Another throwout bearing question

[herdfan75]

I have a 96 Cobra convertible. There has been a slight squeak in the transmission that I assumed was a throwout bearing. Tonight it got much louder, and almost sounds like it's rattling. Here's a video:
Here are my questions:

1. When I push lightly on the clutch pedal, I can feel it jumping around a little and the noise goes away. There's no noise whatsoever when I'm letting the clutch out. Could my cable be stretched? I still have the crappy plastic quadrant and no firewall adjuster (something I definitely want to remedy). Any chance that installing a new cable, quadrant and adjuster will fix the problem, or is this just a bandaid? I plan on putting them on anyway, but just curious.

2. I don't really have a garage to do this job, but I believe I have the know how even though I've never done one on a Cobra. Other than the throwout bearing, what else should I replace? I've read that Ford Racing throwout bearings is the best to use, but what about the clutch (might as well replace it while I'm in there). This is a daily-driven car, and while I like to play with it a bit, I don't race it or anything like that...just need something that will take a little abuse but will last. Also is this a terrible job to do?

3. What else should I replace while I'm in there? Is there a pilot bushing/bearing? Do these cars have a steel bearing retainer? I'm trying to put together a parts list as you can tell.

4. If I have a shop do this, anyone have a ballpark cost for labor? The Firestone here is really good (plus I can put it on my credit card...LOL) but I'm not sure they'll put in parts that I provide.

5. Finally, do you guys think the car is safe to drive to wherever I have the repair done? Like I said I can put very slight pressure on the pedal and it's quiet. Not riding the clutch mind you.

Thanks for the advice. I've done transmission work on Fox body 5.0's but it's been almost 20 years.

 

[nomoretickets]

1. Your cable is likely not the problem, and these fixes will not fix the problem.

2. Replacing the bearing requires all the same work as replacing the clutch. Unless there is a compelling reason to keep the old clutch, just replace it now.

3. Just buy a clutch kit. It will come with everything you need. Depending on miles, consider replacing the rear main seal as well. Its a $30 gasket, but they all tend to go bad after a while and its a PITA to replace the clutch just to have the rear main seal start leaking a few months later.

4. Replacing the clutch at a shop will probably run around $800-1,000.

5. Its more or less safe to drive. At a certain point though, the bearing will just totally shred itself to pieces and at that point, you will really know its time to stop driving.

 

[herdfan75]

Ok, that's what I figured. So I guess I'll order a new clutch kit (probably a stage one as a slight upgrade from factory) and replace the pilot bearing, rear main, pivot stud and maybe the clutch fork (think I should replace it now, or are these usually in good shape?) and flywheel. Also I think this may be a good time to replace the universal joints. Any other parts you all can think of? I'll likely only have my garage space for a day and a half and I can't have the car sitting because I don't have all the right parts. The car has 145,000 miles on it and runs like a champ (it's always been taken good car of look like) so I want to do everything at once. I'll also change the transmission fluid and put in some good synthetic transmission fluid like Royal Purple or something similar.

If I'm missing any parts please tell me your thoughts!

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

if the clutch fork doesnt have abnormal wear leave it alone.

I didnt see it in the last post so just to be sure, get an aftermarket quadrant and firewall adjuster

personally I dont care for Royal Purple, put it in my Magnum T56 and it shifted like straight up garbage. I swapped it to Amsoil and it shifts like a dream.

 

[herdfan75]

Also, there are so many clutch kits out there. I don't want to go with bone stock, but I don't want to go with a super high performance clutch (I don't race the car, so I'm never going to run slicks, and probably won't be putting on any power adders either). I do like to smoke the tires once in a while and have fun with the car, but I mostly just drive it and like the twisties. So there's Ram, McCleod, Exedy, Spec, etc. I plan on going with a Ford Racing throwout bearing, but I don't see a clutch kit

if the clutch fork doesnt have abnormal wear leave it alone.

I didnt see it in the last post so just to be sure, get an aftermarket quadrant and firewall adjuster

personally I dont care for Royal Purple, put it in my Magnum T56 and it shifted like straight up garbage. I swapped it to Amsoil and it shifts like a dream.

Ok, thanks. These transmissions use automatic fluid, right?

As for the quadrant and firewall adjuster, I meant to add those but forgot. I actually may order the kit and go ahead and put those on just to break up the project a bit.

 

[herdfan75]

One more thing, who are your favorite vendors? I'm looking at CJ Pony Parts, American Muscle, and Late Model Restoration. I've ordered from all three, but just little stuff (I ordered a clutch kit for a 5.0 Fox body before but that's been many, many years).

 

[nomoretickets]

If you are at 145k miles, do yourself a favor and replace the rear main seal while the tranny is dropped. If its not leaking yet it will be.

 

[DSG2003Mach1]

ive never been a fan of spec clutches, the one I drove had terrible pedal effort (wanna say it was a stage 2 kit wtf ever that means) and it seems like I used to see lots of broken driveline parts and the common denominator was usually a spec clutch. What you go with depends a lot on power level over driving style, get the right disc for you power level and dont slip the hell out of it and it should be fine.

