Mccleoud RST issues

Brandonsvt03

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I have recently installed a mccleoud rst on my 03 Cobra. I used the stock pivot ball, I do have the adjustable ball stud but it seemed too long and thought it would be fine to use the stock one. I'm reading from some guys I need the adjustable stud while others say I don't. I also have a quadrant, adjustable cable, and firewall adjuster. Anyway here is the issue. At first it seemed everything was fine after installation minus it grabbing way to high for my liking. I crawled under the car to find there was some slack in the cable where it connects to the fork, tightened it up, great. Now I'm hearing (unless I push in the clutch) what sounds like some squeaking like a throw out bearing. I just replaced it when I did my motor about 9k miles though. Could it be the bearing doesn't have enough clearence and is pressed up against the fingers too much? Second I notice in second slightly, mainly 3rd and 4th if I'm cruising around 1400-1500 and I give it some gas, I get a bad "buzzing" and vibration I can feel in the shifter and just in general, it ceases once I hit about 1700 and get into higher rpm. However when I get on it good and give it about 3/4 throttle and up I get some vibrating again that seems to pulsate on and off. Very strange. Just finished the car and it seems like every little thing wants to give me trouble. If anyone has info on the RST and if I did something wrong please let me know. If it helps it's a stock t56, mccleoud lightened steel flywheel, and RST clutch. Pic of my car for attention.
Snapchat-1527716934.jpeg


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me32

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What throwout bearing did you use? Also why not use the OEM cable? The adjustable cables have been known to have issues.
 

Comp04svt

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You would just jack the car up and remove the fork cover/inspection cover. Once that's removed you can see the TOB and pressure plate fingers. Start the engine and adjust your firewall adjuster accordingly. Some say to leave a small gap between the fingers, and some say to have the TOB slightly touching the PP fingers. I have mine slightly touching as I feel the TOB going from zero rpm to engine rpm instantly would do more damage or wear the TOB prematurely. Haven't had any issues with mine set that way. Take a look at where you clutch fork is sitting within the fork opening. You wanna make sure it is in the middle of the opening. If it's too far rearward or too far forward, you could have engagement issues/clutch wear issues, and in that case you'll need to throw the pivot ball in.

Personally would dump the adjustable cable and get an OEM or MM cable with a good firewall adjuster and quadrant. When you get those replaced, adjust your TOB accordingly.

As far as the vibration, these clutches are known to vibrate some when you "lug" the rpm's. Mine seems to do it slightly when in 4th at 1300-1500 rpms. I have no vibrations otherwise though.
 

01yellercobra

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There's no need to start the engine to adjust anything. The engine running doesn't change anything. It just makes things hot and harder to work around.
 

Brandonsvt03

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Thank you so much for all that information. I actually ended up pulling the tranny and putting the pivot ball in at roughly 4.5mm shorter than stock as recommended. I however still have that pulsation. Really stumped here, I'll try and adjust my cable as you said. I just put a brand new tob in it when I pulled the tranny again too.
You would just jack the car up and remove the fork cover/inspection cover. Once that's removed you can see the TOB and pressure plate fingers. Start the engine and adjust your firewall adjuster accordingly. Some say to leave a small gap between the fingers, and some say to have the TOB slightly touching the PP fingers. I have mine slightly touching as I feel the TOB going from zero rpm to engine rpm instantly would do more damage or wear the TOB prematurely. Haven't had any issues with mine set that way. Take a look at where you clutch fork is sitting within the fork opening. You wanna make sure it is in the middle of the opening. If it's too far rearward or too far forward, you could have engagement issues/clutch wear issues, and in that case you'll need to throw the pivot ball in.

Personally would dump the adjustable cable and get an OEM or MM cable with a good firewall adjuster and quadrant. When you get those replaced, adjust your TOB accordingly.

As far as the vibration, these clutches are known to vibrate some when you "lug" the rpm's. Mine seems to do it slightly when in 4th at 1300-1500 rpms. I have no vibrations otherwise though.

