I understand how the presence or absence of the spring would change the pedal feel, but why would this spring be causing the intermittent hanging problem people were experiencing after a hard pull or two?
I just removed the spring this morning and have been out on a drive for breakfast. The clutch is 100% better. Like others, I thought it was my ineptitude that was causing the stalling (about 3 times now in 215 miles). This made it much easier to get the true feel of the clutch.
I don't work around cars much and while not foreign to the odd job, I wouldn't call myself a gear head. However, this took about 20 minutes from start to cleanup. Easy mod and highly recommended.
2014 GT500 - No issues with clutch sticking but I just did the mod and there is a marked difference in the clutch feel. I used the vise grip method...Very easy once you realize what you are attempting to do. I did the entire procedure from outside the care leaning in with seat all the way back..Push on clutch pedal with left hand, use vise grips to compress spring with right hand, use right hand to push down and back on spring assembly (ears)...The key here is to use a little force and it will pop right out of the groove that holds it in...10 minute job at best.
I have to say that although I had gotten used to the spring, I was not happy with the feel... I have to believe that the non-linear feel would promote unnecessary clutch wear since you are always searching for the engagement point, especially when starting out in 1st gear.
I've been driving manual Mustangs for 25 years and I can vouch for others who say that this is a "must do".
Thanks for the info and instructions!
Hydraulically, the need was to increase flow volume, so SVT increased the master cylinder bore diameter. This reduced the hydraulic leverage in the system at the same time the clutch spring pressure had been increased, so clutch pedal effort rose considerably. An over-center spring was therefore added to the pedal arm to drop pedal effort back to something similar to the '12 level, but ultimately the end result is that the '13 clutch is a little heavier to the driver.
I read that changing the slave cylinder to one from the 10-12 GT500 would give you the old release point. Has anyone done that?
A close-up of the pedal assembly shows the new clutch master cylinder. It features a larger-diameter bore, plus a considerably more rigid forged- aluminum construction to withstand the system's higher hydraulic pressures. The '12 clutch master cylinder used a plastic housing with an aluminum sleeve in the bore. It flexed excessively when trying to operate the '13 clutch and so was replaced.
Hey gang, does this mod apply to 2008 GT 500?
TIA
That works great if you have the pedal assembly out of the car. The problem is, with the assembly in the car, it is not always possible to push the pedal far enough forward to allow the pin to clear the perch. It worked for some without a problem and has resulted in the breakage of the alignment post inside the spring assembly for others.
If you don't plan on ever reinstalling the spring, you have nothing to lose.
Here is a picture of a 2013 GT500 clutch assist spring. You can see the black post on the black plastic base that gets broken.