scrapman

02 GT, just got clutch, TOB, and Pilot bearing replaced. When the clutch pedal is all the way up (in freeplay), there is a wobble/vibration you can feel in it. As soon as you push the pedal and the TOB engages the fingers of the pressure plate, pedal is smooth as silk.

I took back to mechanic that replaced clutch, and he said the pivot point and fork were a little worn, so the fork is probably wobbling on the pivot a little.

Will this wear out my new Throw Out Bearing? It seems to be getting better the more I drive it.

1998mustangcobra

Have the exact same problem with my 98 Cobra. Just installed a new clutch, trans, shifter, TOB, pilot bearing, and driveshaft U joints and STILL have the vibration. I have the trans out for the 3rd time (bought the trans from a rebuilder out in Oklahoma and 2,000 miles later its jumping out of reverse just like the old one. Luckily, he actually owned up to his warranty ) and this time I WILL go back with a new TOB lever. My mechanic said it didn't look "too" worn the first time I took it out, but that's the only thing that I didn't go back with new. So I'm thinking that either the springs on the pivot ball or the springs on the TOB are worn just enought to let it vibrate. I'll update this once I get her back together and let you know if that's what my problem was.

jamsunami

I once had a very similar issue, could feel vibrations from the clutch pedal after a clutch install, but could press the clutch pedal in slightly and the vibrations would smooth out. Turns out one of the bolts holding the pressure plate to the flywheel backed out (maybe wasn't torqued correctly?), which caused one or two of the fingers to go out of alignment. My advice, remove the inspection cover and take a close look at the fingers (hold the TOB off the fingers)...if you can see they are not even with each other, then that might be the problem. Since I had to have that issue corrected, I then chose to replace the pivot ball and lever arm.

scrapman

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like to get rid of the shimmy, I may need to replace the pivot ball and clutch fork. The funny thing is, it did not wobble before with the worn out TOB, and clutch.

1998mustangcobra, I would be very interested to see if yours goes away when you re-install everything.

jamsunami

Scrapman, do you still have the stock self-adjusting quadrant under the dash? If so, you should (should) be able to adjust the tension on the clutch cable by lifting upwards on the clutch pedal, then pressing it all the way down.

Also, did you (or the mechanic) remove the inspection cover and visually inspect the clutch fingers? It's free to try that, but time consuming to drop the transmission again.

scrapman

I'm not sure what quadrant is in the Mustang, I will check when I get home(my sons car). I will try to adjust the quadrant and visually inspect the clutch fingers before dropping the tranny. Great info, thanks.

jamsunami

FYI, the stock quadrant, in case you don't know, is a plastic piece under the dash, in the shape of a quadrant or section of a circle...the clutch cable rides on the round section of the quadrant, and the outside of the round surface has teeth that work with a ratchet mechanism to self adjust. I've seen a number of posts over time which describe this better. Many people choose to put on an aftermarket quadrant and firewall adjuster...if you go with an aftermarket quadrant, you will need the firewall adjuster to add/remove tension on the cable (or get an adjustable cable, but many people have had these break). Maybe try searching "quadrant" or "clutch cable adjustment" (etc.) to find past threads on this topic, there's a lot out there (certainly a lot of folks more knowledgeable than I).

scrapman

After some research, I think that the reason the clutch fork and therefore my pedal is vibrating, is that there is no reason for it to back the TOB away from the pressure plate. There is no spring that would do this, and the OEM clutch cable will not push it back. I am thinking of doing a clutch freeplay mod, like this one: http://www.svtperformance.com/forums...eplay-kit.html

This would force the clutch fork to back the TOB off the pressure plate. What do you guys think?

zero2005

this has already been mensioned several times, but usually not for the reason your describing. the reason is to increase TOB live-span. the TOB's are short lived on our cars due to the fact that in the stock form they will likely ALWAYS be seated against the pressure plate fingers, therefore always spinning.

i've seen two ways to fix this, one is the spring method you pointed out. the problem with this is that it creates a bit more pedal tension. not a huge deal, but some people dont like that. the other method is to use a magnet that only pulls the last slight amount of travel to pull the fork just to seat it and keep the bearing off the fingers. you can get a magnet pretty heavy duty enough to pull this off out of a salvaged hard drive, or off ebay.

i personally dont mind the spring method, but the magnet idea is ****.

now, are you sure the vibration isnt caused by either an imbalance of the flywheel/clutch or a problem with the clutch? is it a stock clutch or something like an aftermarket 6-puck? puck clutches are notorious for "chattering" but thats typically during engagement.

scrapman

It is a stock clutch, I will check for an imbalance issue, but I don't think there is one. The clutch is buttery smooth once the TOB has any pressure on the fingers, and there is no chattering when taking off or changing gears.