ASUSMC

Every tech I have ever talked to at ANY shop including ALL transmission shops leave it out. For the record GT's do not have a ton of torque especially compared to Cobra's, LSx's, ANY big block. They are a torquey(sp?) motor but like I stated earlier I have run for 10k+ miles withZERO issues and over 400wtq for 5k of them.

wwmost

i think he was talking about the STARTER MOTOR that had the tons of torque......

172pilot

Thanks to all, especially UofIPilot, for the info... Very timely, as my '00 GT Convertible, which I bought about amonth ago, just started sounding like I'm going to need to get in there to replace the throw out bearing..

This is off the topic of this thread, but since all of you have presumably been into the clutch, I'll ask about this before I try to make a new thread.

My trouble started yesterday, when I started the car in my garage. As soon as I touched the clutch (Can't remember if it was in reverse or not) it started "howling".. My wife thought it was squeeky brakes, but it was most definitely not. It quieted down quickly, but then ever since, I have occasionally heard a squeek / howl when I get on the clutch. It seems worst when I'm barely on it, and it seems to always immediately goes away when I release the clutch fully.

Doesn't matter whether I'm moving or not, and one time, when I was downshifting from 2 to 1, I felt a slight vibrarion in the stick which corresponded to the sound I was hearing.

I drove someone with more experience with this stuff to lunch today, and he said that by the sound and description, it's the throw out bearing... So..

My questions include:

Obviously, if I'm in there already, it makes sense to me to replace the clutch at the same time. After reading this forum, it seems that it would be recommended to replace the flywheel while I'm in there too?? Anything else??

Are there particular brands I should be looking at or staying away from, or should I just go to autozone and ask for a clutch? I'm not going to race it, but I'm not afraid to ask for power when I need it either, so I do want to get something decent, although reliability / longevity is probably more important to me than anything. I know people can be fairly opinionated regarding favorite brands - I'm not trying to start a war here, I'm more interested in finding out if there's a reason NOT to go stock..

If I decide not to attack this myself [aka: lazy], is the 9 hours of labor mentioned in this thread realistic? I'm just wondering what to expect from the local goodyear...

Thanks!

172pilot

One more thing.. Any hurry to do this? Other than the embarrassment about the strange looks I get in parking lots, am I likely damaging something else, and/or in danger of being stranded by a crippled car? Anything I can do in the meantime to extend it's life or quiet it down?

Thanks again!

P8ntbala

Thanks for the advice.
Is the pilot bearing something I can find at the local autoparts store or will I have to order it from Ford because I am looking to start the installonce the week is out?

StealthGT2V

hey, yea I emailed you back a few days later but you must have not recieved it...ill pm you with details..

LetThePoniesRunFree

You can get the pilot bearing from any parts house that's worth a grain of salt. You didn't mention if your clutch "kit" came with a new clutch release, (throw out), bearing. If it didn't, pick one up when you go get your alignment tool and pilot bearing. It's also not a bad idea to re-install your flywheel to the crank with new bolts after you resurface/replace it. It's not mandatory, just a little bit of insurance.

You might also want to consider replacing the factory clutch cable and clutch quadrant with an aftermarket adjustable kit. This will make adjusting your new clutch a heck of a lot easier. Not to mention you will be able to set your clutch pedal to engage/disengage the clutch where you are most comfortable with. The factory "adjuster" is some what less than desirable.

Might as well go with synthetic in the tranny while you're replacing the oil. Royal Purple or my favorite, Red Line would do nicely.

P8ntbala

I dont think Ill be taking advantage of the quadrant and adjuster this time around. That added to the price of synthetic, a bearing, clutch kitand flywheel resurface puts me a bit over what I would like to spend. I honestly dont mind where it grabs now, but I guess that will all change with the new clutch.

LetThePoniesRunFree

I can certainly understand that!!!

On the plus side, you can always do the cable/quadrant up-grade anytime. Here's a link to how you can "cheat" the factory adjuster if you find you need to. http://www.corral.net/tech/drivetrain/clutcha.htm

Shawn02GT

if you can't adjust the engagment after installing a clutch you might as well plan on buying a new clutch in the near future [&:]