[SM90Stanger]

Hey guys and or girls,

The second issue I had yesterday when I drove my 1990 2.3 n/a 5 speeder mustang for the first time since I started working on it was that the clutch was sooooo deep in the pedal cycle. I replace the old drivetrain with a new clutch, flywheel that was in good condition, new pressure plate, new release bearing, and a different transmission that doesn't pop out of gear like the old one.

To explain how deep it was I'll say this: You push the clutch all the way to the floor until it doesn't go any farther, then you let the clutch out about an inch and it starts to engage and then about another inch or-so and it is fully engaged. The major issue I have with this is that I have to grind the tranny to get it into reverse. I would much rather have the clutch engage way farther up in the pedal cycle.

Now I was reading my haynes manual and I think that it is an adjusting clutch cable, but if anything, yesterday it got worse as I drove it more? So if anybody can tell me if there is a way to adjust the clutch cables so that it engage farther from the floor, I will be very, very happy!!!

Thanks, Steve

[SM90Stanger]

Okay, so I just fixed my own problem... For anyone who has the same issue: Pull the clutch all the way backward and apply 10-20lbs of rearward force on the pedal. Then push the clutch all the way in. Apparently you're supposed to hear a click noise, but I didn't really hear anything.

It did help a ton. The clutch engage farther toward the middle of the peddle cycle (it didn't move as much as I was hoping, but I can live with it) and getting it in reverse is no problem now! It's amazing the things you can do with only the help of crappy haynes manual!

Steve

[TOM RENZO]

Hi 90 that is called an in cab auto adjust clutch. Like you said all you do is pull back on the pedal and it self adjusts. I replace all of them with a STEEDA Quadrant and cable so the clutch can be adjusted properly at the FORK. Its a little bit hard to install the system. Sometimes the pedal assembly has to be removed from the car to install it . But it is definately worth the effort. The kit is right below this post $99.99. LOOK STRAIGHT DOWN AT THE ADVERTISEMENT

[jlehr]

i have the quadrant and my clutch still grinds should i tighten the adjuster quadrant or losen it??

[SM90Stanger]

Originally Posted by jlehr

i have the quadrant and my clutch still grinds should i tighten the adjuster quadrant or losen it??

I am not sure exactly as I do not have your set-up. Take a second and think about which way the cable is being moved. All you have to do is make the cable tighter so that the release bearing will strike the fingers sooner. Then just keep going until you get the clutch working how you like. Sorry I can't be of a lot of help as I am not really familiar with the whole set-up.

Steve

[NavySVO]

the quadrant is a pawl and ratchet type system. Pull up on the pedal and it should ratchet the pawl to a tighter area on the quadrant. Sometimes you actually have to reach up under there and lift up on the pawl to get it to reset.

You say the clutch grinds? Are you sure you don't mean the transmission is making the noise when shifting? An out of adjustment quadrant really won't cause this. Is it making noise going into 2nd? It's common on a T-5 after aging and abuse.

[SM90Stanger]

As an update to this thread I found out the actual cause to why the clutch was engaging too early: The bellhousing to release bearing arm cable was stretched! The clutch kept getting farther and farther towards the floor as I kept driving it (keep in mind that I only drove it about 150miles at most) And when I would go and try to do an in-car clutch adjust, it wouldn't help any.

So I leant the car to my friend for an evening and a few hours later he was calling me from the middle of nowhere telling me that the clutch doesn't work anymore. I drove down there to find that the little 2" cable had snapped! I pushed the car and got her in gear and then drove all the way home without a clutch. Luckily it was 12AM so there weren't very many people on the road and there might have been a few red lights that I had to creep through .

Used the cable from the other bellhousing and now the clutch works like a charm! It engages in the middle of the peddle closer towards the driver now. So I guess that the added weight of that new pressure plate that I am using pushed the old rusty cable past it's limit.

Problem = Fixed!

Steve