The stock clutch quadrant auto-adjust feature is a real pain that makes shifting difficult especially with a heavy duty clutch. This is cause you can’t fully disengage when the friction point is set so the pedal is too close to the floor. So I came up with this mod to defeat the auto-adjust so it can be adjusted manually. I’ve done similar mod on a couple 5.0 cars I owned and it works great, makes the car shift like butter.
Some posters suggest you cut or grind of the tab that disengages the ratcheting mechanism but I don’t like such a permanent solution – mine can easily be backed out, costs < $5, and takes 10min to install. The poster has great pictures and description of the ratchet mechanism you’re trying to defeat and might help explain how to adjust friction point later if you’re not familiar with it.
I’d suggest if you aren’t familiar with the operation of the stock clutch quadrant, get under the dash so you have a good view and move the clutch pedal up and down by hand till you see how it works. Here’s a general overview: the quadrant is a white plastic quarter circle mounted on the pedal shaft. It engages a white plastic ratcheting mechanism on top of the quadrant (hard to see) designed to accommodate cable stretch and clutch wear and keep a set cable tension. It holds the end of the cable. There is a metal tab on the clutch-depressed switch (detects if clutch depressed to disable cruise control) housing. This metal tab pushes the ratchet mechanism and releases it – this is what we want to avoid.
Found this photo on the web:
Crappy iphone shot of mine:
Here’s what you need from Ace or Home Depot:
- (1) 5/16 bolt 4in long, threaded all the way (no shank) (Btw, I used a 5in bolt but you only need 4in)
- (3 or 4) 5/16 nuts
- (3 or 4) 5/15 washers
- (1) rubber appliance foot (as in picture) the inside diameter should be just smaller than the outside diameter of the washer.
First locate the electrical junction box (for lack of a better description) under the dash directly in front of the clutch pedal. There should be a 5/16in hole in the sheet metal of this box that you’ll use for your bolt.
Put washer and a nut on your bolt and screw it all the way to the bolt head and tighten. This will hold the rubber foot in place on your bolt. You might want to put on a 2nd nut and washer if the foot seems wobbly.
Then thread on another nut and then a washer. Hold the bolt with the foot up to the clutch pedal and next to the hole in the elec box, then screw the nut down until the rubber foot just impacts the pedal. Should make sense when you’re looking at it. You just want to pedal to stop and not return past where it normally sits so it wont disengage the ratcheting mechanism. Also if the bolt is too long and holds the pedal from the clutch-depressed switch the cruise control won’t work.
When you have it where you want, slide the bolt into the electric box flange hole, put the last washer and nut on and tighten. Pull up on the pedal and make sure it doesn’t release the ratchet and adjust your bolt length if necessary. Now you can use a large flathead screwdriver (or whatever you like) to adjust your clutch friction point by releasing the ratchet manually, or pushing up on the ratchet to take slack out of the cable.
Enjoy.
Some posters suggest you cut or grind of the tab that disengages the ratcheting mechanism but I don’t like such a permanent solution – mine can easily be backed out, costs < $5, and takes 10min to install. The poster has great pictures and description of the ratchet mechanism you’re trying to defeat and might help explain how to adjust friction point later if you’re not familiar with it.
I’d suggest if you aren’t familiar with the operation of the stock clutch quadrant, get under the dash so you have a good view and move the clutch pedal up and down by hand till you see how it works. Here’s a general overview: the quadrant is a white plastic quarter circle mounted on the pedal shaft. It engages a white plastic ratcheting mechanism on top of the quadrant (hard to see) designed to accommodate cable stretch and clutch wear and keep a set cable tension. It holds the end of the cable. There is a metal tab on the clutch-depressed switch (detects if clutch depressed to disable cruise control) housing. This metal tab pushes the ratchet mechanism and releases it – this is what we want to avoid.
Found this photo on the web:
Crappy iphone shot of mine:
Here’s what you need from Ace or Home Depot:
- (1) 5/16 bolt 4in long, threaded all the way (no shank) (Btw, I used a 5in bolt but you only need 4in)
- (3 or 4) 5/16 nuts
- (3 or 4) 5/15 washers
- (1) rubber appliance foot (as in picture) the inside diameter should be just smaller than the outside diameter of the washer.
First locate the electrical junction box (for lack of a better description) under the dash directly in front of the clutch pedal. There should be a 5/16in hole in the sheet metal of this box that you’ll use for your bolt.
Put washer and a nut on your bolt and screw it all the way to the bolt head and tighten. This will hold the rubber foot in place on your bolt. You might want to put on a 2nd nut and washer if the foot seems wobbly.
Then thread on another nut and then a washer. Hold the bolt with the foot up to the clutch pedal and next to the hole in the elec box, then screw the nut down until the rubber foot just impacts the pedal. Should make sense when you’re looking at it. You just want to pedal to stop and not return past where it normally sits so it wont disengage the ratcheting mechanism. Also if the bolt is too long and holds the pedal from the clutch-depressed switch the cruise control won’t work.
When you have it where you want, slide the bolt into the electric box flange hole, put the last washer and nut on and tighten. Pull up on the pedal and make sure it doesn’t release the ratchet and adjust your bolt length if necessary. Now you can use a large flathead screwdriver (or whatever you like) to adjust your clutch friction point by releasing the ratchet manually, or pushing up on the ratchet to take slack out of the cable.
Enjoy.
