Clutch Help... Clutch, Cable, Tob... The Whole Shebang!

[BurningRubber]

So, my throwout bearing exploded a few weeks ago. I'm ready to get the car back on the road before long (trying to be ready by Mustang Week).

I'm looking hard at the RAM HDX clutch. Seems like it's an awesome compromise for a DD that sees track duty every once and a while. Rated at 400hp... so should hold the occasional spray, especially on street tires.

Question is... a throwout bearing comes with the kit. I've heard two thing; use ONLY a Ford Racing replacement TOB, and ONLY use the TOB RAM supplies for their clutches with their kit. Anyone clear this up? I don't want a TOB to destroy itself again and everything have to come apart.

Next... cable/adjuster/quadrant. Steeda sells a full kit w/ their adjustable cable for $100. A Ford replacement cable along is $85. I've heard, again, to ONLY use the Ford cable, that all others will break faster. Is the adjustable quadrant and aftermarket hook needed? I still have the stock quadrant and cable, always felt fine until I started having issues with the TOB.

Clutch fork.. replace? I'd imagine it's a good idea.

Flywheel? I don't think my current factory flywheel is in good enough shape to resurface. What's the best option? Factory replacement, aftermarket steel, aftermarket aluminum? I've heard the aluminum flywheels really lighten up the load on the engine and help spin things up faster. Good or bad with the spray? Trying to look at all aspects.


Thanks for any/all suggestions as long as it's not "use the search button". I'm kinda an old fart around this place, and I was some fresh answers. Nao!

 

[txredgt]

I can't speak about the power level you have, but each person has their own brand preference. I went with a spec stage 2 when mine went and I had good luck (but then again I only had the car 10k miles after that then I sold it).

How I was told was aftermarket clutch+ford TOB+aftermarket clutch quadrant/adjuster+ford cable is the 'best' route. I was able to get my flywheel resurfaced so I don't have any experience with that one for ya.

 

[BurningRubber]

I was originally thinking about SPEC, but have driven a car with a SPEC stage II and it was violently on/off. A guy I know that has done a bunch of Stang work has also noted their quality is very hit or miss. I wouldn't count them out, but I saw the RAM and was impressed by the reviews.

Car dyno'd right under 260rwhp on motor. On spray it's probably a little under 400rwhp.

Thanks for your input.

 

[SteedaGT9150]

definitely go with a ford TOB

 

[Noobz347]

aftermarket clutch + ford TOB + aftermarket clutch quadrant/adjuster + ford cable is the 'best' route.

Trueism

On the flywheel thing, my personal preference is a billet steel flywheel. Bang for buck, I think it's the best way to go regardless of anyone's view about the streetability of this vs. that. IT's reatively inexpensive, will last a VERY long time, takes the abuse of any clutch out there, and adds an additonal margin of safety for all driving conditions that cast and aluminum don't.

As for the Cable and Firewall adjuster, my picks would be Ford Cable (get one from MaximumMotorsports already modified), the MM quadrant, and a Fiore FW adjuster (Lethal Performance sells these now).

 

[sneaky98gt]

I was originally thinking about SPEC, but have driven a car with a SPEC stage II and it was violently on/off. A guy I know that has done a bunch of Stang work has also noted their quality is very hit or miss. I wouldn't count them out, but I saw the RAM and was impressed by the reviews.

Being that I don't have that funky 3rd pedal on the left in my car, I can't speak from direct experience. But I have heard the same thing about Spec clutches. I've heard more negative things about them than positive, which in itself is plenty to keep me away.

I've heard a few people complain about the Ram clutches, but overall, the stuff I've heard of them has been much more positive than negative.

 

[FEARNO1]

I made the mistake of using the supplied tob and cable when I did my clutch. Needless to say in a very short time I had to pull the tranny again and replace the TOB with a ford one since the supplied one was junk. Also had to replace the cable since the new one siezed up. Been almost 2 yrs now and no problems

 

[flstang65]

I like Ford Racing TOB, pilot bearing, clutch, cable and flywheel. If I use an aftermarket clutch, I use Centerforce. That's just my preference. I avoid Spec at all costs

 

[03_TrueBlue_GT]

Not to steal the thread but I have a question. My Mustangs TOB has been squeaking at idle unless I apply my foot lightly on the clutch pedal it goes away, its been doing it ever since I bought the car at 69,000 miles now its at 106,000. My question is are there any signs besides the squeaking that will let you know if your TOB is about to fail on you?

 

[BurningRubber]

Not to steal the thread but I have a question. My Mustangs TOB has been squeaking at idle unless I apply my foot lightly on the clutch pedal it goes away, its been doing it ever since I bought the car at 69,000 miles now its at 106,000. My question is are there any signs besides the squeaking that will let you know if your TOB is about to fail on you?

Yep... mine squeaked for about 55k and then it started whining. Started off as whining until it warmed up then quieting down, to whining at all times and eventually getting worse to the point that the TOB gave out.

 

[03_TrueBlue_GT]

Oh wow, mine hasn't started doing that yet. It shifts great, and feels strong, I'm just worried its going to give out unexpectedly, especially if I run at the track this coming Friday.

