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Need help diagnosing clutch (?) problems.

Hi:

My '65 mustang has a 4 speed manual tranny. The engine is a 289. Neither are original to the car, in fact, I believe my father said he took the tranny out of an old Granada (don't hold me to it).

Anyway, recently it's become difficult to change gears. The clutch pedal must be fully depressed to switch gears, particularly into first from a stop.

Furthermore, when the car is cold, their is a scraping sound when the clutch is fully depressed (sometimes after warming up too).

The car has seen (wild guess) maybe 20k miles since being restored in the mid eighties, I have no idea what condition the clutch or tranny was in at the time.

Any ideas on how bad a problem I have? It would be nice if it was something I could fix myself (linkage, cable, adjustment, etc.), but I will take it to a mechanic (and worry constantly while out of my possession) if more involved clutch work is required. I would appreciate some idea about what is wrong in advance.

Thanks.

Reply to
pawn
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First thing I'd do is check the clutch adjustment. Under the hood, sitting below the brakes' master cylinder is a rod that runs from the clutch pedal to the equalizer bar. The under-hood end of this rod is threaded. It goes through a hole in a block that pivots on the end of the equalizer bar. There should be a nut on each side of this block. Reach in there and see if you can jiggle the equalizer bar. If so, then back off the lock nut (the one nearest the tip of the rod) and turn the other nut counter clockwise until you've taken all the slack out. Don't go too far. You don't want to set it too tight, or the throwout bearing will be constantly pressing on the pressure plate and will burn out. Tighten the lock nut, and see if your gear selection problem is gone. If it's not, and you've run out of adjustment on the rod, then it's probably time for a new clutch.

The scraping sound is the throwout bearing. If this sound doesn't go away after the clutch adjustment, it's time to replace the throwout bearing. Because this requires removal of the drive shaft, shifter, tranny, and bell housing, you ought to replace the clutch as long as you're in there. A cheapie clutch kit, including a new throwout bearing, runs about $180. The good stuff -- Centerforce -- is about a hundred more.

7
Reply to
one80out

Thank you for your help. The equalizer bar had about an inch or so of play in it, which I eliminated. The scraping (perhaps predictably) was a little worse when cold, but the clutch definitely felt like it had more engagement and the shifting improved. The throwout bearing scraping disappeared within a few minutes. Maybe that will improve too, now that it is getting worked a little more. We'll see, but it seems some clutch work is on the horizon in any case.

Thanks again.

Reply to
pawn, loathesome, credible

bewarned cheap aftermarket clutches have problems brake washer around the hub reamans ten to brakes and rattle i always advise people when the buy cheap clutch kits that if it makes noise ya pay me again

hurc ast

Reply to
sanfordm44356

What do you think of the Ram brand? Just curious, because that's what I put in my kids' '65. From NPD, which seems to stock the better stuff.

180 Out
Reply to
one80out

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