by chance have full lengths do ya? Is your cable running too close to your headers?

Exatcly for me. I had full lengths and there was some melting. I bought a better cable(OEM), and used a heat shield.

85_SS_302_Coupe · Nov 5, 2004

94Silverbullet said:
Exatcly for me. I had full lengths and there was some melting. I bought a better cable(OEM), and used a heat shield.

Yea i think i'm heading that direction right now. When i put mine on i should have bent the little plate that attaches to the frame and holds the cable, but i didnt and now i can't get it bent without removing the cable....it's not burned yet but i could see it happening soon.

jd351 · Nov 5, 2004

I have had the same problem(s). It is't not the cable stretching though, it's the housing collapsing (spelling?) that makes it so the clutch won't disengage.

I was in a drive through a BK when mine let loose, the housing actualy blew out like a compressed chinees finger cuff. I had to disconnect the clutch interlock so I could start it in 1st gear, as I could not get it in gear while running of course and could not re-start once off. Then I syncro-shifted my way home after work... lucky I as working nights, at 3AM I could blow through most lights and did not have re-start it once, what a PITA though.

Only replacement I could get the next morning was a cheap Schuck's one, it worked for about three weeks before it got 'spongy'. Then I put in a Ford unit with a thermal sleave over the housing seeing as the new one had melted. Still works fine... glad to see i'm not the only one that went through all this.

BTW, Thermo-tech ignition wire sleaving works great on the clutch cable and the speedo cabel if your having a heat problem.

94Silverbullet · Nov 6, 2004

jd351 said:
I have had the same problem(s). It is't not the cable stretching though, it's the housing collapsing (spelling?) that makes it so the clutch won't disengage.

yup. My 1st cable is the only one that actually broke. the others, the housing collapsed due to heat and/or defect.

FastDriver · Nov 6, 2004

What do you mean by housing? Are you talking about the pressure plate? Bellhousing?

WhoaPony · Nov 7, 2004

I have bbk LT and went through 4 cables before intsalling a DEI thermal sleeve for 15 bucks! Worked great, no more problems! Hope this works out for you.

4dStang · Nov 7, 2004

I went through two cables before I figured out that my equal length headers were just a little too close and were causing the plastic to melt into the cable causing it to get harder and harder to push on the clutch. I would replace the cable before it broke though because I hate getting stranded.

So, I bought a set of spark plug, fiberglass heat resistant protectors and zip tied them on. I also re routed my cable to a different area so it was not so close to the header with a few zip ties (oh great zip tie). I have not lost a cable yet. BTW, I have been using Steeda cables. They are pretty damn good and not so cheap like the ebay ones. Cheaper than Ford too.

If you have headers, look there first! Bet ya a buck that's the problem!
http://www.summitracing.com/catalogs/bigbook/2004/novdec/t88.html

Chris

94Silverbullet · Nov 7, 2004

FastDriver said:
What do you mean by housing? Are you talking about the pressure plate? Bellhousing?

No, there's a white plastic or poly looking piece near the shiny bracket that goes in the engine bay. http://www.mustangtuning.com/stadclca96.html

v8only · Nov 7, 2004

Boss_Mustang_69 said:
Well I went to look at a mustang a few weeks ago who had the same problem that you have, and I talked to some mechanics I know and they said 9 times out of 10 it is the clutch itself, the pressure plate has had its time.

This is a major problem, and those 9 mechanics are DEAD wrong. I've found that many, many professional mechanics do not understand a thing about the cable driven transmissions.

-As mentioned, it's your cable, NOT your pressure plate. only aprox 1 out of 20 times I've seen clutch problems being the cause of this.
The major factor is to be sure you have your cable routed properly. Check to be sure that it goes past the shock tower, then down right near the oil filter and above the steering rack, but UNDER the k member to the clutch fork. If you can't picture this, I can give you a picture.

-longer fork is NOT required for the tremec application in a fox

-buy a non adjustable oem style cable either from MM or from buyfordracing.com, for about $40, it's the OEM cable and you can't do better than that. combine it with a firewall adjuster.

-FYI, for people with cable and header problems, max motorsports recommends use of the oem sn95 clutch cable on the fox's. This cable is longer, which allows you to route it further away from the headers.

more on this subject matter on my site

http://50stangs.com/techarticles/clutchcableadjustment.html

FastDriver · Nov 8, 2004

Thanks a lot, guys.

strker347 · Nov 28, 2004

To V8only:

Dude u r exactly right. I had two drag race engine builders tell me my PP was gone. Went thru two cables, one adjustable at the bellhousing and the other a BBK adjustable cable at the firewall and bellhousing. Both were a POS, the last one snapped, the pedal was hard as hell to push in. They just don't listen and they r always right. Bull****!!!!!!

Went to another shop had them install a adjustable cable at the firewall only, lubed the housing up and wham, the problem was fixed, the PP was OK. It is a Centerforce DF setup and it shifts like a knife going thru butter. Saved me a ton of money.

ratrapp · Nov 28, 2004

my bbk kit has been on my car for a year and it does great.i think the reason some give way so soon is a combination of problems.probably poor quality,misrouting,improper installation or shimming of the clutch quadrants on some kits or a bad pressure plate.i know after i shimmed my quadrant mine shifted and felt alot better.i feel if i hadn't shimmed it it probably would've broken prematurely.

Two clutch cables went bad on me. What's going on here?

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