New T5 clutch. Easy pedal. Tired of a busted leg.

[joelliott]

I asked this question a while back but I can’t seem to find it w the very clunky search function we have on this site. My 85gt needs a new clutch. Not because the old one is trashed. But because I’m tired of putting the power of titan into every shift. I’m too old for that now. Lol. My trans is totally stock with a MGE shifter. My father bought the car back in 93 as a DD. And to my knowledge it’s them same clutch in it today granted since about 2005 it hasn’t been a DD for me.

I want a clutch pedal that is easy to live with. I’m not taking the car down the strip or auto cross. It’s a family weekend fun car that in the near future will have new heads, intake, etc etc to crank up the juice a bit.

I’ve been told by some to go stock replacement w a new adjustable cable.
Others have said Stang 1 swapping to the 10.5 from the late 80s cars.

What do you think?

Thanks a ton
Joe E

[badnightrain]

if your upping the power. go with the center force clutch. plenty strong and very easy on your leg.

[erratic50]

The 10” clutches are getting harder to find and are more costly

#1 reason for too much pedal effort is a bad clutch cable. Get a new one from Maximum Motorsports. While you are at it get the entire manual adjustable kit from them.

i cheaped out on my 86GT and got the UPR kit. Swapped in a performance clutch at the same time and even with the three prong quadrant design they tout it took ungodly effort to release my clutch afterwards. a few thousand miles later the clutch cable snapped and I had to limp home with no clutch.

I went to MM cable and this problem was instantly cured. I have near Stock effort out of a clutch that’s rated to 400HP


my son has the least expensive 10 spline 10.5” (86 and newer) Zoom clutch kit in his 86GT convertible along with the MM quadrant kit. Amazingly low pedal effort.

autozone carries a 157 tooth 50oz replacement flywheel designed for 86+ cars. It’s a direct bolt in for you with a 86+ 10.5” clutch kit. The flywheel is 22 lbs instead of 30 like the stock one so it’s an instant performance upgrade by reduced rotating mass.

A LOT easier on the T5 if you are banging gears with it too.

My son and I both went from a 3.35:1 1352-169 T5 to a 2.95:1 low gear T5Z when we did our last round of clutch work. The reduced flywheel weight resulted in no change to the amount of time we are in 1st gear when getting after it even though we are going 10+ MPH faster when we shift now.

#2 reason for too much effort is bad geometry. 99% of the people I’ve talked to do not realize that when you resurface a flywheel you have to add a shim between it and the crankshaft. Your other options are a spacer at the pivot stud or an adjustable pivot

With the clutch and bellhousing installs your release fork should rest basically at the limit of the slot (towards the back of the car) when in full engage but NOT be putting measurable pressure on the throwout bearing. Usually when cars need cable shims, spacers under the cable, etc, it’s because it’s not setup right to begin with in this important way.

#3 reason for too much pedal effort is a chewed up bearing retainer. The stock setup is AL and scores and gets chewed up badly. Astro Performance makes a one piece steel retainer that solves this and adds a lot of strength to your T5 in a critical area as well

#4 bad/lacking/improper lubrication

If you look at a quality throwout bearing new it will have a dab of high temp grease like is used with disc brakes.

Cheap ones dont

A lot of guys just use a dab from their grease gun. Do not do this !! Regular grease degrades due to clutch heat and becomes more like glue

on the clutch cable some guys make the mistake of soaking them in ATF before install too. Don’t. The only suggested lubrication to add to the cable is powder graphite

#5 incorrect tolerance on the throwout bearing

not sure what the elcheepo bearing that comes in most kits actually fits, but it’s not a Mustang! Don’t mess around here. Buy a good one from National and be done with it

[droopie85gt]

I agree with erratic. Get a 10.5" flywheel and you can get a "king cobra" type clutch. They are pretty reliable and low pedal effort. Get the MM cable and replace the stock quadrant with the MM or Steeda one and add the firewall adjuster. It will be money well spent.

