What did Ford do to me?

[rabidscoobie]

Ok i made post a few days ago about my car being worked on.They replaced my rack and pinion but ever since I got my car back the clutch has felt different.

As of now if adjust the clutch cable the way your supossed to I have to go all they way to the floor with it and I mean that I can not take any pressure off of it at all or it will not go into or come out of gear while its running.So the only way I have a clutch is to adjust it like above and then go under the dash and push in on the pedal while pulling the quadrant down so that the clutch comes out on top of the pedal.

What could ford have done when replacing the rack to cause this?I called them back and they siad they didnt make any adjustments to it.

I thought that I have read here before that if the cable dosnt route right it can cause the cable to stretch,Did they have to undo the cable to remove the rack and pinion?

Any help please.

 

[hollywoodstang]

I BET "FORD" un-did the clutch cable when they removed the rack&pinion. They adjusted it wrong. You will have to go under the car and readjust the main cable and re-do the firewall adjuster if you have those too.

Of course "Ford" is going to say "No" we didn't do anything. If you paid alot of money fixing it which you probably did take it back and have them adjust and "Route" the cable correctly. There is usually at least 1 ford "Hot-rod" guy working there. have "HIM" fix this problem so he will know what to do.

you should have done it yourself man...Good luck tho

 

[rabidscoobie]

The only reason I didnt do it myself is that its under warranty and I paid nothing for $2k in repairs,rack and pinion and a rear end rebuild.But since I got it back I basiclly have no clutch when adjusting it the proper way.

I dont mind fixing this myself but I cant seem to find what the proper cable route is,its all stock cable,quadrant,and firewall parts.The shifter and exhaust is the only mods.

I have a feeling its not properly routed and it has stretched the cable,now I still have my cable from my 01 gt that I beleive is the same as the one on the Mach but I need to know proper route before I try that cable.

Thx for the any and any other help.

 

[rabidscoobie]

Ok the above was really no help so im still lost here.

Heres why i think Ford has done something.When I took it in the TOB was chirping they were suppose to look at that but they said that there was no noise,now that thing has been chirping for awhile now and has just never stopped.I get the car back and the chirp is gone and Ford says that they did nothing....ok fine.Now I just have no proper clutch adjustment.

With the clutch adjusted following the way it says in the manual to I can put the pedal all the way to the floor as hard as I can and get into gearbut I cant let up at all or its like I have no clutch.But If I do as mentioned in earlier post by adjusting the quardrant to make the clutch come out more on top it all works fine.

But my foot slips off the pedal causing it to come up to hard then the pedal is readjusted and no clutch until I reach under and do the quardrant trick.

This is all stock,so what am I missing or what did ford do?I had another clutch cable laying around so I install that properly and It does just the same.

Help please....

 

[hollywoodstang]

Is the routing of the cable all correct? take some photos of the key area quadrant, Firewall adjuster and most of all clutch cable adjusting nut location. That will help

 

[rabidscoobie]

I can get some pics of the quadrant area but I really dont beleive they removed the cable after looking.The I know this is because of a zip tie that was on there for some reason and its still there,for them to remove the cable that would have had to been cut.There is not firewall adjuster,its stock.

Could the TOB be causing these symptoms,remember I said it was squealing when I too it in,but after I got it back it was all quite except for the other probs Im talking about,but back to squealing worse than before .

Im gonna try and get some pics under the dash.

 

[fast97gt]

sounds like it is the clutch assembly, (clutc, pp, and tob). how many miles, and how hard is your car drivin day to day?

 

[rabidscoobie]

sounds like it is the clutch assembly, (clutc, pp, and tob). how many miles, and how hard is your car drivin day to day?

Its not driven hard,has less than 60k.I would have thought the same about a bad clutch but if I do the quadrant trick it will work just fine.

I need to add that the tranny does seem to have a problem in 5th gear,that was supposed to be looked at when they had it but there was a misunderstanding and it didnt get looked at,its going back Monday I just hope that it doesnt need a new clutch,I dont think it does since it can work good.

