bhedenberg

hey guys, i was hoping you could help me figure this one out.
i know this is a lot, so bear with me
i have a 99GT 5speed with 117,000mi. last may, i had my clutch replaced due to a broken throwout bearing. i had the entire clutch kit put on, but i had the flywheel machined. after i got it back from the shop, i was getting a squeaking noise unless i had my foot lightly on the clutch. i searched the forums here, and i installed a new clutch cable. it still had the squeaking, so i preloaded the (adjustable stock) quadrant per a link from cliffyk. the new (oem) cable was tighter, but it eventually broke in (I also lubed the jacket with powdered graphite)
i was driving the other day, put in the clutch pedal, and the quadrant broke. specifically, the teeth. i took it to ford, and they put a new quadrant on. when i picked it up, the tech told me that the flywheel needed to be replaced, as the clutch was chattering for him.
the next day, the same thing happened: teeth on the quadrant broke again. now they want to replace the whole clutch kit plus flywheel.
i know a bit about cars, and i understand how a clutch works. is there any reason to blame the clutch or flywheel? i think it could be: the fork, pivot ball, pressure plate, or maybe the cable. what do you think?

-i know i could just put on a metal aftermarket quadrant and firewall adjuster... but i feel like if theres a problem, it will just break the cable or something else.

thanks!

cliffyk

What clutch kit did you install, is the new clutch a heavier clamping force kit?

The plastic quadrant is not that bad, however it is plastic and all the force is transmitted by the pawl, to the teeth on the quadrant. Are the pawl and the quadrant misaligned, can you post a photo of one of the failed quadrants?

bhedenberg

im not sure what clutch kit was installed, i assumed that it was an oem replacement. the pedal was a little heavier when i had it done. but i also figured if it was a racing clutch or something, it would have cost a little more; i paid about 650-700, labor included. but, that probably means nothing haha

as for the quadrant, unfortunately i was unable to take any pictures. its sitting at the dealership; i wasnt able to drive it home. but, i can say that the way that it sounded when breaking, a few teeth went at first before they all broke (just on the quadrant; not on adjuster)

cliffyk

Obviously something in the clutch control system is overloading the pawl/quadrant's capabilities. It is rather important to know whether the pawl and quadrant were properly aligned laterally--if they were then it's the cable's friction and/or the force needed to throw out the clutch that are overloading the pawl/quadrant.

If they were not properly aligned then their torque transmission capacity would have been reduced in proportion with the misalignment.

I.e. two possible problems: a) the force needed to throw-out the clutch is in excess of the plastic pawl/quadrant's capacity (I have not heard of any non-extreme heavy-duty clutch doing this--maybe someone has?). Or b) the pawl and quadrant were misaligned, reducing their capacity, and that caused the failure...

kast1376

I would guess that the quadrant was mis-aligned.

However, it could be the plastic the quadrant was made of was inferior or had gotten brittle and therefore couldn't handle the force. I have had other gears made of plastic break extremely quickly in another hobby. It was found the plastic was inferior to what the original was made of.

bhedenberg

thanks for all of the quick replies. i hate not having my car so i can check on things as i get more information. i already put in a call not to drop the tranny, hopefully they already didnt do that.
basically, im focusing on three possibilities- either a misaligned quadrant, a snagged or faulty clutch cable, or maybe a heavy duty clutch. i asked them to look at the cable, as well as the new quadrant.
i plan on just ordering an aluminum quadrant and adjustable firewall fitting from summit. maybe a new cable too. and installing myself. when i installed the cable last may, the pedal was much tighter than the original one. i know i installed it correctly with no snags/harsh angles/twists. could that be the problem?
again, thanks for helping me out

ben

caaraa

Well, these are precisely I need now.