Clutch problems.. Need advice

[Sp3edD3m0n]

So this morning I notice my clutch is feeling a little stiffer than normal and and seem to be engaging a little lower than normal. Then on my my drive to work right before i pull into the parking lot, I depress the clutch to put it in second and the i hear a loud squealing noise. I let go of the clutch an i can still hear the squealing but its faint. I depress the clutch and its loud again. I coast and park since I needed to get in the office, had some stuff pending.

During lunch I go drive right it and it squealing loud and when I put it in first it dies as i try to move it. I also find I am having a hard time getting it in reverse. I ask my manager to leave early since I did not want to be stuck in traffic with these issues. Well when I head out of work I cant get the car in first or reverse when the car is on. I finally turn the car off put it in reverse turn it on and i am able to back out and get on the road. I skip gears and get to 6th so i can just cruise home on the highway (30 miles) and when i get in my neighborhood i noticed the gears are not going in smoothly but the pressure of the clutch has changed dramatically as well as where it engages but the squealing is still there and just as loud.

So is this my clutch going out, the throw out bearing being out, or the clutch needing adjustment? Any help and advice is appreciated.

-Thank you

 

[x275_eric]

pretty sure its your throw out bearing. had that same problem with my old stang. it made noise for the longest time then the clutch got hard like you said and it starting not wanting to go into gears so i can almost be 100% sure its your throw out bearing

id go ahead and replace it with a full clutch kit since the trannys gotta come out. unless u just put a new clutch in it?

only thing im not sure about is the dieing part though. my car never did that.

 

[Sp3edD3m0n]

Well the car only stalled when i had it in first and stopped. It kinda felt like if it stalled because it thought i was coming to a stop in gear and clutch engaged.

As for the clutch, I really dont know when the clutch was last changed out. I purchased the car 5 months ago and the previous owner didnt say anything about the clutch. Then again he also didn't mention that it had an after market pulley.

 

[ruststang32]

i have a somewhat similar problem. and im not sure where to post this but your thread sounds the closest to my issue. i have a 94 base model...red....kinda crappy. bought it after my car got smashed in front of my house while i was sleeping. i worked at a lube shop at the time and bought it from an older co worker that had done the clutch 2 summers ago. now 3 summers old. now this has happend a few times now. always been hard going into first and reverse with a little chatter. Now i know the car was used relatively lightly due to him having multiple vehicles he only drove it on nice days...and quickly found out why lol. But randomly usually in the morning i get the really stiff clutch engaging at the very very top. I can put the car in first and let my foot compleatly off and then it'll start to roll. same with reverse. iv done a load test. 5th gear at 40mph and put down the gas. No clutch slipping or issues except the feel of the clutch and how it engages. Then after work and ill see again today when i get out of here if it dose it again but iv had it go back to normal for a few days then act up again in the morning....so im lost when it works it works like it always has then itll give me shit randomly.

 

[John M]

rustang32 sounds like your cable.
sp3ed3mon your throwout bearing sounds like it failed if its making noise at idle with no load and its hard to get into gear

 

[ruststang32]

yes it makes noise at idle and is definitly the bearing. But why would it be so random? if the bearing is bad...its bad right? and can i keep driving for a bit if its just the bearing? plan on getting it fixed but i have another truck i need to fix for winter and havent had the time and funds. the bearing will whistle at idle just the slightest pressure on the clutch gets rid of it.

 

[centerforce]

yes it makes noise at idle and is definitly the bearing. But why would it be so random? if the bearing is bad...its bad right? and can i keep driving for a bit if its just the bearing? plan on getting it fixed but i have another truck i need to fix for winter and havent had the time and funds. the bearing will whistle at idle just the slightest pressure on the clutch gets rid of it.

How long it will last is always a gamble, but in our experience, once the TOB is acting as you described, it doesn't have much life left. We would recommend saving for a replacement clutch kit and TOB sooner rather than later.