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Derek Baer

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Jul 12, 2020
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AZ Bitches!
50B64CA2-969F-4C7A-B3C6-A93A420CD0F8.jpeg
I have recently installed a mccleoud rst on my 03 Cobra. I used the stock pivot ball, I do have the adjustable ball stud but it seemed too long and thought it would be fine to use the stock one. I'm reading from some guys I need the adjustable stud while others say I don't. I also have a quadrant, adjustable cable, and firewall adjuster. Anyway here is the issue. At first it seemed everything was fine after installation minus it grabbing way to high for my liking. I crawled under the car to find there was some slack in the cable where it connects to the fork, tightened it up, great. Now I'm hearing (unless I push in the clutch) what sounds like some squeaking like a throw out bearing. I just replaced it when I did my motor about 9k miles though. Could it be the bearing doesn't have enough clearence and is pressed up against the fingers too much? Second I notice in second slightly, mainly 3rd and 4th if I'm cruising around 1400-1500 and I give it some gas, I get a bad "buzzing" and vibration I can feel in the shifter and just in general, it ceases once I hit about 1700 and get into higher rpm. However when I get on it good and give it about 3/4 throttle and up I get some vibrating again that seems to pulsate on and off. Very strange. Just finished the car and it seems like every little thing wants to give me trouble. If anyone has info on the RST and if I did something wrong please let me know. If it helps it's a stock t56, mccleoud lightened steel flywheel, and RST clutch. Pic of my car for attention.View attachment 1647673

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So this sounds almost exactly like the issue my 03 Cobra has, I just bought the car and was in storage for 10 years prior to me buying it.
The clutch engages at the top of the throw and will slip under hard acceleration. The PO claims he replaced the clutch a year prior to putting it in storage. It’s an RST also and he claims it had low miles on the clutch.
it does have an adjustable UPR quadrant, stock cable and I just ordered a BBK Firewall Adjuster.

Not meaning to railroad your thread but I’m wondering what/where the “Adjustable Ball” is (picture) and can it be replaced (if stock) without removing the transmission?
Pictures would be amazing!
Thanks!
 

offroadkarter

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As far as the vibration, these clutches are known to vibrate some when you "lug" the rpm's. Mine seems to do it slightly when in 4th at 1300-1500 rpms. I have no vibrations otherwise though.

I have an RXT with my T56 Magnum and get a low RPM vibration if lugging which I had thought was the trans itself, I'd seen some people on other forums saying the magnums can be noisy at times in this scenario and the solution is to "drive faster" and not lug the engine. I didn't think the RXT could be causing it.

I will say I love the feel of the pedal with the RXT and it certainly does its job but these clutches seem so finicky to get right, makes me want to consider putting a Mantic in the next time my engine is out.

View attachment 1655828
So this sounds almost exactly like the issue my 03 Cobra has, I just bought the car and was in storage for 10 years prior to me buying it.
The clutch engages at the top of the throw and will slip under hard acceleration. The PO claims he replaced the clutch a year prior to putting it in storage. It’s an RST also and he claims it had low miles on the clutch.
it does have an adjustable UPR quadrant, stock cable and I just ordered a BBK Firewall Adjuster.

Not meaning to railroad your thread but I’m wondering what/where the “Adjustable Ball” is (picture) and can it be replaced (if stock) without removing the transmission?
Pictures would be amazing!
Thanks!

I had this issue when I first installed my Magnum, your clutch absolutely is not adjusted properly.

I don't have any good photos of my pivot ball sadly but it shouldn't be hard to find with some googling (try searching site:svtperformance.com adjustable pivot ball).

The Pivot ball is what the clutch fork hinges on during actuation, so you have to drop the trans in order to swap it out.

When I still had the stock length pivot ball I was able to get the clutch adjusted (had a centerforce dual friction at the time) where it wouldn't slip but it still had a wonky pedal. When I put the adj ball in I was able to get the pedal correct.
 

Comp04svt

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Macomb, MI
I have an RXT with my T56 Magnum and get a low RPM vibration if lugging which I had thought was the trans itself, I'd seen some people on other forums saying the magnums can be noisy at times in this scenario and the solution is to "drive faster" and not lug the engine. I didn't think the RXT could be causing it.

I will say I love the feel of the pedal with the RXT and it certainly does its job but these clutches seem so finicky to get right, makes me want to consider putting a Mantic in the next time my engine is out.

The rattle noise when lugging is from the clutch itself. It's because the clutch discs are not "sprung", so at certain frequencies they rattle. Honestly I was going to go with the centerforce DYAD. They are "thinner" than the RXT, have sprung discs and don't require a pivot ball, or the adjustment the RXT's do. I went with the RXT because lethal had a crazy deal on them at the time. It's been a great clutch, and really isn't terrible to get right once you really get down to understanding the installation and install. What gets most people is that with these flywheel choice also matters, and effects what you need to set the pivot too ect. I did a write up in here a while back on how I set mine up and how I measured everything. When the time comes, I'll probably try out the DYAD.
 

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