Clutch pedal vibration

[sushistrip]

2003 cobra, 22k miles
throwout bearing went bad and so did the sleeve, thus I had some aftermarket parts put in;
spec stage 2+ clutch and pressure plate
spec steel fly wheel
ford racing throw-out bearing
I believe a new stock retainer sleeve was put in, I couldn't catch the shop before they opened up the tranny and replaced it, otherwise I would of put a better sleeve in
fiore quadrant
fiore firewall adjuster
stock clutch cable

THE ISSUE: The pedal has some serious vibration in it that seems to be at random times. More often it happens in 6th gear at about 60mph and also when I'm and braking to a stop light and it is in neutral. I bought the firewall adjuster so I wouldn't have to mash the pedal to the floor to disengage the clutch but it seems that having it unscrewed so the clutch takes up about halfway up is way too loose and the clutch and pedal make a TON of noise with it adjusted like this, therefore I have to screw it in and I'm back to square one with mashing it to the floor lol. There is also a LOT of play in the pedal, a good inch to two inches however the pedal is not solid. You can flick it with your finger and it just flaps about, even when it is in gear and I'm moving. I sat in my friends 06 gt and felt his pedal and I can tell that mine is not suppose to be like this. It has had this vibration and flappiness since I had the clutch changed all the parts listed above put in, so I highly doubt the vibration is from the tob or sleeve. The shop suggested maybe a different clutch cable which seems to be the most likely cause of the issue. I've never heard of the stock cable being an issue though so I'm skeptical.
Any suggestions guys?!

 

[BLU3VN0M]

Stock cable could be stretched... get a new one.
You also need to do the clutch freeplay mod. i also did the maximum motorsports pedal adjuster bracket that helped as well... i was having the same issue

 

[rrpederson]

Describe the vibration more. Does it make any other sounds? Also, have you inspected your cable? It kinda sounds like you may have 2 different problems going on at once. The firewall adjuster should be unscrewed so that it can remove the slack in the cable. What kind of noise does it make when it's adjusted properly? I hope you can get this fixed. And also what do you mean flappiness? Like you can pull on the bottom of the pedal and it moves?

 

[LeKiD]

I had the same problem with spec stage 1. Exactly this symptom . I change the clutch for a ram and vibration went away.

The weird thing is spec include an instruction sheet to help with vibration issue.

 

[sushistrip]

Describe the vibration more. Does it make any other sounds? Also, have you inspected your cable? It kinda sounds like you may have 2 different problems going on at once. The firewall adjuster should be unscrewed so that it can remove the slack in the cable. What kind of noise does it make when it's adjusted properly? I hope you can get this fixed. And also what do you mean flappiness? Like you can pull on the bottom of the pedal and it moves?

The pedal vibration is coming from right around the quadrant area, and it makes a metal on metal clicking sound. The vibration can be felt in the pedal if you push it in just a centimeter, and this feeling is all the time even though the sound isn't. Best way I can describe he flappiness is if you hold your hand limp in the air and smack it with your other hand. The movement is only up and down though, none side to side. I checked the rigidness of the adjuster and quadrant, the adjuster doesnt move at all which is good, the quadrant has a miniscule amount of play side to side which could be the source of the vibration sound, not the cause though. It just feels like there is too much cable. However like you said, unscrewing it should remove slack but screwing it in more removes more of the vibration.

 

[cobracide]

Check your throwout bearing installation. When the bearing is installed improperly, it will contact the pressure plate fingers unevenly and cause vibration.

 

[T800]

Mine is doing the same thing, vibration wise.

Installed a Spec clutch, fidanza aluminum flywheel, FR TOB, Lethal sleeve and 26 spline input shaft. Car vibrates like a MOFO.

From what I have gathered, clutch and/or flywheel are often out of balance(WTF?). Need to pull my tranny and get the rotating mass zero'd.

Sucks...for the money spent, I was hoping for a solid improvement. Shoulda just swapped in a TOB and called it good...stock clutch was still grabbing fine.

Good luck and post back if you figure out your issue.

 

[Bdubbs]

Stock cable could be stretched... get a new one.
You also need to do the clutch freeplay mod. i also did the maximum motorsports pedal adjuster bracket that helped as well... i was having the same issue

I disagree, there are plenty of cobras running around without the freeplay mod. Alot of people will say that's a band-aid fix and should be adjusted properly with a firewall quadrant and adjuster.

If anyone needs one, I have a brand new one I would sell.

 

[006]

It's the TOB.

If anyone has one. Hold the back end in your hand while you rotate the front. You will notice that it has an oscillation.

