[F0Z302]

Put in a used T5 with all new clutch stuff (king cobra clutch, svo quadrant and cable). I'm at the end of my cable adjustment (tightened), and the thing barely disengages with my foot on the floor (as well as it being hard to push). Sometimes it seems to disengage almost completely with the pedal down just an inch or two, other times it seems to barely disengage enough to not grind with the pedal all the way down. Could a bent bellhousing cause a misalignment that manifests itself as a long and variable engagement period? Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[windsoreight]

If it is in a 5.0 mustang just lift up on the clutch pedal you should hear the pop and the quadrant will have adjusted itself.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: windsoreight on 1/22/02 7:32pm ]</font>

 

[F0Z302]

It's got the SVO solid aluminum quadrant, not the adjustable plastic OEM piece. Any other thoughts?

 

[FLA LSCSE]

I had a similar issue with my car as well.What I had to do to correct it was to add several thick washers and shim where the cable goes through the bellhousing(my cable is adjusted at the clutch fork vs. the firewall style).I gained approx. 1/4" more adjustment on the cable.I could have gone more but that seemed to have been enough.

 

[F0Z302]

Yes, I may have to do that as well.
Thanks.
It still seems like the adjustment changes (maybe when warm), but maybe I am just unstable myself...

 

[Bartholomew]

If I may chime up, although I havn't had this problem, I wonder if the clutch release arm is seating into the ball pivot correctly and if the retainers holding the arm and the bearing are working correctly? Or maybe with the Cobra clutch there is a different pivot height required? Lastly, I wonder if the cable is staying seated in the release arm or loose enough to occasionally slide back and 'catch' earlier (not fully seated) and then other times fall back into its seat in the release arm?

 

[lordviper13]

I have heard of alot of problems with those SVO quadrents I always just used the BBK quadrent and cable and never had a problem

 

[Bartholomew]

I use the Forte quadrant and firewall adjuster. I love it!

 

[F0Z302]

Thanks for the info. I don't think that the cable is jumping around; it's pretty taut. I wish that I did have a firewall adjuster. Are those things a separate piece that fits between the stock cable mount and the firewall, or is it part of the cable? Methinks that it would be part of the cable. It's always harder to get it in reverse (I assume that it has no synchro). It will often grind unless I bump it first into a synch-ed gear and stop the input shaft from spinning (I imagine) and then drop it in reverse. I think that the clutch is still dragging, but why? I still think that a bent bellhousing could cause it. I'm rambling now.... Thanks.

 

[67stang]

the forte quadrant and installation is in this article:

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2001/03/t5swap/index.shtml

 

[Bartholomew]

Yes, there is the momentum of the spinning clutch disk to contend with when trying to go into reverse shortly after putting in the clutch. And yes, hitting a synched gear first to stop it is the way to go. If after you stop it that way then wait a second but it is still grinding when trying to get into reverse, then it may be dragging. Assuming you got your flywheel resurfaced, that will take some material off and move the whole pressure plate assembly further forward. That moves it away from the release arm, which gives you less travel available to release the clutch. If the ball-pivot for the clutch release lever is adjustable, I might try lengthening it slightly in order to get that lever travel back. I can't see the problem coming from a bent housing, but I do have one question. Did you check the runout of the bell-housing? In other words, is the center of the hole where the tranny sits lined up with the center of the crackshaft pilot bearing? Most spec's want that to be no more than .005" off center. You will hurt the input shaft eventually if it isn't lined up correctly. As to that causing your particular clutch problem, I'm not sure, but it will cause problems if its not lined up.

To sum up, I think that you need to 'blueprint' your clutch.

That is, check every component to make sure it is within specs. Otherwise, we are just shooting at bats in the dark. (doesn't work well: they know where we are but we can't see them)

Hope this helps...

 

[F0Z302]

Thanks- It's good to hear from someone who knows more than most about this stuff. I'll try the sync on/off test to see if it is dragging. If the centerlines were not matched, I imagine that it would cause problems (mostly vibration?). I don't know of a casual way to check for concentricity within .005 from the driver's seat, and I'm not ready to start pulling the transmission right now. That would take a pretty accurate setup to check; a wooden dowel and a ruler won't quite cut it...
Thanks again.

 

[Bartholomew]

I finally found the web site article that I had read dealing with checking bell housings. Here is the url.
http://www.mustangworks.com/articles/drivetrain/Bellhousing.html

What car/engine/trans combo are we talking about? What was there before?

 

[F0Z302]

90 mustang conv, 5.0 with a mere 210k, a couple of months ago changed to T5 from AOD.If the engine would just have a big problem, I could justify replacing it, but unfortunately it's running pretty well.
Thanks for the info, I'll check out sites before I leave work today.
Thanks!

 

[Bartholomew]

Did you do this swap yourself, or have a shop do it? If the shop did it, they should be able to make sure that the components all fit together properly. Is it a v8 tranny? Did the proper pilot bushing get put into the crank? Is the clutch cable hole in the firewall truly in the same place as a stock manual tranny car? Did the replacement clutch/brake lever assembly really go in the correct position? All these things will affect it. More food for thought.

 

[F0Z302]

Did the swap myself, was from a 90 5.0 (slightly higher torque capability, from what I gathered), new clutch & pp. The clutch hole was already in the firewall, has speedo cable in it with AOD. Flywheel was resurfaced. I have thought about greasing the cable because it feels sticky sometimes (a little tug when it begins to move). It all fit OK except the mount; the old one was trashed and shorter. I swear it was shorter from the start, because when I tried to replace it with the AOD, the trans hit the floor with a new one. After I drove the T5 with the old mount for a while, I replaced it, and it pushed up the tranny some, but at least it didn't hit the floor. Still think that's not right, but it's not like the mount bracket was bent up that I could tell. Maybe I have a 4 cyl trans support bracket or something. Anyway, thanks for the info... I digress...