It's been done. I finally tackled the transmission and clutch this weekend. Yay!

[MustangLX-5.0]

I must say what a pleasure it is to have a new ( 113k miles on the new-er trans) plus a brand new Perfection Clutch and I replaced the trans mount while I was at it.. The TO bearing is definitely better than the POS old one, but it is a little noisy still. Never replaced the flywheel despite all the shiny spots .. discolorations and tiny cracks. I was going to, but really could not afford it. A new flywheel would probably look like that in a couple years anyway. I really like being able to shift into all gears and not ever having the damn thing pop out of gear. Ohhh man I hated that!

I never removed the flywheel, yet for some odd reason I feel a lot more vibrations in certain RPM ranges. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with the new Trans mount. It kinda makes my back and hands numb sometimes..ehh weird. And the harmonic balancer don't look ripped yet. I alos have noticed my starter is noisier now. I seem to hear a bit more starter noise through the footwell while cranking it. I'm not sure why this is either. Either way, I am much more pleased than I ever was. If anyone needs any info on what I had done.. difficulty etc.. feel free to give me a shout.

 

[robb15033]

Throw out bearing plus pilot bearing should always be replaced when a new clutch is put in. I got a SPEC billet steel flywheel off e-bay and installed it with a new clutch kit. The flywheel eliminated the vibration 100%. My starter has always made a noise and I inspected the teeth on it and obviously on the brand new flywheel, I dont know...

 

[MustangLX-5.0]

Ahh, the shuddering from releasing the clutch has gone almost. I know the flywheel is a bit warped, but obviously the pressure plate had to of been a lot worse because before we replaced all this crap, I had tons of shuddering while releasing the clutch. Thought it was going to shake the car apart. The new TO bearing is much more smoother, but it is still a little noisy. Oh well.. I don't give a crap really. It's 100 times better than it was.

Starter teeth are in good condition, as well as the flywheel. I believe the noise is from the new stiffer trans mount. All the engine vibrations come through as well, and in certain RPM ranges starts to make my back itch while sitting in the seat. I think one of my injector o-rings has a bad seal.

One problem I discovered with my old transmission was that the vent plug on top, my old trans didn't have a rubber piece on top of it. It just had the plastic vent that moved up and down from the inside pressure. The other trans has a rubber piece on top of it. I think that piece missing may be why I was getting water in my trans before so often. And thats what ruined it. I changed the trans fluid in that thing at least 4 times. and each time it was milkshake....