Twin Disc Pedal Pressure? (Mcleod rxt)

Captain_Slow

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Hey folks, so I have an 03 Cobra with 47,xxx miles and the clutch that was in it (not sure what make) started giving me issues, so I decided to replace it with a Mcleod RXT twin disc, mostly because I wanted the lighter pedal feel as opposed to the single disc. I took the car to a shop to have it done, and also replaced the flywheel, throw out bearing, pilot bearing, clutch fork, retainer sleeve, hardware, and pivot ball stud (adjustable) while the trans was out. *Worth noting- car already has a firewall adjuster and aftermarket quadrant*

So I picked the car up today, and when I sat in it and pushed the pedal down I was a bit surprised that the pedal pressure did not feel "light" at all. To me it feels pretty much exactly the same as the old single disc I had before. This is strange considering how many different threads i've read through, talking about how unbelievably light the pedal pressure on these clutches feel.

So i'm looking for some input/ advice from people who have experience with twin discs on these cars.
-Is it possible the clutch just needs to be broken in for the pedal to lighten up a bit?
-If not, what could be causing the pedal to feel more "heavy"?
-Could it be the cable that's causing this (which I believe is the stock cable)?

Any help/ advice would be much appreciated, Thanks.
 

Black02GT

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I mean light is relative it's 1000hp clutch. It's a lot lighter and smoother than a 1000hp single disc. I doubt your single was rated for that. I'm assuming you have an upgraded input shaft, not a 10 spline. Didn't see it noted. RST might have been a better choice than the RXT.
 

Captain_Slow

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I mean light is relative it's 1000hp clutch. It's a lot lighter and smoother than a 1000hp single disc. I doubt your single was rated for that. I'm assuming you have an upgraded input shaft, not a 10 spline. Didn't see it noted. RST might have been a better choice than the RXT.
Yah thats true, and I'm not expecting it to be as light as an accord or anything, but it feels almost the exact same as the old single disc. One of the reasons I avoided the RST was the organic clutch discs which apparently don't like heat/ being slipped too much (from what i've read/ been told). In your experience, how would you describe the pedal feel of a twin disc compared to lets say a stock cobra clutch? Thanks
 

Black02GT

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Yah thats true, and I'm not expecting it to be as light as an accord or anything, but it feels almost the exact same as the old single disc. One of the reasons I avoided the RST was the organic clutch discs which apparently don't like heat/ being slipped too much (from what i've read/ been told). In your experience, how would you describe the pedal feel of a twin disc compared to lets say a stock cobra clutch? Thanks

Never had a stock Cobra clutch but similar to my Centerforce single I had that was rated far less. (600ish I think) but feels a lot smoother and precise than the Centerforce.
 
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P49Y-CY

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it doesn't sound right to me. it should be very, very light - or at least much lighter than a conventional clutch.

i have had many clutches in my cars and to me that light pedal feel is one of the best aspects of the rst/rxt. that's why i keep getting them for my daily driven cobras.

not sure what could be causing it.

side note: the rst and the rxt both use the same pressure plate.
 

Captain_Slow

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it doesn't sound right to me. it should be very, very light - or at least much lighter than a conventional clutch.

i have had many clutches in my cars and to me that light pedal feel is one of the best aspects of the rst/rxt. that's why i keep getting them for my daily driven cobras.

not sure what could be causing it.

side note: the rst and the rxt both use the same pressure plate.
Yah that's the impression I was under, that they should be very light. I've heard people talk about getting in the car for the first time and being in disbelief because of how drastically different it is. But currently the feel is not really any lighter than before. One thing i didn't replace was the cable, do you think that a cable on it's way out could cause it to feel heavier? Thanks
 

BlckBox04

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I’m on my second rxt. Absolutely the best clutch I’ve own for these cars IMO. The clutch pedal should take next to no effort to push, it’s a possibility it’s not adjusted correctly.

when I installed the second one last year I put maybe 20 street miles on it, then immediately took it to the track. I’m not easy on my car and I have no difference in pedal feel.
 

Captain_Slow

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I’m on my second rxt. Absolutely the best clutch I’ve own for these cars IMO. The clutch pedal should take next to no effort to push, it’s a possibility it’s not adjusted correctly.

when I installed the second one last year I put maybe 20 street miles on it, then immediately took it to the track. I’m not easy on my car and I have no difference in pedal feel.
Yah the pedal in my car is definitely not "next to no effort" to push. Pretty disappointed honestly. What do you think I should do/ say to get this situation righted? I'm worried the mechanic will just claim, "thats how it's supposed to feel" or "feels fine to me" and try and send me on my way.
 

