Thanks for the Write Up!!! Works Great!!!
How To Adjust Clutch Cable
- Thread starter jm@ReischePerf
- Start date
I noticed a little bit of a difference, but when I went to adjust the 'adjuster', 2 clicks were what I would consider real easy..... I'm hesitant to do anymore....
should I be?
should I be?
I just did this, and my 2 clicks required quite a bit of effort.. I would say you can try one more.. If you find it is too tight you can release the tension with a screw driver anyhow.
It is like a freaking night and day difference.. I was having trouble getting out of second gear at WOT.. Now it is silky smooth. Most everyone around here thought my transmission was pooched, but I was sure it had something to do with the clutch cable, and for the 5 minutes this took, it was worth a shot.
High five OP!!
5 min?? I'm assuming that you did not cut the plate yet. I strongly recommend that you cut the plate down because the cable tension will sooner or later be reset back to where it was if you don't.
There have been people who just kept re-tightening the cable every time the auto-adjuster put slack back in and this eventually wore out and permanently damaged the adjuster.
I subtracted the time for seat removal... I was going to bend the tab, but it was waaaaay easier to cut it.. Cutting time was about 2 minutes, and the other 3 were trying to wiggle into position 
I have no idea how anyone has done this with the seat still in the car unless they are weeee people.
I did it once to see if it would help without cutting the tab, and it was fine for about 2 minutes and then the adjuster took over..
I have no idea how anyone has done this with the seat still in the car unless they are weeee people.I did it once to see if it would help without cutting the tab, and it was fine for about 2 minutes and then the adjuster took over..
Hopefully someone is still reading this and can answer me. Tonight i took out the seat, got under the dash and cut off the piece of metal that contacted the edge of the quadrant when the pedal is released the two don't touch. A difficult job getting the right angle, but got it cut.
But when it got to the step where you push up on the bottom of the adjuster to add tension to the cable, the quadrant goes nowhere, even with considerable pressure applied. no clicks at all. You can see there is some slack in the cable with the clutch released the cable is loose at the end of the quadrant where it hooks to the quadrant. I would suspect enough tension that you couldn't move the end around.
How much pressure should you have to push up using a hammer to make it move enough to click? The clutch is six months old with just street use, so should be fine, the cable was replaced a year ago, the quadrant replaced at the same time. I felt like i was trying to benchpress 150lbs with both arms and got no movement, i was hoping this fix would finally be the answer i was looking for, but so far no dice. I'll check back for input. Maybe someone will answer before i put the seat back in.
Lord Warlock
But when it got to the step where you push up on the bottom of the adjuster to add tension to the cable, the quadrant goes nowhere, even with considerable pressure applied. no clicks at all. You can see there is some slack in the cable with the clutch released the cable is loose at the end of the quadrant where it hooks to the quadrant. I would suspect enough tension that you couldn't move the end around.
How much pressure should you have to push up using a hammer to make it move enough to click? The clutch is six months old with just street use, so should be fine, the cable was replaced a year ago, the quadrant replaced at the same time. I felt like i was trying to benchpress 150lbs with both arms and got no movement, i was hoping this fix would finally be the answer i was looking for, but so far no dice. I'll check back for input. Maybe someone will answer before i put the seat back in.
Lord Warlock
It can take quite a bit if the cable already has some tension, just be sure you're pushing in the correct spot:
I never heard a click when pushing up, but as i released pressure it clicked a couple times, I did notice that the pedal level was sitting higher than the brake, but i thought it was like that before, put it all together and took it for a ride and it appears the clutch is disengaging higher than before, we'll see how it feels tomorrow.
As a side note, the day after doing this, i'm in agony from bruises on my back, stretched muscles etc. Even though i put the nuts back on the front seat bolts, then covered with a throw carpet, laying on them while looking up put two painful bruises on my back and another from the electric seat plug in. that will likely be the last time i ever find myself under the dash of the cobra. My old fart muscles just can't take the effort anymore.
LW
As a side note, the day after doing this, i'm in agony from bruises on my back, stretched muscles etc. Even though i put the nuts back on the front seat bolts, then covered with a throw carpet, laying on them while looking up put two painful bruises on my back and another from the electric seat plug in. that will likely be the last time i ever find myself under the dash of the cobra. My old fart muscles just can't take the effort anymore.
LW
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huh.... went to do this mod today and found the previous owner has an aftermarket adjuster in it.... i was wondering why everything looked different from the pictures... i never knew that
ttt
I'm still going strong with this mod. I have a brand new aftermarket adjuster sittin' on the shelf in my garage but why replace something that isn't broke??? Car shifts like a mofo...one of my favorite low cost mods for sure!!!
Later...Dave
Later...Dave
Best thing to do is go with a metal quadrant and firewall adjuster and get it nice and tight with zero slack and as close to the pressure plate without touching as possible, while holding the fork back. Obviously when you let go, with that close clearance, the tightness in the cable relaxes and pulls the fork enough to touch the TOB to the pressure plate
Enter a fork return spring between the fork and cable eg: LDC freeplay type mods, to keep pressure on the fork and keep the tension in the cable from contracting and causing TOB contact.
Then you can dial it in as close and as crisp as you want it. The only draw back is you'll need to periodically adjust the cable more frequently the closer you want to keep it, as the diaphragm spring moves closer and closer to the fork as the clutch wears. eg: loosen the cable a click or two and let the "return spring" mod push the fork back more.
Enter a fork return spring between the fork and cable eg: LDC freeplay type mods, to keep pressure on the fork and keep the tension in the cable from contracting and causing TOB contact.
