Recently, I installed a Spec 3+ clutch and a Fidanza flywheel (about 2k miles ago). Well the Spec Throwout bearing went out on me so I purchased a FRPP TOB and did the swap in my garage. After doing some research on here, it appears im not the only one with TOB issues so I thought I would document the steps needed to replace it on your own. Access to a lift would make the job A LOT easier, however in reality most of us do work to our Cobras in our own garage. Here it goes.....
1st remove the (-) negative battery terminal (8mm).
Next, inside the car, remove the shifter ball along with the bezel and attached shifter boot. The bezel is snapped into place so just gently pull up on it to remove it.
At this time you can dis-connect the lighter connector behind the bezel.
Now, remove the shifter handle. My car is equipped with an MGW so all I had to do was loosen the 2 allen head bolts to remove the handle.
Next, remove the four bolts holding the shiter cover to gain access to the shifter bolts themselves.
Now we can remove the shifter by removing the 4 mounting bolts to the transmission. Once the bolts are out you may have to "wiggle" it to free it from the transmission. This is normal.
With the shifter removed now is a good time to disconnect this plug! Access is limited once your underneath the car.
Safely raise the car and place jack stands on all 4 corners of the car. Take time doing this and get it as high off the ground as safely as possible!! I have subframe connectors which is a VERY good spot to support your car with jack stands.
Now, begin removing the mid pipe. Every application will be slightly different but remove the necessary bolts/nuts to remove it and place it off to the side.
With the mid-pipe out of the way we will remove the driveshaft from the car. BEFORE REMOVING ANY BOLTS FROM THE DRIVESHAFT use a marker and mark the position of the driveshaft and ensure it gets re-installed in the same position. Once you have placed your mark(s) (as shown) remove the 4 12mm 12 point bolts from the driveshaft and remove it. Once again, you may have to tap on the driveshaft with a rubber mallet to free it from the rear end. (this is normal)
At this time you should not loose any fluid out of the transmission tail shaft, however, in the next steps, fluid may begin to come out. You have 2 options. Let the fluid drain into a pan, or place a GOOD quality plastic bag over the tail shaft and secure it with many rubber bands to prevent it from leaking. Thats what I did and it worked very well!
You can now remove the four transmission cross member bolts on either side and set them aside. (note: The transmission will slightly drop when removing these bolts)
Disconnect any harnesses that are attached to the trans and tuck them away in a safe place to prevent them from being snagged.
Now, remove the inspection shield to gain access to the clutch cable
With the inspection shield removed, we can now disconnect the clutch cable from the clutch fork. Using a flat headed screw driver, pry on the cable to dislodge it from the mounting slot in the clutch fork.
We can now begin to remove the 8 15mm bolts holding the transmission to the belhousing. Now is a good time to support the front and rear with jacks to prevent the transmission from moving to much.
There is one bolt, commonly referred to as the "bitch" bolt. It is one of the 8 bolts holding the trans to the bell housing and it is located on the top passenger side of the transmission. This bolt is in fact a pain in the a$$ but with a little patience and LONG extensions/swivel heads it will come out.
Once all 8 transmission bolts are removed, the transmission is ready to come out. 2 or more people will be needed to help with this. I was by myself so while I waited on a few friends, I took a beer break!
With the help of friends, safely pull back on the trans to pull the input shaft out of the clutch and lower the transmission onto the ground. I placed it on a 4 wheel dolly which made it easy to roll around on.
With your right hand on the clutch fork, give it a firm pull towards you, to disconnect the clip from the ball stud.
Remove the old TOB and install the new bearing onto the clutch fork as shown. Make sure the bearing is installed on the TOP of the clips like shown in the picture
Before re-installing the clutch fork, check the bearing retainer for any dirt/debris and make sure there are no gouges and the retainer is clean. DO NOT APPLY GREASE TO THE RETAINER!!! Only apply grease to the ball stud!
Once your clutch fork is back into position, make sure your able to move the clutch fork with ease and there is no binding.
Now all thats left to do is reverse the steps and re-install the transmission. As a side not, Remember to re-install the driveshaft in the same position as it was. Line up your marks and USE loctite on the 4 bolts when re-installing the driveshaft!
Good luck and I hope this was helpful.
GREEN BAY PACKER FAN "I've always been a Packer, always will be a Packer"
- Bassani Catted X - Bassani CB - JLT RAI - H&R Sport Springs - MGW Shifter - BF IRS Brace - TF Victory Rims - Nittos - MM CC Plates - MM FLSFC -
Hehe good to see you got it all done, goota love the "bitch bolt" huh
Can't believe you didn't use a transmission jack or some derivative of one!! Like I told you before I made a ghetto wooden frame on my floor jack and ratchet strapped it onto that, worked pretty well!
Hehe good to see you got it all done, goota love the "bitch bolt" huh
Can't believe you didn't use a transmission jack or some derivative of one!! Like I told you before I made a ghetto wooden frame on my floor jack and ratchet strapped it onto that, worked pretty well!
Must be nice to have it done though!