DSG2003Mach1

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I kicked the floor board first start up with the rxt.

I would double check the cable routing etc and make sure there’s not something possibly binding a bit or something

I don’t remember what flywheel I have but the MM quadrant and steeds adjuster. I couldn’t get the stock cable to work, ended up using an adjustable one
 

Captain_Slow

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I kicked the floor board first start up with the rxt.

I would double check the cable routing etc and make sure there’s not something possibly binding a bit or something

I don’t remember what flywheel I have but the MM quadrant and steeds adjuster. I couldn’t get the stock cable to work, ended up using an adjustable one
Haha, that's what I was expecting when I went to push in the clutch... but not so much. I'll try and see if the cable is binding at all. Do you think a cable that's "on its way out" would cause the usually light RXT to feel more heavy? I just don't understand how a shop that has installed these before wouldn't see the current pedal feel as a red flag/ issue.
 

*Jay*

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I would give everything a once over and replace the cable with a confirmed stock cable. You cannot believe how horrible an aftermarket cable is in comparison. Have had an RXT for quite a while and it feels just as easy to depress as a hydraulic clutch to me.
 

olympic

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Pretty much guaranteed it's your cable. Replace it with a new one from Ford or the one from Maximum Motorsports is very good as well. The first time I pushed the pedal on my RXT I though I forgot to hook the cable up to the fork it was so light! Previously I had a Centerforce clutch and worn out cable and the pedal was incredibly heavy.
 

Captain_Slow

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I would give everything a once over and replace the cable with a confirmed stock cable. You cannot believe how horrible an aftermarket cable is in comparison. Have had an RXT for quite a while and it feels just as easy to depress as a hydraulic clutch to me.
I was under the impression the stock 03-04 cables were discontinued, could you possibly point me in the direction of finding one? Thanks for the input, definitely sounds like something is not quite right with my clutch.
 

Captain_Slow

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Pretty much guaranteed it's your cable. Replace it with a new one from Ford or the one from Maximum Motorsports is very good as well. The first time I pushed the pedal on my RXT I though I forgot to hook the cable up to the fork it was so light! Previously I had a Centerforce clutch and worn out cable and the pedal was incredibly heavy.
Yah I'm thinking you might be right about the cable. I notice the only ford one I can seem to find is the ford performance adjustable one, is that any good? I was expecting to kick a new hole in the firewall like DSG Mach mentioned above, but unfortunately It was not light AT ALL. Thanks for the advice.
 

olympic

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Yeah looks like the OEM cable is discontinued. Ford Performance parts are generally pretty good, hopefully someone can chime in and vouch for it. I bough the Max Motorsports cable and I'm happy with it so far.
 

DSG2003Mach1

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the only adjustment issue I could even think of is if its too tight and the PP is already being engaged but that would mean the clutch should be slipping already. With the RXT pressure plate even if you were starting to press the pedal with the PP already engaged I still don't see the pedal effort being that high
 

MG0h3

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Are you sure you didn’t get the RXT 1200?

I had an RXT and it wasn’t much heavier than my POS 2002 Focus.

Wore that out and got the RXT1200 and it is much heavier.

Like mentioned previously, could be the cable. Should still feel lighter than the sticker I’d think though.


Sent from my iPhone using svtperformance.com
 

Captain_Slow

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I ordered the Ford performance Adjustable cable, so i'm hoping that will be the fix. The mechanic said if the clutch cable "didn't do anything", then "thats just how this clutch is", which concerns me. Based on this thread and everything else I've seen, the rxt should NOT feel like this.
Did you get your old parts back , so you know , you have that clutch installed .
Just saying , some shops , are not the most trustworthy
Yah I was thinking the same thing, can't trust anyone. I will see what he says about the original parts. My guess is they magically disappeared over the weekend.
the only adjustment issue I could even think of is if its too tight and the PP is already being engaged but that would mean the clutch should be slipping already. With the RXT pressure plate even if you were starting to press the pedal with the PP already engaged I still don't see the pedal effort being that high
Maybe this is the case... Although the clutch didn't seem to be slipping from what I could tell, just had a heavier pedal than expected. The guy even claimed to have taken the trans out like 6 separate times to make sure the pivot ball was adjusted properly, but then just ignores the pedal being this heavy lol
 

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