My favorite vendor is the one with the best price on what I need at the moment.

 

[Alegend123]

I'm going exedy when I pull the tranny from mine just buying time at the moment as I have bbk longtubes and don't wanna do it until absolutely necessary lol

 

[herdfan75]

Ok, just priced all the parts and I'm around $550 if I buy everything including a new clutch fork, pivot, rear main, adjuster kit, Exedy clutch kit, etc. Guess I'll have to save up..LOL! I've been somewhat tempted to just replace the throwout bearing because the clutch feels so good in the car, but man, that's a lot of work to have to do if 6 months down the road the clutch goes, right? I have no idea how long the clutch has been in the car.

 

[Alegend123]

Is it just a noise or is it slipping or anything? Personally I wouldn't mess with it until it lets loose but that's just me.. I would suggest doing it all and not just the bearing cause once everything is back together and the clutch decides to crap out doing it all over again sucks lol

 

[herdfan75]

Is it just a noise or is it slipping or anything? Personally I wouldn't mess with it until it lets loose but that's just me.. I would suggest doing it all and not just the bearing cause once everything is back together and the clutch decides to crap out doing it all over again sucks lol

It's just the noise, but it got worse...fast. I don't want to be driving down the road and the thing fall apart and tear up the transmission. I have a 2013 F-150 I can drive, so it's no big deal.

I agree. When one tries to save money by not doing it all it ends up costing more in the end.

 

[Alegend123]

If that's the case I'd park it and get the money right to get it back on the road.. I'm sorta doing the same as my 98 is just a weekend toy

 

[1996MysticSnake]

Don't wait until it explodes cause if it destroys the tob sleeve on the trans it's a pita to replace.

GET A TIMKEN TOB FROM AUTOZONE

DO NOT use any kind of trash Chinese bearing that comes with the clutch kit, throw that thing right in the trash. Timken bearing is like $15

Very light hd grease on the tob sleeve and the pivot ball and the forks that hold the tob

If you replace the cable use nothing but Ford racing or maximum Motorsports. Maximum Motorsports also has awesome clutch quadrants and adjusters.

Whatever you do, don't over clutch the car you will kill the transmission faster for no reason. All these guys buy these crazy puck style clutches, stage 3 trans raper discs etc. There is no point you will not get any more performance. The clutch should always be the weakest point in your drivetrain.

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[herdfan75]

Don't wait until it explodes cause if it destroys the tob sleeve on the trans it's a pita to replace.

GET A TIMKEN TOB FROM AUTOZONE

DO NOT use any kind of trash Chinese bearing that comes with the clutch kit, throw that thing right in the trash. Timken bearing is like $15

Very light hd grease on the tob sleeve and the pivot ball and the forks that hold the tob

If you replace the cable use nothing but Ford racing or maximum Motorsports. Maximum Motorsports also has awesome clutch quadrants and adjusters.

Whatever you do, don't over clutch the car you will kill the transmission faster for no reason. All these guys buy these crazy puck style clutches, stage 3 trans raper discs etc. There is no point you will not get any more performance. The clutch should always be the weakest point in your drivetrain.

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So you're saying the TOB that comes with the kits like RAM and such aren't any good? I was actually thinking of getting the Ford Racing TOB. As for the clutch I was planning on getting a stage 1 version. I'll probably go ahead and order the adjustable cable and quadrant and adjuster and put it in. I'm going to park the car for now though.

 

[herdfan75]

Don't wait until it explodes cause if it destroys the tob sleeve on the trans it's a pita to replace.

GET A TIMKEN TOB FROM AUTOZONE

DO NOT use any kind of trash Chinese bearing that comes with the clutch kit, throw that thing right in the trash. Timken bearing is like $15

Very light hd grease on the tob sleeve and the pivot ball and the forks that hold the tob

If you replace the cable use nothing but Ford racing or maximum Motorsports. Maximum Motorsports also has awesome clutch quadrants and adjusters.

Whatever you do, don't over clutch the car you will kill the transmission faster for no reason. All these guys buy these crazy puck style clutches, stage 3 trans raper discs etc. There is no point you will not get any more performance. The clutch should always be the weakest point in your drivetrain.

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When I look up the throwout bearing at Autozone I don't see one from Timken. When I use the part number listed elsewhere for Timken it comes up as "National Oil Seals and Bearings" brand at Autozone.

 

[herdfan75]

Looks like Amazon has the Timken bearing. Here's the photo. Look correct? Looks plastic but from what I read it's Kevlar? The one at Autozone says it's made by National and it has the metal shoulder.

 

[P49Y-CY]

Yes that is correct. Sucks that prices on these went from like $15 to $25 in just a couple of years.

 

[1996MysticSnake]

That's the correct one, maybe AutoZone stopped carrying timken parts

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