[erratic50]

The only cable I would run is OE ford NOS or Maximum Motorsports

[ZephyrEFI]

The 10” clutches are getting harder to find and are more costly

#1 reason for too much pedal effort is a bad clutch cable. Get a new one from Maximum Motorsports. While you are at it get the entire manual adjustable kit from them.

i cheaped out on my 86GT and got the UPR kit. Swapped in a performance clutch at the same time and even with the three prong quadrant design they tout it took ungodly effort to release my clutch afterwards. a few thousand miles later the clutch cable snapped and I had to limp home with no clutch.

I went to MM cable and this problem was instantly cured. I have near Stock effort out of a clutch that’s rated to 400HP


my son has the least expensive 10 spline 10.5” (86 and newer) Zoom clutch kit in his 86GT convertible along with the MM quadrant kit. Amazingly low pedal effort.

autozone carries a 157 tooth 50oz replacement flywheel designed for 86+ cars. It’s a direct bolt in for you with a 86+ 10.5” clutch kit. The flywheel is 22 lbs instead of 30 like the stock one so it’s an instant performance upgrade by reduced rotating mass.

A LOT easier on the T5 if you are banging gears with it too.

My son and I both went from a 3.35:1 1352-169 T5 to a 2.95:1 low gear T5Z when we did our last round of clutch work. The reduced flywheel weight resulted in no change to the amount of time we are in 1st gear when getting after it even though we are going 10+ MPH faster when we shift now.

#2 reason for too much effort is bad geometry. 99% of the people I’ve talked to do not realize that when you resurface a flywheel you have to add a shim between it and the crankshaft. Your other options are a spacer at the pivot stud or an adjustable pivot

With the clutch and bellhousing installs your release fork should rest basically at the limit of the slot (towards the back of the car) when in full engage but NOT be putting measurable pressure on the throwout bearing. Usually when cars need cable shims, spacers under the cable, etc, it’s because it’s not setup right to begin with in this important way.

#3 reason for too much pedal effort is a chewed up bearing retainer. The stock setup is AL and scores and gets chewed up badly. Astro Performance makes a one piece steel retainer that solves this and adds a lot of strength to your T5 in a critical area as well

#4 bad/lacking/improper lubrication

If you look at a quality throwout bearing new it will have a dab of high temp grease like is used with disc brakes.

Cheap ones dont

A lot of guys just use a dab from their grease gun. Do not do this !! Regular grease degrades due to clutch heat and becomes more like glue

on the clutch cable some guys make the mistake of soaking them in ATF before install too. Don’t. The only suggested lubrication to add to the cable is powder graphite

#5 incorrect tolerance on the throwout bearing

not sure what the elcheepo bearing that comes in most kits actually fits, but it’s not a Mustang! Don’t mess around here. Buy a good one from National and be done with it

Great tips! I wonder if my flywheel has a shim...

[joelliott]

Thanks for the replies gentlemen. I’ll get into finding the parts immediately.

No preferences on brand of clutch? I’ve got the hint w the MM cable, adjuster, etc.

Man I’m hoping the clutch will be easier to operate. Last time I drive the car, it was like a tractor. Lol

Joe E.

[mmb617]

I ran Zoom kevlar clutches with adjustable cables for years. The pedal effort was pretty heavy. Then I switched to a Centerforce dual friction clutch and Maximum Motorsports cable. Incredible how much lighter the clutch was.

Any Casper Milquetoast could push my clutch pedal in now. Good thing too as I'm not getting any younger.

[erratic50]

Valeo, Spec, centerforce, etc. many good ones to pick from

critical key is a the MM cable and proper release fork geometry

mine is night and day better vs the UPR. Near stock even though I have tons more clamping force.

the HD Zoom kit in my son’s 86GT is easier than new with the MM adjustable setup and Astro one piece and National brand throwout and everything done just right.

Only thing I wish is that I hadn’t really taught him how to launch hard even with high rear gears .... it is hell on clutches getting a decent 60’ time with a 2.73 gear to say the least.


