Hydraulic clutch

[Tocoti]

Hey All,
Not sure I like the feel of the cable clutch. I've got the 302 and T5. Was thinking about going hydraulic. Any thoughts?

Dale

[skullandbones]

I was just looking at a slave cylinder I took out of my Nissan truck. It made me think about trying a hydraulic with my Willwood setup. However, the cable is holding so I don't know if I want to tackle that right now. It wouldn't be much of a chore except mounting the MC. It would be a tight fit in an awkward position with the body on. I don't know that I dislike the cable system for the feel. It just seems to stretch quite often requiring another adjustment. I liked the hydraulic clutches on two hot rods I had so it's probably going on the to do list. Good luck,

WEK.

[edwardb]

Hey All, Not sure I like the feel of the cable clutch. I've got the 302 and T5. Was thinking about going hydraulic. Any thoughts? Dale

What pedal box and what is the state of your build? If a Wilwood pedal box and body off, it's pretty straightforward to install the Mike Forte external setup. Can be done with other pedal boxes and body on, but gets way harder.

Here are pictures and a video of the Forte setup on my Mk4 build. The bracket is for a TKO. The T5 one is a little different. http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...l=1#post134526

[Tocoti]

Wilwood, body off.

[edwardb]

Wilwood, body off.

Then what I said and showed fits your situation perfectly. For the record, I have a 306 and a T5z with a King Cobra clutch in my Mk3. It has an SN95 pedal box and a Ford Racing cable. It works very well. Pedal pressure is quite reasonable and it's very smooth. But it's my opinion that the cable setup for the donor footboxes is a better design than the Wilwood modified for cable setup. I think you would be happy with the hydraulic setup in your build.

[Bob Cowan]

I prefer a cable. Simple, cheap, easy, and reliable.

[ckrueger]

Just ordered the slave cylinder form Mike today. That's what I am going with on the Coyote.

[Tocoti]

Just one more concern. Do I need to cut the tube to get the full pedal travel or will it work as is?

[edwardb]

Just one more concern. Do I need to cut the tube to get the full pedal travel or will it work as is?

Assume you are talking about the chassis tube interference with the Wilwood clutch pedal. I guess it would be possible to get full clutch travel by raising the pedal, and I know some guys do that. But I wanted the clutch pedal to be the same height as the brake pedal, which means the clutch pedal needs to go to the floor. Or thereabout. So yes, some type of clearance required IMO. Some guys notch the chassis tube. Some notch the pedal arm (not my choice). I cut out a piece of the chassis tube and bolted a solid piece on the outside across the cut-out.

[CHOTIS BILL]

I loosened the bolts holding the peddle assembly to the frame and move the assembly as far to the right as I could and then had to notch the clutch peddle a small amount to get it to clear the frame.

Bill Lomenick

[Tocoti]

I notched the tube. It feels much better now. Thanks!

[Dave O]

Just finished installing a hydraulic throw-out bearing today and am very pleased with the results. Just wish I had done this during the original build as it would have been a lot easier than the conversion approach. Getting the TKO 600 out was interesting, but accomplished. Reason for the retrofit was a slightly heavy pedal and too much pedal travel. I could have fixed the travel, but I am convinced the hydraulic approach was my best option. I went with a McLeod TOB and their master cylinder with cable that fits in the original cable location. Very straight forward and simple to set up. One word of caution is to bench bleed the master and TOB before installation, rather than bleed the system after installation. The instructions talk about installing first, but their tech support says otherwise. Should have known!
IMG_0434.jpg

[tkrupinski]

I went with the McLeod twin disc clutch and a factory Ford cable, it has a very light pedal and holds great with the 410 stroker. Just a suggestion.

[Mustang Man]

I have a TKO-600 behind a 351W using a Centerforce Dual-Friction and SN-95 pedal box with aftermarket adjustable cable and firewall adjuster. Works well and simple. My friend's Mk 3.1 with Wilwood pedals never did work well with the cable, binding and creaking all the time.

We first did the pedal update from FFR, which helped, but changed the pedal throw and he didn't like that any better. We since upgraded to Mike Forte's external hydraulic setup and it works great. I like the idea of the mechanical fork and pivot stud and you don't have to pull the transmission. We did the upgrade on a completed car and with the pedal box opening made from the FFR kit it wasn't too bad to work on a completed car. We had it done in a weekend. I'm 45 and he's 73, so our backs felt it for the next day or two, but it was a relatively bolt-in install.

HTH...
Mark

[Dave O]

I have a TKO-600 behind a 351W using a Centerforce Dual-Friction and SN-95 pedal box with aftermarket adjustable cable and firewall adjuster. Works well and simple. My friend's Mk 3.1 with Wilwood pedals never did work well with the cable, binding and creaking all the time.

We first did the pedal update from FFR, which helped, but changed the pedal throw and he didn't like that any better. We since upgraded to Mike Forte's external hydraulic setup and it works great. I like the idea of the mechanical fork and pivot stud and you don't have to pull the transmission. We did the upgrade on a completed car and with the pedal box opening made from the FFR kit it wasn't too bad to work on a completed car. We had it done in a weekend. I'm 45 and he's 73, so our backs felt it for the next day or two, but it was a relatively bolt-in install.

HTH...
Mark

Yeah Mustang Man, At 67 I had a few sore spots myself. I was going with the external slave cylinder myself, but decided to get rid of as many mechanical parts as possible. Plus Joe Dederichs of Dederichs Motorsports (local trans specialist) convinced me the hydraulic TOB was more dependable. He had gone both ways in his years of experience and felt better with the TOB. But, I know there are good arguments on both sides.
I agree the opening on the top of the foot box is essential for such a conversion.

David

[Tocoti]

I'm having fun with the cable. It works and I'm old school. Like it.

[DaleG]

Hey All,
Not sure I like the feel of the cable clutch. I've got the 302 and T5. Was thinking about going hydraulic. Any thoughts?

Dale

"I'm having fun with the cable. It works and I'm old school. Like it."

Dale, what made the difference in one month? Driving?

[Tocoti]

Really! Holy crap! I just lightly touch the gas pedal and wow! I need a parking lot and pylons to get used to it.

[DaleG]

Really! Holy crap! I just lightly touch the gas pedal and wow! I need a parking lot and pylons to get used to it.

That's what its all about; and you built it!

[Tocoti]

So I've been up and down the driveway every day. The body is done. I can't get it on because all my friends are gone this weekend. Is there some kind of hoist that someone has built? I so want the body on!!!