You heard it before (clutch cable TRUTH!)

89stang1

Stroked and Juiced
10 Year Member
Nov 5, 2008
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nj
I heard it so many times on this forum now i finally did it. 1.(OEM Non Adjustable Clutch Cable), 2.(Firewall Adjuster) and 3.(3 hook billet Quadrant) unbelievable i have had about every clutch cable combination and i can say i have never felt a clutch this good, i think a 10 year old kid could drive my car anybody not using this combo i don't care how good your clutch feels it's not this GOOD!!!:nice:
 
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It's about time someone else realized this. I myself am still using a crappy old B&M cable but it's getting replaced when my clutch does.

Did you piece your setup together yourself or did you get the Maximum Motorsports kit?
 
It's about time someone else realized this. I myself am still using a crappy old B&M cable but it's getting replaced when my clutch does.

Did you piece your setup together yourself or did you get the Maximum Motorsports kit?

the cable came from 50resto $29.99, firewall adj. is from BBK, quadrant i got at downs ford 3 hook model looks a little like the upr one i have it on the 2nd hook. Firewall adj. is out a couple turns ive been fine tuning it to the point of perfection!! cars just a pleasure to drive i was out yesterday and letting my 9 year old son make shifts while i clutch. Anybody that's not using this setup is missing out!!
 
What does hooking the cable to a different hook do? That doesn't mess the clutch up or cause it to hang up does it? Doesn't it just change the release point of engagement and disengagement?
 
The three hook quadrants can place excess stress on the cable and ferrule. I would recommend using single hook quadrants.
 
i have had numerous problems with aftermarket 'adjustable' aka trash cables and finally sucked it up and bought a OEM cable from maximum motorsports. I also have a Fiore FWA and a steeda Quad. Clutch engagement is perfectly linear and exactly midways through pedal travel. It is also nice and firm and not spongy. Couldnt be happier
 
The three hook quadrants can place excess stress on the cable and ferrule. I would recommend using single hook quadrants.

Hissin50 i usually agree with 99.99 percent of the answers u give in tech section, but after good advise i got and reading way too much on this subject it was so overwhelming that i expected it to work good, but i didn't expect it too be this good!! i have a BBK firewall adj., i had a steeda adj cable now have oem non adj cable, and i had a BBK 1 hook quad which i replaced with the 3 hook Downs ford quad. (looks similiar to UPR). First u cant use oem non adj cable with 1 hook quad atleast my BBK, the 3 hook is way smoother than the 1 hook gives your clutch a whole different feel shifting is effort less gives u a better feel for clutch engagment, i was able to adj the firewall adj to a more precise clutch pedal settings than when i had my steeda adj cable even when it was new not even close. I see no stress on the cable at all its the opposite with such a great fit and perfect adjustability. Also i noticed the adj cable was longer it went around my oil filter with the non adj cable it went on the opposite side of filter shorter for better feel. Both cable were same thickness. I had to adj my steeda adj cable 2 times in a week so i new what was coming, i was making big adj under the car when i took the adj cable out i seen the cable was fine it was the housing around the cable blew out and was goin threw the bbk firewall adj, having to adj the stretchy adj cable the housing didnt hold up, the end of my oem non adj cable has a nut to renforce the housing the adj had none thats where it got weak and broke.
Sorry for running on but after my results i had to share:nice:
 
Man ... if it really is an OEM Ford cable and not just an "OEM fit" non-adjustable aftermarket cable (such as Pioneer), then $30 is an AWESOME deal on that clutch cable. Cheapest I've ever seen for a new Ford cable is about $75 from Maximum Motorsports.

If it's NOT a genuine Ford cable ... enjoy it while it lasts. The non-adjustable aftermarket cable I had in my '89 felt great at first, but only lasted through 8 or 9 months of weekend-only use before it one day started failing a strand at a time - barely made it home with only 2 or 3 steel strands holding the thing together. Nobody seems to make a worthwhile clutch cable for these cars other than Ford. :notnice:
 
the oem non adj cable i bought was a great deal, the steeda adj cable i had for more than 2 years was exact thickness as the non adj and non adj appeared to look like a better weave, the housing went on my steeda not the cable so if i get 2 years with this clutch feel i'll be happy as hell. The real oem cable is 150 bucks thats nuts, even if it dont last as long i will just put another one on the fit and feel is amazing to be honest id change it every 6 months to keep that feel!
 
89Stang1, your experiences are very valid and we appreciate you taking the time to post. :nice:

My only point was that triple hooks can stress the cable. So [totally hypothetically] maybe a cable lasts for 50 or 75K instead of 100K. We certainly know that smoothness and longevity don't necessarily have a correlation. A quadrant with a ramp rate that allows for smooth movement and greater mechanical advantage might happen to stress a cable more than another design.

Some single hooks work with stock cables and some dont (notably, the old-school SVO single hook quadrant also doesnt work with a stock cable). I have used UPR and MM single hooks with a stock cable.
 
the oem non adj cable i bought was a great deal, the steeda adj cable i had for more than 2 years was exact thickness as the non adj and non adj appeared to look like a better weave, the housing went on my steeda not the cable so if i get 2 years with this clutch feel i'll be happy as hell. The real oem cable is 150 bucks thats nuts, even if it dont last as long i will just put another one on the fit and feel is amazing to be honest id change it every 6 months to keep that feel!

Just so you know, there's two kinds of Ford cables offered - the OEM direct-fit cable for $150 and the OEM "universal" cable (which is pretty much the exact same thing, minus the metal bracket) for $75. I got the "universal" Ford cable from MM, and it took just a minute to bend open the stock bracket and then pinch it closed around the new one (in addition to pulling off the rubber grommet and trimming those four little barbs off so you can poke it into your firewall adjuster, which takes maybe another two minutes).

FWIW, I've been running the 3-hook quad from UPR without any issues since Fall 2006. The multiple hooks thing is kinda useless on a non-adjustable cable, though, because the only time you'll ever find yourself anything but the first hook is if you're either using an adjustable cable or if your stock cable has stretched out so far over time that you can just baaaaaarely get it to slip over the second hook (and it might actually be so tight then that it'll cause the clutch not to be fully engaged, thus reducing its grip and increasing slippage). In hindsight, I probably should have just gotten the single-hook UPR quad, but I don't see that you'll have any problems from using the 3-hook quad, regardless. :shrug:
 
this is the cable i got from 50resto
82-93 CLUTCH CABLE, STOCK REPLACEMENT LRS-7553DR $39.99 my bad i said 29.99
i have it on the second hook and its perfect like it was made for it, i have the firewall adj out less than quater way pedal setting is perfect, clutch control is like never before. I think if u have and oem non adj fit like what i got from 50resto i think its better than parts store one but most of all installed right not binding i cant see why it cant outlast the adj steeda one i had more than 2 years. The feel of my clutch right now is amazing i know for sure this is the setup i will run forever just wanted to share true clutch happiness!
 
i have the mm cable setup with the oem adjustable cable and it works great.i would recommend this setup to anyone who is having problems with there clutch cable.
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i have the mm cable setup with the oem adjustable cable and it works great.i would recommend this setup to anyone who is having problems with there clutch cable.
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Ummm ... did you mean the MM "universal" Ford cable and the OEM self-adjusting quadrant? Or a non-adjustable cable with an aluminum quad and a firewall adjuster? :scratch: