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Adjustable Clutch Cable

805 Views 7 Replies 4 Participants Last post by  iGoose, 
I
Whats up everyone. About a month ago I bought a 2002 mustang with 120k. I got a decent deal on it but it needed minor things (brakes, starter, tires). I don't know many precise details about what the previous owner did to the car.

The car has a zoom clutch (I don't know what stage). The catch point is very low. I know it has a completely stock clutch cable and quadrant. I purchased the Steeda adjuster kit and installed it. I checked multiple times and the cable is 100% routed the right way and everything else is installed properly. The other day I got the catch point about 2 inches off of the floor for about 15 minutes and was going back and forth in my driveway, But the engagement point got lower and lower and eventually wasn't getting in gear.
I needed the retaining clip for the cable so the car went in the garage and I waited until it came.

Today i tried again and the same thing happened. Catch point was 2 inches off the ground and about 15 minutes later it doesn't get in gear. Frustrated, the car is back in the garage and Ill try again when I have time.

Note: the pedal is very hard to push down but Im not sure the right way it should feel because I have never driven or owned a car with a cable clutch. So the stiffness might be ok, but I wouldn't be able to tell. The new clutch cable is a little bit stiffer than the one i replaced.


Cliffs:
-Installed steeda clutch adjuster.
-Engages 2 inches off floor
-Gets harder and harder to get into gear and eventually doesn't get into gear
-happened twice


Thanks for all input.
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I
Try playing around with the nut and locking nut at the end of the cable where it's at the clutch fork.. have you tried adjusting it from there ? Or maybe it's bottomed out ..
Pictures would be helpful ..
Did you install a steeda quad.? I would recommend since it has 2 hooks for stock and adjustable .. stock quad. Is garbage. And will make it difficult to adjust it properly
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I
I have to buy an open socket set because, for some odd reason, the gap between both holes in the clutch fork is too thin for the cable bolt to pass through so i have tighten the nut with the cable in the smaller hole.
Sears.com

Once i get that Ill be able to tighten the nut. I will post pictures next time I'm under the car (idk when that will be because my schedule is a bit crazy for the next few days).

I do have the steeda quad installed. I have the cable attached to the hook at the very end of the quad. Is that the wrong place?

Until I go buy that socket set, my concern is why was it fine for a few minutes, but then wouldn't get in gear? Does the cable stretch?

Thanks.
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S
iGoose said:
I have to buy an open socket set because, for some odd reason, the gap between both holes in the clutch fork is too thin for the cable bolt to pass through so i have tighten the nut with the cable in the smaller hole.
Sears.com

Once i get that Ill be able to tighten the nut. I will post pictures next time I'm under the car (idk when that will be because my schedule is a bit crazy for the next few days).

I do have the steeda quad installed. I have the cable attached to the hook at the very end of the quad. Is that the wrong place?

Until I go buy that socket set, my concern is why was it fine for a few minutes, but then wouldn't get in gear? Does the cable stretch?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Free play in the pedal must be no more than
1/2 inch. It is measured from top of the pedal
travel. Trying to adjust the point in which it
starts to grab isn't really the way to go. Get
the proper free play and try again.
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I
When reading my instructions they said if you have a adjustable cable to put the cable on the 2nd hook.
Also the way I adjusted my cable was I had a friend use a pry bar to hold the fork away and I used 2 open end 13mm wrenches to adjust the nuts.
Hope this helps
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SoCal2V
Most aftermarket "performance" clutches necessitate the use of a firewall mounted cable adjuster. AM, Latemodel, Maximum Mortorsports, basically everybody sells them. If you get the generic one that AM sells (which is asctually decent, had it on my car 5+ years now) it comes with no instructions. Look up the install instructions on MM's site; these devices are basically all the same from one brand to the next.
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I
I finally got back under the car and like the other 3 times, accomplished nothing.

So I made the nut tighter on the cable by the clutch fork, which should directly affect the clutch's engagement point as well as fix my problem with the car not going into gear.

As soon as I was ready to crawl out and drop the car down I realized that with the clutch pedal released (not pressed down) the clutch fork was hitting the transmission, basically the fork had no room to move. The fork wasn't touching the transmission but instead the bolt in/on the the fork was. (see pictures)
I unscrewed the nut on the cable until the bolt stopped hitting the transmission when the clutch pedal was pressed down, dropped the car and sure enough, same problem (as expected).

So I come to you guys with a new question, if the fork is fully compressed, what part hits the transmission, the fork or the bolt?
Is it normal for the bolt to hit the transmission?

Thanks for all the help and sorry for these long posts.

The pictures show the bolt Im talking about. I remembered to take pictures right before I dropped the car down so I didn't get any when the bolt was hitting the transmission.


Edit:
Basically, if make the clutch cable tighter (because I cannot get it in gear), the bolt in the picture doesn't allow the fork to move forward anymore. I do not know how I was able to get in gear when I first installed this thing. I am very concerned this might be a big problem.

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I
Ok so I was back under the car again today and realized exactly whats happening.

The clutch fork hits the bell housing window before the clutch is fully disengaged.

Is this due to a bad pivot ball?
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