 

[Tropic03GT]

I've put 2 clutches in my car...I'm at 120k in my 03 and I have a ram hdx clutch I currently and love it. I always used ford TO bearings and I bought a steeds quick release quadrant, firewall adjuster and their adjustable cable. The cable I had installed with my first clutch and the steeds cable snapped at 20kmiles. So now I only use the Motorsport adjustable cable.

 

[BurningRubber]

In case anyone that was in my same situation reads this thread, here's an update.

My final parts list:

RAM Billet Steel flywheel
RAM HDX clutch
FRPP flywheel bolts
FRPP pressure plate bolts
FRPP HD clutch fork
FRPP pivot ball
FRPP throwout bearing
FRPP pilot bearing
Maxiumum Motorsports clutch cable (this is a NON ADJUSTABLE cable!)
SR Performance firewall adjuster (American Muscle's brand)
STEEDA aluminum quadrant
New tailshaft seal
Mobil 1 synthetic ATF


Essential tools (not including basic hand tools):

Transmission jack (forget flat-backing, you'd have to be 100% insane)
Breaker bar
Accurate torque wrench
At least two floor jacks
Jack stands (I used 4)
Ramps (I used two sets)
BFH (big f'n hammer)
Pry bar
Several feet of extensions
Red Loc-Tite


The job itself:

This outranks anything I've ever done mechanically. I did this over an extremely long period of time (several months due to being busy at work and at one point losing interest, waiting on parts, etc). However, going at it in one shot, no experience... plan on two full weekends by yourself.

There were several problems I ran into:

The first was the third starter bolt. Forget it exists and don't bother re-installing it.

Removing the transmission itself. The top bellhousing bolts are very challenging when you haven't done this before. You MUST tilt the engine/trans down by first supporting the transmission tailhousing, then removing the trans mount and lowering the rear of the trans and tilting the engine down by CAREFULLY jacking up the front of the engine (harmonic balancer or oil pan. This will give you enough room (with enough extensions) to get to the bolts (there are two) and hopefully break them free.

Also, the driver's side dowel was frozen into the bellhousing and wouldn't budge without A LOT of persuasion from a hammer and a pry bar. After that, it slid free. This was after a couple hours of wiggling, tapping and prying.

Removing the pilot bearing. This almost made me want to push the car off a cliff. The old one might as well have been welded in. I tried the packing method (bread, or wet TP, grease, etc... using pressure to force the bearing out from behind) with zero luck. I tried cutting it out, but only had a Dremel and it wouldn't reach deep enough to break the casing. The ONLY thing that got it out was a modified bearing puller and that barely... and I mean barely worked, only after yanking the internal races and having nothing but a cut up outer casing to remove.

Seating the dowel pins and pressure plate. MAKE 100% FREAKING SURE YOU INSTALL THE DOWEL PINS BEFORE YOU PUT THE FLYWHEEL ON THE CAR AND TEST-FIT THE CLUTCH ASSEMBLY!!! Had I not done this, there would have been so many more issues caused. DO NOT HAMMER THE DOWEL PINS IN, this is a guaranteed way to mushroom the heads or set them in at an angle! USE A C-CLAMP TO PRESS THEM IN AND COAT THEM WITH RED LOC-TITE! I ended up having to remove a little material on the pressure plate where the holes for the dowel pins are and "persuade" it into place. The dowel pins were in straight, but for some reason, no matter how I tried, they wouldn't line up with the PP holes without modification. Sometimes the paint on the PP will cause this, but this was not the case for me... the holes were too small.

Re-installing the transmission. This is a game of tilting the engine and if you're fortunate enough to have a trans jack that allows you adjust the angle on it, tilting that as well. Space is very limited when it comes to sliding the trans back in. The jack is 100% imperative for this step. For me, it would be been impossible to press the trans up and somehow slide it in, aligning the input shaft and dowels at the same time. I found that tilting the back of the engine down and manually lifting the bellhousing up to meet the engine worked best. You can eyeball what the input shaft is doing through the dust cover opening on the driver's side. DO NOT EVER FORCE/STAB/PULL THE TRANS IN USING THE BELLHOUSING BOLTS! It WILL fit like a glove when everything is aligned. If it doesn't, something is wrong and you will cause damage by forcing it. Most likely in the form of bent pressure plate fingers. Have fun pulling it all apart and buying a new clutch!


Those are really the biggest points I can stress. Everything else is fairly simple. Changing the pivot ball, TOB, clutch fork, etc are the easiest of the job. Installing the firewall adjuster is easy. Running the new clutch cable isn't bad so long as you follow the correct route. Removing the old quadrant is for the most part simple (only difficulty is the extremely tight space to work in... the smaller part of the quadrant is somewhat difficult to remove due to location and the way the spring is mounted), installing the new one is even easier. Make sure you adjust the clutch properly before you start driving the car.

The new setup is about as smooth as the hydraulic clutch on my bike. If the rest of the car felt that good, I'd be a happy person.

The job is do-able. Take your time with it and read the important parts above... hopefully this helps.