Clutch Cable FAQs
How do I adjust my Mustang's clutch cable?
See MM's Tech page How to Adjust a Mustang Clutch Cable.
Why do you offer a firewall adjuster instead of an adjustable cable?
Once we discovered, long ago on our shop racecar, the poor quality of all of the aftermarket cables that have an adjustment feature at the clutch-fork end, we decided to design our parts around the well-built OEM clutch cable. That necessitates having the adjustment feature at the top end of the cable.
Unless we made our quadrant with a self-adjusting feature like the OEM quadrant has, some sort of feature to allow adjusting the cable tension is required. First, for initial installation, to accommodate the production tolerances of every item in the entire cable release system that stack up and affect the cable tension.
Secondly, to allow re-adjusting the cable tension as the clutch disc wears and becomes thinner. A firewall adjuster works well, and it is much easier to adjust the cable tension by opening the hood than it is by jacking up the car and crawling underneath.
We have more Tech information about Ford and aftermarket clutch cables.
Why does the OEM Ford cable need modifications to fit your firewall adjuster?
The modifications to the stock cable serve two purposes. First, the stock cable must fit up to the part of our machined aluminum adjuster that rotates (to adjust cable tension). That requires getting rid of the plastic features on the end of the OEM cable housing that retain the housing to the firewall.
Secondly, as part of making the cable release system more performance oriented, our design eliminates the large rubber bushing that isolates the cable housing from the firewall. That rubber bushing is there to reduce NVH, but it also adds a spongy feeling to the clutch pedal because the rubber compresses when the pedal is depressed. That compression also lengthens the effective pedal travel required to disengage the clutch.
Why do you include spacers to adjust the quadrant position?
The spacers (washers) allow adjusting the position of the quadrant to be more precisely aligned with the hole in the firewall the cable passes through. Ford's tolerances are looser than ours; the stock quadrant may not be in the best alignment with the hole in the firewall. Misalignment will cause the inner cable to drag along the side of the outer housing as it exits the housing. That dragging causes friction, increasing pedal effort, and wears the cable housing prematurely. The washers allow placing the quadrant in good alignment with the cable as it passes through the firewall, which helps the cable operate more smoothly.