firewall is cracking on my 89 5.0 and i was going to put a plate on the engine side but i feel like the way its cracking a plate wont really help. anyone run into this and successfully fix it? clutch its a valeo king cobra so naturally its a really hard pedal and the fix would need to hold up to the abuse.
Paint and Body Cracked Firewall
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Made a plate at work and after some research found that the maximum motorsports strut tower brace bolts into the pinch weld above the hole for the clutch cable. I'm going to put them both in and pray its enough. If anyone has any opinions or a better idea let me know
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A real King Cobra clutch assembly doesn't have any more pedal effort than the standard clutch. I have had 2 of them as replacements for stock clutches.
You may have a binding clutch cable or a different pressure plate from the King cobra or stock.Justice, Valeo made a HD clutch for 5.0 Fords that was noted for its heavy pedal.
Binding clutch cable... About every 3-4 days I had to adjust the clutch cable. It seemed lose adjustment and the transmission wouldn't go into gear. Since it was an adjustable cable, I thought that it might be stretched so I bought a replacement. Good idea, but not because the cable was stretched...
I have never seen a cable fail in this manner. It was a Ford Racing part, so I wasn't expecting to see this.
While I was at it, it fixed the problem of the firewall adjuster being difficult to turn. I added a roller thrust bearing to the adjuster. Now it is easy to turn and since the adjuster has click stops built into it, there is no worry about it moving without me turning it. It cost about $8 plus the shipping.
You may have a binding clutch cable or a different pressure plate from the King cobra or stock.Justice, Valeo made a HD clutch for 5.0 Fords that was noted for its heavy pedal.
Binding clutch cable... About every 3-4 days I had to adjust the clutch cable. It seemed lose adjustment and the transmission wouldn't go into gear. Since it was an adjustable cable, I thought that it might be stretched so I bought a replacement. Good idea, but not because the cable was stretched...
I have never seen a cable fail in this manner. It was a Ford Racing part, so I wasn't expecting to see this.
While I was at it, it fixed the problem of the firewall adjuster being difficult to turn. I added a roller thrust bearing to the adjuster. Now it is easy to turn and since the adjuster has click stops built into it, there is no worry about it moving without me turning it. It cost about $8 plus the shipping.
I bought it from mustangs unlimited and would hope its legit. I'm thinking the one that was in there before started the damage and its just been progressing over the last six months with the new one. The pedal isnt bad but it's no hydraulic that's for sure. You reminded me tho I'm going to probably replace my cable as I've been thru a few even tho the one I have on there doesnt seem to be damaged. There was metallic powder when I removed the cable but it was fine like graphite. Cable looks shiny still and doesnt feel like its binding when I move it with my hand.
Just to follow up it looks like the plate was a success. Shifts perfect and not nearly as hard of a pedal. The strut tower brace comes tomorrow for extra strength but it seems the plate alone gets the job done. Hopefully this helps anyone with this problem in the future.
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1.Nice repair piece.
2. Where did @jrichker get the bearing, and what did you order to get it? (I have some tools that can use a bearing like that.)
3. Should we lube the cables like speedometer cables? Those do not last long without liquid graphite. Not many stealerships or garages still have a can on the shelf, but the needle bounces without it. I wonder if there will be less binding on the clutch cables, too.
2. Where did @jrichker get the bearing, and what did you order to get it? (I have some tools that can use a bearing like that.)
3. Should we lube the cables like speedometer cables? Those do not last long without liquid graphite. Not many stealerships or garages still have a can on the shelf, but the needle bounces without it. I wonder if there will be less binding on the clutch cables, too.
Here's the part numbers for the thrust bearings
www.mscdirect.com was the source for the parts
03380920 1 each 0.750X1.250X0.078 THRUST CAGE-NEEDLE ASSEMB
03381092 2 each 0.750X1.250X0.032 THRUST WASHER-NEEDLE-FLAT
yea i run a cnc burn table at work, took a few measurements and burned this out of some 3/16" stainless plate. If anyone needs something of this manner and wants to pay shipping i can probably send you one. Or any other custom plates of a reasonable size for that matter, doesnt cost me anything really.
- Mar 2, 2015
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Yours is really bad. Looks like the dash needs to be pulled so it can get properly welded up before the reinforcement. There's stuff back there that can be burned if welded from the front without being stripped out.
I've reinforced a few with just a thicker plate of steel or aluminum from the hardware store. The cable hile will keep it centered so no real need for screws.
