Need some help with sound

[jwlightning]

From the research I've done I believe I need a TOB retainer sleeve from Lethal Performance, but I need someone a little more knowledgeable to confirm this for me.

My problem is that as I'm driving I can hear a very light squeal. When I apply just a *slight* amount of pressure to the clutch petal it goes away instantly. This happens in all gears, but is more noticeable in the lower gears. Sometimes in 6th I don't hear it, (but I don't know if this is due to road noise overshadowing it.)

Can someone who's been around these cars help me out? This is a whole new learning experience for me having come out of a Lightning.

TIA:beer:

Edit: One more thing, is this something I can fix on my own rather quickly, or is a tranny drop going to be needed?

 

[jwlightning]

ttt

 

[sassafras]

Really sounds like a TOB going out. How many miles do you have on your current TOB? Do you have a aftermarket quad and firewall adjuster? If it is the TOB, the transmission will have to be dropped, or at least unbolted and pushed back so you can get input shaft out of the clutch.

Also you can properly adjust your clutch pedal and cable and you might be able to squeeze a little more life out of the TOB, but if it's starting to squeak it's not going to last very much longer.

 

[jwlightning]

Sas,

Thanks for the reply. I'm assuming this is all original equipment, as I purchased the car with 36,500 on it, and I'm still under 40K. The car was stock when I bought it so that's why I assume it's stock equipment.

Now that I know that I'd have to drop or at least unbolt the tranny, I would just replace everything if it gets to that point.

I do not have an aftermarket quad or firewall adjuster to the best of my knowledge. Is there a way to tell by looking at it? I believe I've read of people having trouble getting into gears when things start going bad, but mine is VERY easy to engage all gears.

If I can adjust the pedal just a bit to stop the squeek for now I would do that as it doesn't see a lot of miles, and I'd rather wait to change the clutch till after the holidays.

Like I said, if I put my foot on the pedal and depress it 1/4" it completely stops. I would like to adjust it to stay like that, but at the same time wonder if there is any negatives to doing such.

Sorry for the long ramble, I just haven't had a clutch since HS and so I'm trying to re-learn everything.

 

[sassafras]

To tell if you have a aftermarket FW adjuster look on the firewall on the drivers side where the clutch cable comes through. If you see a stock looking plastic piece then you do not have a FW adjuster. If you see a big hunk of aluminum there, you have one.

To tell if you have an aftermarket quadrant, look up and under your pedals where your clutch cable attaches to the quadrant in that area. If you have a big plastic piece where it attaches it's stock, if it is aluminum then it is aftermarket.

There are no negatives to adjusting your clutch cable properly, but the stock quadrant is junk and is prone to flexing under high rpm fast shifting which could cause you to miss shifts. To properly adjust your cable with all the stock parts, follow these instructions:
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?t=389553

Adjusting a cable with a new quad and FW adjuster is much easier as you just turn the firewall adjuster left or right to get the correct slop in your cable so the TOB is not riding on to pressure plate fingers.



When you decide to go in and replace everything I have a few suggestions on stuff that you should replace while you've got the transmission out.

Clutch Quadrant and Firewall Adjuster:
http://www.lethalperformance.com/pages-productinfo/product-10314/fiore-adjkit-fiore-96-04-micro-click-firewall-adj-and-clutch-quadrant-kit.html

LDC Freeplay Mod (Very wise to go with this if you put in the above quad and FW adjuster, it helps keep the TOB off the PP)
http://www.lethalperformance.com/pages-productinfo/product-16963/ldc-freeplay-ldc-chicago-clutch-freeplay-correction-kit.html

FRPP TOB (Do not go with a SPEC TOB, they are junk!)
http://www.lethalperformance.com/pages-productinfo/product-5509/m-7548-a-ford-racing-96-04-heavy-duty-throw-out-bearing.html

Lethal TOB Retainer Sleeve (You have to pull the front cover off the transmission once you've got it dropped, but the stock sleeves have been known to break)
http://www.lethalperformance.com/pages-productinfo/product-12997/lp-t56tobsleeve-lethal-performance-t-56-throwout-bearing-retainer-sleeve.html

You can then go on whatever clutch, PP, flywheel combination you so choose, there are plenty to choose from and different people will give you different recommendations based on their preferences. The previous 5 parts work with whatever clutch you decide to go with, and I feel all need to be replaced at once, when you decide to drop the transmission.