Then you can dial it in as close and as crisp as you want it. The only draw back is you'll need to periodically adjust the cable more frequently the closer you want to keep it, as the diaphragm spring moves closer and closer to the fork as the clutch wears. eg: loosen the cable a click or two and let the "return spring" mod push the fork back more.
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There's no question that aftermarket adjuster/quadrants have their merits but, as I've said before, let's please keep this thread focused on adjusting and modding the stock unit. The modified stock adjuster (when used with a freeplay spring) can provide full clutch adjustability at minimal cost.
Ah no problem. Title just said "how to adjust clutch cable", so I jumped right in to share my comprehensive view on it. :beer:
I did see a few people asking how to shorten or compress the pedal travel. That is a function of how steep the quadrant that wraps up the cable is, eg: arc length, and how much and how fast it can take up the cable as it rotates. And you will trade distance for force, eg. greater pedal effort but less pedal travel from full engage to full disengage. It's exactly the same as using a wrench vs. a breaker bar with a cheater pipe.
Same with adjusting the pedal height. The quadrant has a minimum window of movement from full on to full off as determined by the cable length it pulls up equal to the distance the pressure plate diaphragm has to move. That window is rather large with the stock quadrant and clutch and even most after market quadrants that aren't explicitly "quick ramping". You can only move the resting height of the pedal closer to the floor so far before you clip that window at the back edge and cause the pedal to reach the floor before fully disengaging the clutch.
Same with adjusting the pedal height. The quadrant has a minimum window of movement from full on to full off as determined by the cable length it pulls up equal to the distance the pressure plate diaphragm has to move. That window is rather large with the stock quadrant and clutch and even most after market quadrants that aren't explicitly "quick ramping". You can only move the resting height of the pedal closer to the floor so far before you clip that window at the back edge and cause the pedal to reach the floor before fully disengaging the clutch.
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It's all good...
Your posts have brought insight into the clutch adjustment process. Just have to be careful because it can very easily degenerate into a "I have this part and it works great" etc... followed by one endorsement after another which is not really useful in a how to thread.
Your posts have brought insight into the clutch adjustment process. Just have to be careful because it can very easily degenerate into a "I have this part and it works great" etc... followed by one endorsement after another which is not really useful in a how to thread.
all I can say is this is an awesome mod !!!!!!
took me about 50 minutes to do it
I'm 6'2" and 185 and didn't take the front seat out but it's not easy.
I bent the meal tab down which was tough but after I removed that electrical switch from the back of it with a 5.5mm socket and then with the help of some vice grips and a few other pliers, and channel locks I finally got it bent down. I wrestled it back and fourth and made small progress and kept going back and fourth until I got it bent down then I pushed it back into place once it was finally bent over.
I used a flat blade and released all the tension from the clutch pedal then pushed the tightening gear with my hand until the clutch pedal was all the way up to the top. Then I gave it 2 more clicks as per these instructions.
Driving the car the pedal engages way at the top now....when I first pulled off I thought my cable fell off the clutch fork lol I guess this is just part of it but no big deal just will take some getting used to.
It otherwise engages the same and I can still slip it just the same as before also. I slid the car sideways in 3rd just the same and the clutch held in 4th under WOT just the same as before so the clutch is not slipping.
Now the good part !
I can actually row these damn gears finally !!!!!!!!! the car feels so much faster and I'm sure it would actually yeield better ET's actually being able to hit the gears. It feels soooooo much better and even at low speeds it goes into all gears much much better. I loved hitting 3rd perfectly at ~6,800 rpm's
I can't beleive I spent a bunch of money on a triple hook and firewall adjuster before on my 2000 GT for what I believe to be the exact same result. Plus this mod is just about as easy or easier than putting in all those new parts.
took me about 50 minutes to do it
I'm 6'2" and 185 and didn't take the front seat out but it's not easy.
I bent the meal tab down which was tough but after I removed that electrical switch from the back of it with a 5.5mm socket and then with the help of some vice grips and a few other pliers, and channel locks I finally got it bent down. I wrestled it back and fourth and made small progress and kept going back and fourth until I got it bent down then I pushed it back into place once it was finally bent over.
I used a flat blade and released all the tension from the clutch pedal then pushed the tightening gear with my hand until the clutch pedal was all the way up to the top. Then I gave it 2 more clicks as per these instructions.
Driving the car the pedal engages way at the top now....when I first pulled off I thought my cable fell off the clutch fork lol I guess this is just part of it but no big deal just will take some getting used to.
It otherwise engages the same and I can still slip it just the same as before also. I slid the car sideways in 3rd just the same and the clutch held in 4th under WOT just the same as before so the clutch is not slipping.
Now the good part !
I can actually row these damn gears finally !!!!!!!!! the car feels so much faster and I'm sure it would actually yeield better ET's actually being able to hit the gears. It feels soooooo much better and even at low speeds it goes into all gears much much better. I loved hitting 3rd perfectly at ~6,800 rpm's
I can't beleive I spent a bunch of money on a triple hook and firewall adjuster before on my 2000 GT for what I believe to be the exact same result. Plus this mod is just about as easy or easier than putting in all those new parts.
im about to try this mod on my 04 gt . shifting between gears sometimes it feel like it hit a wall beforr i get it into gear . hopefully this will fix that problem.
This is an excellent mod, I cut the plate with a cut off wheel. I started with one click, shifting through the gears is much easier, but 1st to 2nd still sucks when cold. Overall this is a great mod, I high recommend this mod. But it must be done properly! Again thanks.
-JT
-JT
BUMP I just did this a week ago. THANK GOD FOR THIS MOD. I did it the hard way, I held the clutch with my right hand and bent the metal tab instead of cutting, with my left hand. I was ready to sell the car, I almost couldn't get into gear at all when the car was warmed up in traffic. 1 click made a world of difference.
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