Ok I recently bought my O3 Cobra 10th Anniversary. Well 2 weeks after I bought I had to have the clutch replaced as far as I know it was the stock clutch. The clutch pedal was VERY stiff. Which if I understand correctly is how it is supposed to be. The car had 54K miles on it when I bought it. And the previous owner was a 57 year old woman. Well I had a go through a huge ordeal to actually get the clutch replaced. Well as soon as the car was "done" the first thing that I noticed was the EXTREMELY light clutch pedal. I said something about the light pedal and I was told that it was "ok". Now it is a month later and I am taking it back in on Monday to get the clutch tore down and looked at. As far as I know it will be replaced again. I was wondering if you guys or girls had any thoughts on the light pedal. And if the stock clutch is supposed to be that stiff. Also if when the clutch is depressed is there supposed to be a noise that sounds like a grinding vacuum cleaner but when I press in the pedal it quits and when I let it out magically it reappears.

 

the noise is a concern i have never heard of anyhting like that with the pedal depressed. the stock clutch in these cars is extremely heavy so that is normal. it is also normal for it to be lighter after making a clutch change. the noise however is an indication that something is wrong.

 

I thought that the clutch was supposed to be stiff and I LOVED how stiff it was. I wish that it could be that stiff again. I thought that they maybe put a GT clutch in it or something. I mean I was told today by the technicians that there was nothing wrong with it. I have already sued dodge over the 05 SRT-4 that I used to have and I won. I also reported this Ford dealership to the B.B.B. and it got results. The General Manager called me and he was nothing but nice. And that is who I talked to today made him sit in the car along with the Service Manager and they both agreed that there is an issue with the clutch. The first time it was replaced the flywheel was NOT replaced I figured that may be the what is causing the problem. I am not hard on the clutch and I haven't done any racing or hard driving I have put less than 1K mile on the clutch. I am just confused! I will keep you all posted when I find out more on Monday. Still open to suggestions or comments.

 

did you replace it with the OEM clutch or after market?

 

To be honest I don't know. It was replaced by the dealership and I don't exactly know what was put in there. I just know that it is a big heaping pile of CRAP!!!!

 

it was probably OEM clutch...dealerships dont put in aftermarket parts unless you tell them to and give them the part.

 

if it was the oe part i don't know why it would have gotten any lighter. unless they made the adjustment to lighten it. alot of winers complained about the pedal being t heavy so for a while you could bring them in to the dealer and have them adjust it ot be lighter.

 

Well the deal was that I think that they may have put an aftermarket clutch in it. Due to the fact that I was not paying for it and they were having to eat the cost. I should find out something monday about the problem. And do you think that adjusting the clutch pedal will help?

 

I now know what the noise was. It was a faulty throw-out bearing. I looked at the clutch, pressure plate, and the fly wheel and they all looked to be in good shape. However when the clutch was replaced it was replaced with a Valeo brand clutch. And the brand new clutch kit is only $166 on ebay. So yeah its cheap and I was told by a technician there that they put that clutch in V6 mustangs. So yeah I am rather pissed about it. So the technician told me that he would try his best..by the way we graduated school together so I think that he will honestly try...to get the OEM clutch to go in there. Hopeful but not likely.

 

Well for what it's worth, my transmission plate inspection plate cover fell off on a bridge one day, so when it rains, it gets some water on the TOB retainer sleeve, thus making a screech when the car is either on, or off. It will either go away, or you can spray some penetrating oil on it.