i have a stock t-5 with 75000 miles. it has been shifting rough and hesitates when i pass nuetral when i shift. i bought a steeda tri ax and a new bushing and it didn't help at all. Any ideas why it shifts so slow and rough?
Stock T-5 Rought Shifting?
- Thread starter fiveohlover
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It's more likely that the clutch cable needs adusting. If it's all stock, hook your foot behind the pedal and give it a tug toward you to ratchet the adjuster. If it has a firewall-mounted adjuster, turn it out a few turns and see if that helps.
Could also need a fluid change...although stretched clutch cable is a good suggestion
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Clutch adjustment
Do the clutch adjustment first before considering any other problems. With the stock plastic quadrant and cable, pull up on the clutch pedal until it comes upward toward you. It will make a ratcheting sound as the self adjuster works. To release to tension of the stock quadrant, use a screwdriver to lift the ratchet paw up and out of engagement with the quadrant teeth.
A binding clutch cable will make the clutch very stiff. If the cable is misrouted or has gotten too close to the exhaust, it will definitely bind. The binding common to adjustable cables is often due to misplacement of the adjusting nuts on the fork end of the cable. This will also cause the cable to wear and fray. Both nuts should be on the back side of the fork so that the domed nut faces the fork and the other nut serves as jam or locknut to the domed nut.
Clutch pedal adjustment with aftermarket quadrant and cable: I like to have the clutch completely disengaged and still have about 1.5” travel left before the pedal hits the floor. This means that I have only about 1” of free play at the top before the pedal starts to disengage the clutch. Keep in mind that these figures are all approximate. When properly adjusted, there will not be any slack in the clutch cable. You will have 4-15 lbs preload on the clutch cable.
The quadrant needs to be replaced if you use any type of aftermarket cable or adjuster. My preference is a Ford Racing quadrant, adjustable cable and Steeda firewall adjuster. The adjustable Ford Racing cable is just as good as the stock OEM cable. It allows a greater range of adjustment than a stock cable with a aftermarket quadrant and firewall adjuster. Combined with the Steeda adjuster, it lets you set the initial cable preload and then fine tune the clutch engagement point to your liking without getting under the car.
Using a stock OEM cable, firewall adjuster and a single hook quadrant may result in not having any free pedal travel before the clutch starts to disengage. I found this out the hard way.
See Summit Racing - High Performance Car and Truck Parts l 800-230-3030 for the following parts.
Ford Racing M-7553-B302 - Ford Racing V-8 Mustang Adjustable Clutch Linkage Kits - Overview - SummitRacing.com Cable and quadrant assembly $90
Steeda Autosports 555-7021 - Steeda Autosports Firewall Cable Adjusters - Overview - SummitRacing.com Steeda firewall adjuster. $40
Do the clutch adjustment first before considering any other problems. With the stock plastic quadrant and cable, pull up on the clutch pedal until it comes upward toward you. It will make a ratcheting sound as the self adjuster works. To release to tension of the stock quadrant, use a screwdriver to lift the ratchet paw up and out of engagement with the quadrant teeth.
A binding clutch cable will make the clutch very stiff. If the cable is misrouted or has gotten too close to the exhaust, it will definitely bind. The binding common to adjustable cables is often due to misplacement of the adjusting nuts on the fork end of the cable. This will also cause the cable to wear and fray. Both nuts should be on the back side of the fork so that the domed nut faces the fork and the other nut serves as jam or locknut to the domed nut.
Clutch pedal adjustment with aftermarket quadrant and cable: I like to have the clutch completely disengaged and still have about 1.5” travel left before the pedal hits the floor. This means that I have only about 1” of free play at the top before the pedal starts to disengage the clutch. Keep in mind that these figures are all approximate. When properly adjusted, there will not be any slack in the clutch cable. You will have 4-15 lbs preload on the clutch cable.
The quadrant needs to be replaced if you use any type of aftermarket cable or adjuster. My preference is a Ford Racing quadrant, adjustable cable and Steeda firewall adjuster. The adjustable Ford Racing cable is just as good as the stock OEM cable. It allows a greater range of adjustment than a stock cable with a aftermarket quadrant and firewall adjuster. Combined with the Steeda adjuster, it lets you set the initial cable preload and then fine tune the clutch engagement point to your liking without getting under the car.
Using a stock OEM cable, firewall adjuster and a single hook quadrant may result in not having any free pedal travel before the clutch starts to disengage. I found this out the hard way.
See Summit Racing - High Performance Car and Truck Parts l 800-230-3030 for the following parts.
Ford Racing M-7553-B302 - Ford Racing V-8 Mustang Adjustable Clutch Linkage Kits - Overview - SummitRacing.com Cable and quadrant assembly $90
Steeda Autosports 555-7021 - Steeda Autosports Firewall Cable Adjusters - Overview - SummitRacing.com Steeda firewall adjuster. $40
It makes it hard to get the pedal pressed all the way to the end of its travel. If you press the pedal and it feels like it won't go any farther, you naturally think that the clutch is disengaged as much as it can get. If the cable binds, you may not press it far enough to completely disenage it. Hello grinding gears and hard shifting...
o ok i see. i tried to pull back on the clutch when the car was running and it make it shift really nice when i am not moving at all. But when i start to move and the clutch is out it shifts like crap again.
I'd invest a few bucks in a fresh clutch cable before I worried about trans internals being bad, but if it is the clutch cable and you leave it too much longer without addressing it the trans internals will be a problem. FWIW, it's about as rare as winning the powerball for all the synchros in a trans to fail the same amount at the same time. If it's giving you problems in every gear, chances are it's not the trans, it's something to do with the clutch release.
lxman
Member
What fluid is in the tranny. You need to use ATF. gear oil or regular oil why people use regular oil i dont know but i have seen it. Those 2 are bad for the tranny and cause premature wear. the syncros are on the main shaft with the driven gears. They are what help/make the the tranny shift. If you are replacing the cable use an OEM cable. I have seem to many cases in personal experiences with side jobs and at work that when people use aftermarket adjustable cables they end up haveing more problems. I recommend a good aluminun clutch quadrant, firewall adjuster, and OEM clutch cable.
would the steeda clutch cable with fire wall adjuster and aluminum quadrant be a good investment for $110?
The steeda cable is just like every other adjustable cable out there, it's too long to begin with, so the adjustability is a moot point, and it adds to the force of pull, because it's not sheathed like the factory unit. What you need is an factory OEM cable or equivalent, but a firewall adjuster and a good quadrant are good investments.
I have had excellent results with the Ford Racing adjustable cable on the two 5.0 Mustangs I have had. It is a Ford product, and is well made like the OEM cable.
lxman
Member
At work we see people with clutch problems its almost always because of the adjustable crap. some people are lucky and dont have problems. Just going from a mustang performance shops view here thats all.
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