Hey, thanks again for the helpful tips from my other thread . Trust me, it wasn't fun without a trans jack but i really had no choice and HAD to get it done. The 4wheel dolly in the pics made it a lot easier to move around although putting the transmission back up was all man power lol.
Great pics and instructions. I had all this stuff out at my friends shop when I was in Washington getting my clutch replaced. My x-pipe didn't show up in time so the mechanic had to put it all back together without my headers and x-pipe. So they have been waiting in my storage for me to get the drive to take it all apart again. Taking out the tranny will help a bunch and this thread makes it look easy.
P.S. Should I get another Cobra Bob shifter gasket or do they hold up well enough that I can reuse it? Haven't taken the shifter out since the gasket was in stalled.
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2003 Satin Silver Pearl Cobra #1144 - Stock
2003 Satin Silver Pearl Cobra #463 - Totaled (Worst day of my life.)
Only 2003 offered SSP on the Cobras. 242 Coupes and 81 Verts. Exterior paint code on the door sticker is TL for SSP and YN for Silver Metallic. Which Silver do you have?
nice write up. i dropped the trans this weekend for a tob and decided to get a new clutch but i cant seem to get that f*****g bolt on the starter off. after 2 hours yesterday i called it a day before i started to throw s**t.
thanks again
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* miss your smile babe, your forever in my heart *
yeah that starter is a pain to remove. After about an hour i finally figured it out. You need about a foot and a half of extentions and a wobler joint. Threat them in from the front of the of the motor in between the block and the K member, i was able to remove both the top bolts in about two min. There are three bolts that hold the starter on. hope this helps you out.
You do need to remove the starter to get the bell housing off, but not if your just removing the trans. In this write up i think he was replacing the tob. This is a great how too, there is also a great video online that shows you the entire process on a 03 cobra of replacing the clutch. My tob just went out last week and broke the retainer sleeve. I have the car on jackstands Still waiting on parts. Im replacing the clutch and upgrading to 26 spline. Not too hard to do but it helps to have someone muscle the trans out from under the car.
Last edited by trmin8ter03; 01-25-2009 at 07:24 PM.
yeah that starter is a pain to remove. After about an hour i finally figured it out. You need about a foot and a half of extentions and a wobler joint. Threat them in from the front of the of the motor in between the block and the K member, i was able to remove both the top bolts in about two min. There are three bolts that hold the starter on. hope this helps you out.
i tried the extensions with swivels that day but i couldnt see the damn bolts. i can get the socket in the vicinity but not on the bolt head.
where you able to see the bolts? i have kooks headers and down by the collectors its hard to see around.
i had a screwed up day that day and short on patience, im going to try it again thursday when im more rested and my back doesnt hurt
I would not do this "With your right hand on the clutch fork, give it a firm pull towards you, to disconnect the clip from the ball stud."
I have seen the the clip break from people doing it like that. (luckily not from personal experience) all you have to do is pull the clutch fork down away from the ball, almost like you are trying to pull the clutch fork through the inspection cover location. the fork will slip off the ball enough to then pull the fork and TOB forward off the retainer sleeve.
Current Comp Orange: (Eaton) 10.80 @ 128mph, 3.31 gears and 28" tall tires. Stage 3 port and 2.76 upper only. Solid axle
Turbo: 723rwhp/689rwtq, 22# mustang dyno. track times to come
Just finished installing a spec stage 3+ clutch today. Everything seems to be fine except when im at a dead stop in first gear as I slowly let off the clutch the rear end seems to hop arond a little and it sounds like its poping, but if i let it off rapidly it takes off fine. I didnt have any problems with the rear end before the clutch install. Has anyone experienced this? Is this normal during the break in period. By the way I think this is a great clutch i can feel how hard it grabs and the pedal is light as butter, much better than stock. Sorry Grayghost i couldnt get any pics up of the starter removal but as i was putting it on today i threaded the extentions in between the header and K member with one had and the other held the socket on the bolt, this might help someone else.
Last edited by trmin8ter03; 01-29-2009 at 09:33 PM.
what you are probably feeling is the chatter. if you give it a tad more gas, it should reduce it some. once you get to about 800-1000 miles on the clutch it should pretty much be gone. you may always have a little coming out of 1st and reverse, but you will probably learn how to drive around it.
Thanks trbo, yeah if i give it more gas it doesnt happend and take let off the clutch fast. I think i just need to get used to it being so aggressive. I orderd a ford racing tob from leathalperformance, I think the one they sent me isnt from ford it doesnt have the ford staped on it or the part number. Has anyone bought one resently? Isnt it supposed to have the ford logo stamped on it and the part number, i ended up using the one that came with the clutch hope it lasts.
You do need to remove the starter to get the bell housing off, but not if your just removing the trans. In this write up i think he was replacing the tob. This is a great how too, there is also a great video online that shows you the entire process on a 03 cobra of replacing the clutch. My tob just went out last week and broke the retainer sleeve. I have the car on jackstands Still waiting on parts. Im replacing the clutch and upgrading to 26 spline. Not too hard to do but it helps to have someone muscle the trans out from under the car.
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