When it rotates when making contact with the PP, the clutch fork gets jerked back and forth, and what is attached to the bottom of the fork? The clutch cable.

The clutch cable gets tension on and off and this causes the pedal to get yanked bacl & forth. Hence the clutch pedal vibration.

Best suggestion right now is an LDC freeplay mod. The spring allows you to to take most tension off the cable, and it WILL absorb the on/off tension and easing the pedal vibration.

Next time you compare a TIMKEN TOB versus the Ford/FRPP ones, you will notice that the Timken has zero oscillation and it is perfectly balanced, while the Ford/FRPP ones oscillate.

 

[sushistrip]

This is a video I took after I unscrewed the adjuster about 5 clicks. Clutch took up about halfway up the pedal travel but was accompanied with this sound...I don't mind the actual vibration, it's the clicking noise that gets me. If my tob is bad then i want to make it last as long as possible because if I drop the tranny again it's getting a new clutch...and I really don't want to replace a clutch kit right now that only has like 4k miles on it. This video was made after I got done at the gym, just short and sweet. I'll probably make another to see where the sound is coming from and see if I can't deaden it with something.

Clutch pedal vibration - YouTube

Sorry guys, I don't know how to put the video in the post, so here's the link.

 

[cobracide]

Listen, someone is going to have to take the trans out again and fix the TOB install. You can play all day long with the adjuster but it won't fix an incorrect install.

 

[sushistrip]

Listen, someone is going to have to take the trans out again and fix the TOB install. You can play all day long with the adjuster but it won't fix an incorrect install.

How do you even get something like that wrong though? I mean it's a bearing that sits on a shaft, how does a shop mess something like that up?

 

[cobracide]

There are 2 retainer fingers on the fork that hold the bearing tight in place. They need to be on the inside of the bearing sleeve not outside which will let the clutch fork wobble.

 

[hotcobra03]

cobracide is dead on...something isnt right...

ive done mine more than once...and think ive done it..

when sliding fork and bearing on it can come off and be missed and bearing feels like its on...

this will allow bearing to tilt and hit fingers on pp...causing fork to rattle and pedal to jump...

 

[sushistrip]

There are 2 retainer fingers on the fork that hold the bearing tight in place. They need to be on the inside of the bearing sleeve not outside which will let the clutch fork wobble.

Well, a shop quoted me $300 to drop the tranny, then probably like what...$50-$75 for the bearing? I feel like I should also replace the clutch fork as well the cable to be safe? What brands are good for these parts? And I'm not buying ford racing.

 

[hotcobra03]

ford parts

 

[sushistrip]

Has anyone heard good or bad things about the McLeod TOB on Lethal?

 

[LeKiD]

I had the same problem with spec stage 1. Exactly this symptom . I change the clutch for a ram and vibration went away.

I m not joking ! The pedal was vibrate exactly like your video

The fork is 40$ from ford racing and its a OEM part in a FRPP box.

 

[sushistrip]

I m not joking ! The pedal was vibrate exactly like your video

The fork is 40$ from ford racing and its a OEM part in a FRPP box.

Yay! Someone that can sympathize with me! Haha. Well, I screwed the adjuster in some more and the vibration is down to a noticeable, but tolerable level. In my mind it is absolutely ridiculous to drop the tranny to replace the tob unless it is going to cause damage to the transmission, and I already know what it sounds like when the retainer sleeve breaks so I'll know when it is time to get in there. I just can't bring myself to spend money on something that was suppose to be fixed only a few months ago, and I don't see a way to get the shop to own up to not installing it correctly when it was done so long ago. I absolutely hate this clutch for daily driving but it was like $500 so it would be stupid to replace it now yet stupid to not replace it if I drop the tranny! Ugh!

 

[hotcobra03]

Yay! Someone that can sympathize with me! Haha. Well, I screwed the adjuster in some more and the vibration is down to a noticeable, but tolerable level. In my mind it is absolutely ridiculous to drop the tranny to replace the tob unless it is going to cause damage to the transmission, and I already know what it sounds like when the retainer sleeve breaks so I'll know when it is time to get in there. I just can't bring myself to spend money on something that was suppose to be fixed only a few months ago, and I don't see a way to get the shop to own up to not installing it correctly when it was done so long ago. I absolutely hate this clutch for daily driving but it was like $500 so it would be stupid to replace it now yet stupid to not replace it if I drop the tranny! Ugh!

tob will cause damage to fingers and retainer and fork being this way...

heres my fork after rattling..
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/driveline-216/844347-clutch-fork-tob-noises.html

the fork is banging on trans that can cause a crack...