 

[fast97gt]

well if that is the case, then it could just be a bad qued. if they replaced the rack and pinion, they will have needed to drop or take loose the stearing column. they couldve damaged the the guad, sounds like to me...

 

[rabidscoobie]

well if that is the case, then it could just be a bad qued. if they replaced the rack and pinion, they will have needed to drop or take loose the stearing column. they couldve damaged the the guad, sounds like to me...

Now that make perfect sense,but i cant seem to see anything wrong under there.

 

[fast97gt]

may not be anything to the naked eye, but that thing is plastic im assuming (the quad and adjuster). i would spend a hundred bucks and get a steeda cable kit, it includes the quad, cable, and firewall adjuster. then be done with it, thats what i did. im sure thousands others have done it too.

 

[rabidscoobie]

may not be anything to the naked eye, but that thing is plastic im assuming (the quad and adjuster). i would spend a hundred bucks and get a steeda cable kit, it includes the quad, cable, and firewall adjuster. then be done with it, thats what i did. im sure thousands others have done it too.

Yeah its a good kit,I had that same one on my 01 GT,But I was unable to take it off when I got rid of it,I still have the old stocker in a box.
But whatever is wrong Im sure the Ford Tech did it and as far as Im concerned its either on them or covered under warranty.
As of right now I just dont have alot of extra cash to put down...I need the car running,Now in February that would be a different story and I will most likely put a steeda one in I really liked it much better.

Thx for all the help,Ill keep this updated when I know more.Im dropping it off 1st thing Monday.

 

[bdcardinal]

Ok i made post a few days ago about my car being worked on.They replaced my rack and pinion but ever since I got my car back the clutch has felt different.

As of now if adjust the clutch cable the way your supossed to I have to go all they way to the floor with it and I mean that I can not take any pressure off of it at all or it will not go into or come out of gear while its running.So the only way I have a clutch is to adjust it like above and then go under the dash and push in on the pedal while pulling the quadrant down so that the clutch comes out on top of the pedal.

What could ford have done when replacing the rack to cause this?I called them back and they siad they didnt make any adjustments to it.

I thought that I have read here before that if the cable dosnt route right it can cause the cable to stretch,Did they have to undo the cable to remove the rack and pinion?

Any help please.

considering the clutch cable goes nowhere near the rack and pinion, they didn't do anything to it.

 

[rabidscoobie]

considering the clutch cable goes nowhere near the rack and pinion, they didn't do anything to it.

Thats what it says on my work order...rack and pinion replaced.Now they replaced that long thing in the front end with the tie rods on it and a black rubber boot on each end....rack and pinion correct? So yes my cable does go near it, routes near it,the motor mount, and the oil filter....if that isnt the rack and pinion the please tell me what that is....and I took the cable off to make sure it was all good...so I know for sure where it does and does not route.

Im not trying to sound rude....but that comment made everything im talking about sound unrelated or no way that could be an issue.

So sense you beleive im wrong then can you please tell me why my clutch and pedal and the adjuster worked perfectly before Ford got their hands on it,and since the day I picked it up it doesnt really work at all....strange coincedense....I think they made a mistake or missed something somewhere.

Your above comment is of no help to me unless you give some details otherwise thanks and move along..

 

[bdcardinal]

i was giving details since i have replaced about 20 rack and pinions on fox, sn95 and new edge mustangs and on none of those did i ever have to do anything to the clutch cable. also any ford tech would do the same since its not in the FSM or would they get paid for it on a warranty repair.

that being said, what was the mileage prior to you dropping the car off vs when you picked it up? they might have taken it out for a joyride, not saying thats exactly what happened, but its a possibility. at my dealer none of our techs are into cars at all, so no joyriding happens.

im assuming you have an aftermarket adjuster or quadrant, if that is the case, the dealer is not responsible for it.