I will say it is a blast messing around with the two 86’s head to head with the kid ever once in a blue moon. If this “ old man” could just get 3rd fixed in his T5Z it wouldn’t be much of a race. Bog mine out of the hole where he doesn’t then have problems with 3rd and i get front row seats for my butt whooping. Lol.

When I’m two full length ahead of his car all turned up the way I always ran mine back in the day and at 88 mph in 2nd I’m stuck looking for 3rd and can’t find it, .... wave goodbye as he drives around. Lol.

[quickshift]

KC clutch, 10.5" flywheel , OEM (or MM) cable, fire wall adjuster and an aluminum quadrant. This setup uses less force than the stocker to push and has more clamping force. I've been using this combo for over 10 yrs and NO problems.

[boboli]

If you really want the lowest pedal effort, I suggest you look at McLeod's hydraulic set up. The difference between a cable and a hydraulic release is going to be night and day different. As an example, but not 5.0, I have an 88 turbo Tbird with factory hydraulic clutch. I used to have an 87 notch converted to 2.3 turbo. While the cable wasn't bad, the hydraulic is way easier on my knee. And I have a bad left knee as well. My DD is a 6 speed Volvo and it's hydraulic clutch is almost not noticeable. I'm not even bothered by sitting at lights with it in gear, it has such little effort. I'd never do that with a cable. My knee would be killing me after a short trip.
As for clutches, I'd go centerforce dual friction. I've tried a lot of clutches and this one has the best pedal effort, hands down. I personally think the king cobra is worse on pedal effort than a stock clutch. I've driven 2 different cars with them and I was very unhappy with how hard they were. Now maybe there were alignment issues or some other problem that was discussed previously. I don't know but I'd go centerforce for the lightest pedal feel

[wraithracing]

I personally like Spec Clutches. They are high quality and you can choose different levels as your HP dictates. If you want to stay stock with a 10" clutch, they have you covered. The part number for the 10" clutch stage one is SF051. The stage 1 10.5" clutch is SF481. You can search the internet for the best pricing.

I will also comment that I personally have given up on having flywheels resurfaced in the last several years. Finding a shop that does the work at a reasonable price has become more difficult. That and honestly I can often buy a standard replacement for similar money and don't have to wait. In my performance oriented Foxes, I run either a Fidanza https://fidanza.com/ flywheel or a Spec Flywheel with a replaceable wear surface and just swap out if worn when needed. Allows me to run a lighter flywheel for improved performance and acceleration and lower replacement costs when swapping clutches. Not a cheap initial option, but if running higher HP levels then definitely a great option.

The stock replacement flywheels can be picked up for about $60-65 for a Luk brand or around $100 for the Ford stock replacement, so again a quicker and simpler option IMHO. Good Luck!

[854vragtop]

HOLD THE PRESSES!!! Before you go through the trouble of replacing the clutch, start with a new, good quality clutch cable. I went through the same issue that you went through on my '85 and replaced a King Cobra clutch that I had installed a few years earlier. It probably only had 10-15k miles on it, but I thought there definitely must be something wrong with it. I replaced the previously installed King Cobra clutch with another new King Cobra clutch and.......it had the exact same incredibly hard effort. I had "checked" the old Ford clutch cable by simply sliding it through the sheath when it was disconnected from the fork and there was NO resistance. Totally different story when it was connected to the clutch fork trying to operate the clutch though. Someone suggested that I replace the cable and THAT made all the difference in the world. Start with a new clutch cable first.

By the way, with a new clutch cable, the King Cobra clutch doesn't seem any stiffer than the factory clutch.

[erratic50]

Totally agree with that comment if the car does not need a clutch

Also powder graphite is the only lubricant you can use without causing problems long term.

[quickshift]

Centering the cable with the quadrant is essential for the best operation. If not, the cable can be side loaded and cause more resistance.

[ZephyrEFI]

Centering the cable with the quadrant is essential for the best operation. If not, the cable can be side loaded and cause more resistance.

What does that entail?