Drama with the repair shop...

[95Cbra5O]

About month ago I had a new clutch put in. They raved about Luk clutches so I decided to let them go with what they know. Then about a week after that I started getting a whining noise and as soon as I pushed on the clutch the noise stops. I take the car back and they tell me it is the throw out bearing and they put a new one in (Luk bearing). Then two days later the noise comes back. So I take it in this week and they try and mess with the preset load or something like that. That was yesterday and that didnt help. So I took it in this morning and they try and tell me it is the way I drive, that I keep my foot on the clutch the whole time. I said you are incorrect I have never driven like that and why would that wear out the bearing in 2 days?

Does anyone know what could cause the bearing to go out so quick? Thanks for the help.

 

[samickguy15]

I put a new T/O bearing in the gf's T-bird and had the same problem. It's not that the bearing is going out, but it's slipping between the bearing and pressure plate. Ideally the bearing will spin with the pressure plate. IIRC, they say to put some grease on the front of the bearing to prevent the said noise. I have found that if you pre-load (using firewall adjuster) you can eliminate the noise. it's a hassle though, because for me at least there's a fine line between just enough and too much pre-load.

Do you have any aftermarket clutch cable/quadrant components?

 

[95Cbra5O]

Nope no aftermarket clutch cable. Thanks

 

[ShortThrow50]

Sometimes this happens/ I had it happen with my dd toyota but not in my stang. Ill bet that they did not greese the TOB. As per directions, you suppposed to put greese on your palm of your hand and then kind smash it in to the gap in your TOB where the bearings are. You need to buy and aftermarket quadrant and firewall adjuster and this will fix your problem more than likely. Adjust it so that the TOB isnt ridin the pressure plate. Also your TOB is not ruined YET, just get the parts i mentioned asap

 

[5spd GT]

Sometimes this happens/ I had it happen with my dd toyota but not in my stang. Ill bet that they did not greese the TOB. As per directions, you suppposed to put greese on your palm of your hand and then kind smash it in to the gap in your TOB where the bearings are. You need to buy and aftermarket quadrant and firewall adjuster and this will fix your problem more than likely. Adjust it so that the TOB isnt ridin the pressure plate. Also your TOB is not ruined YET, just get the parts i mentioned asap

That is my guess as well.

 

[jrichker]

All Mustangs with a cable operated clutch depend on having a preload on the cable. The preload keeps the throwout bearing in constant contact with the clutch fingers. Ford designed it that way on purpose, and the bearing is made to take the constant contact load. The preload tension keeps the cable from slipping off the quadrant.

The fix for your problem is a real Ford throwout bearing. If you had gotten the FMS King Cobra clutch kit there would have been one in the kit. The King Cobra clutch is hard to beat for a street driven Mustang.

 

[95Cbra5O]

Yeah I have been reading some other threads and found out that a ford one might be better so I think they are going to go with that. I wish I would have gone with the king cobra. Thanks

 

[PUNISHER RACING]

That LUK clutch is a good clutch though !!!!!

 

[95Cbra5O]

That is good to hear. I hope this different throwout bearing takes care of it.

 

[baldy1]

Either they didnt install the TOB on the fork the correct way or the front collar is worn on the trans or the pivot ball and or fork is bad and they missed it. Either one of those problems would cause your problems. Nothing else. Take it back to them and ask them. Luk clutches are very good clutches.

 

[skunk21]

all the above statements are very true and good advice. the luk clutch is a very good clutch like the others stated, I have used them in the past although now I run the king cobra. get the fwa and quadrant you will be happy, maximum motorsports makes a really nice one and the oem non adjustable cable to go with it, you got a new clutch go with a new cable. I'm using this set up and it is top notch. you can buy the best of parts but the people who do the install is what makes the difference, and telling you that you ride the clutch was plain dumb, it was costing them money at this point and they wanted you to go bye-bye. baldy1 aslo makes a very good point about the clutch fork another wear item, I had to replace this aswell. good luck to you.

 

[95Cbra5O]

Just got it back, no noise...yet. They tried to get me to pay for the install and that wasn't going to happen. The problem now is that the clutch feels like crap. It is really loose at the top. They said they removed all of the preloads so, "there is no way the throw out bearing can go out now." I asked if they checked everything out like the clutch fork and they said it looked fine, so who knows.

I really do think it is the guy who did the install. There have been other things that have lead me to believe he is incompetent. For one thing after the original clutch install there was a clunking noise(which wasn't there originally) that went away after the first throwout bearing replacement Also after the first throwout bearing replacement he didnt hook up the h-pipe to the header right. What I want to know is how they didnt hear it when he started the car to check the throwout bearing. It was even pulled outside the garage and still didnt hear it

I think if it starts making noise again I will take it back and try and get them to pay for someone else to do it because this is rediculous. I just really think they are missing something.

Thanks for everyones replies.

 

[samickguy15]

Do you have a jack, jackstands and a few wrenches? I would just do it yourself next time. It doesn't really take that much to drop a tranny. Plus, you can only blame yourself if something happens or the problem recurrs.

 

[Daggar]

The fix for your problem is a real Ford throwout bearing. If you had gotten the FMS King Cobra clutch kit there would have been one in the kit. The King Cobra clutch is hard to beat for a street driven Mustang.

Yyyyyyyyyyyyep! As far as I'm concerned, this is gospel. Sure, lots of folks have had some good luck with brand X TOBs but there are many, many more who've had success with the OEM piece. Though you may run into the occational bad OEM bearing, there are a LOT fewer of those than there are from other sources.

 

[2000xp8]

If this is a DD or sees alot of miles i'd shy away from an adjustable quadrant or firewall adjuster, they are more of a pita than anything.

 

[Roland69]

do this and cut a little slit into the cover to clear the spring.

 

[ebk06]

If this is a DD or sees alot of miles i'd shy away from an adjustable quadrant or firewall adjuster, they are more of a pita than anything.

How so? I installed my FA and quadrant in about 30 minutes and once its set there shouldnt be any problems. Its does take some initial playing to get them set where you want but its not rocket science. Go with a good brand like MM and there should be no problem at all.

 

[2000xp8]

How so? I installed my FA and quadrant in about 30 minutes and once its set there shouldnt be any problems. Its does take some initial playing to get them set where you want but its not rocket science. Go with a good brand like MM and there should be no problem at all.

How so? You have to manually adjust them. Forgetting to do so is pretty bad. And a car that sees alot of beatings and or alot of miles, this has to be done more in. I just don't see the benefit other than strength.
The stock setup is plenty good for clutches that aren't heavy on the foot, its the tough flywheels that break the quadrant.