JDM Engineering said "no slack in the cable but not too tight" uhhh Muscle Mustang and Fast Fords Magazine says " little or no free play in the pedal but should be able to flex the cable at the shift fork 1/2 inch" which means no noticable freeplay movement forward and back. Others online say 1/4 inch freeplay...back and forth movement in the cable or movement of the fork... I have often been told the same but 1/8 inch movement of the fork forward and back. WHAT IS CORRECT? I am asking because after buying a new RPM LEVEL V TRANS I still cant shift well under track conditions and it seems sloppy and inconsistant on the street too.
You do need a little clearance between the TOB and the clutch fingers. About 1/8" play sounds OK. The problem is that the stock Ford setup allows the TOB to lightly ride on the clutch fingers all the time - there is nothing to keep the TOB away from the clutch fingers. Thus, the TOB is revolving all the time and dies faster than it should. There are after-market spring kits (I made one myself) that keeps the fork pulled back and allows true space between the TOB and clutch fingers when the clutch is fully engaged. Your clutch should begin engagement an inch or two off the floor and be fully engaged about about 1" from the top of the clutch pedal height. If you want faster clutch action, you can adjust (I hope you do not have an adjustable cable as they DO NOT last) the firewall adjuster so that you your clutch engages further up so you don't have to push it in so far for a quick shift. Some even use a plate under the clutch pedal so they don't have to push it all the way to the floor. Lots of options but make sure the clutch is fully engaged or you could burn it out by slippage if it is not fully engaged at full clutch pedal height. Hope this makes sense; maybe others can chime in with their experiences. Mike