 

[rabidscoobie]

i was giving details since i have replaced about 20 rack and pinions on fox, sn95 and new edge mustangs and on none of those did i ever have to do anything to the clutch cable. also any ford tech would do the same since its not in the FSM or would they get paid for it on a warranty repair.

that being said, what was the mileage prior to you dropping the car off vs when you picked it up? they might have taken it out for a joyride, not saying thats exactly what happened, but its a possibility. at my dealer none of our techs are into cars at all, so no joyriding happens.

im assuming you have an aftermarket adjuster or quadrant, if that is the case, the dealer is not responsible for it.

Well thank you for clearing that up but the cable does travel near,I dont think they should need to take the cable off,but im not a Ford tech.As I stated in the above posts its all STOCK....no aftermarket,I even have the stock shifter on.
My clutch was fine when they got it,hasnt worked right since I got it back,the milage difference on it was almost 100miles to be exact.I assumed that milege was driving it to hear some noises I was talking about and drivig it after the rear end rebuild.Honestly the miles seem a lil high to me.

One of the probs i was having was the TOB chipping,I told them when they pull the tranny to tear it down for a grinding noise to replace the TOB,well since there was a misunderstanding the tranny didnt get tore down nor did they replace the TOB....but guess what its not chirping anymore,the pedal feels totally different than before they got the car....So whats going on,they obvisiouly did something to shut up the chirpping.

This is exaclty why I dont let people work on my car.But since I have a complete everything warranty i let them do it.
Im not trying to put down any techs but someone at FORD did something to do this...all I want is for it to be fixed.

 

[hollywoodstang]

Take it to different for dealer for the warranty work. It seems as may be they adjusted your factory quadrant. Yes it is hard to get to and if you are a big guy you won't fit under there. TOB may be the problem. They made the noise go away by adjusting the factory quadrant. The factory quadrant is adjustable.

Take it to different ford dealership and tell them your TOB is making noise and transmission is acting funny on 5th and grinding 3rd. If you mention grinding 3rd, They will most likely to take the whole transmission down and replace the whole new unit with new factory clutch. You stated that you are covered by warranty so you are in luck.

I am just talking from experience and i got my transmission replaced to new one. My ford dealer was welcome to do it.

Good luck

 

[fast97gt]

Well thank you for clearing that up but the cable does travel near,I dont think they should need to take the cable off,but im not a Ford tech.As I stated in the above posts its all STOCK....no aftermarket,I even have the stock shifter on.
My clutch was fine when they got it,hasnt worked right since I got it back,the milage difference on it was almost 100miles to be exact.I assumed that milege was driving it to hear some noises I was talking about and drivig it after the rear end rebuild.Honestly the miles seem a lil high to me.

One of the probs i was having was the TOB chipping,I told them when they pull the tranny to tear it down for a grinding noise to replace the TOB,well since there was a misunderstanding the tranny didnt get tore down nor did they replace the TOB....but guess what its not chirping anymore,the pedal feels totally different than before they got the car....So whats going on,they obvisiouly did something to shut up the chirpping.

This is exaclty why I dont let people work on my car.But since I have a complete everything warranty i let them do it.
Im not trying to put down any techs but someone at FORD did something to do this...all I want is for it to be fixed.

they should not have even drove the car 20 miles, let alone 100 miles. i dont care what they did. if its a good ford tech they should drive it to the end of a street and back... thats it

 

[rabidscoobie]

Thats what i thought but I didnt know if they drove it some time to break in the new gears,plus the grinding sound can only be heard in 5th gear at around 60-70mph.I guess I just chalked it up to those 2 things.

As for taking it to another Ford dealer I really think that would be a mistake in this area because they are worse from my experience.

 

[fast97gt]

they can break in the new gears at the shop by starting the car on the lift, rolling through the gears and leaving in fourth for about 2mins to heat up the rear and shutting it down to let it cool. they have to do it 2-3 times. thats how i do it and no problems. ive had mine in since mile120000 and now theres 174000 and i drive balls off mine. your grinding is due to your clutch not adjusted properly, thats my assumption.