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Bad Clutch

B

Bolt99SVT

CEG'er
Joined
Jan 17, 2007
Messages
162
Location
lower DE
Hey All,

I have a '98 CSVT and I bought it 2 years ago knowing the clutch wasn't too good. It also has the "notorious" 3rd gear grind...which I know is the syncros. Well when I first got the car, I talked to a couple Techs, and they said since I can still shift slower into 3rd without the grind and the clutch isn't slipping, that I should just drive it til it gets worse.

2 years have gone by now and the clutch just started slipping 2 days ago.
(ironically right after I changed my rear struts and springs....one bad thing after another).

Since I have limited funds right now and I have a friend that can do the work, I was wondering if it would be worth it just to change the clutch right now, and worry about the trans later??

About how much do clutch assemblies cost?? I would most likely be interested in just OEM parts, unless somebody has a better suggestion.
.

***I'm sorry if this topic has been brought up before, but I figured it was easier to ask.

Thanks,
Frank
 
You can get a new SVT clutch kit (which includes the new pressure plate, the clutch disc itself, and a new throw out bearing) for around $230 or so. It would be pretty dumb to not have the trans fixed while it is out. At least have 3rd gear fixed if you can't afford a good rebuild or new diff. Once you get it out, you won't want to do it again. I promise. You'll end up spending more down the road to do it all over again so take a loan or something to fix it once and right. Take my advice for what it's worth. :shrug:

Good luck.
 
Listen to Reebs on this one. Take the loan out for the extra $ to fix the trans.
 
Reebs said:
You can get a new SVT clutch kit (which includes the new pressure plate, the clutch disc itself, and a new throw out bearing) for around $230 or so. It would be pretty dumb to not have the trans fixed while it is out. At least have 3rd gear fixed if you can't afford a good rebuild or new diff. Once you get it out, you won't want to do it again. I promise. You'll end up spending more down the road to do it all over again so take a loan or something to fix it once and right. Take my advice for what it's worth. :shrug:

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Okay. Yea this sucks!! Where did you get the $230 price?? Cuz all I've been getting calling around are about $400 or $500...

Do you think I'll need a flywheel and release bearing, or anything else?

Does anybody know about how much the 3rd gear will cost??

Thanks,
Frank
 
You can get it for the $2xx price from Bill Jenkins or Steve from Tousley Ford.

If your flywheel is worn (I'm sure it is) It's a good idea to have it resurfaced. The kit comes with a new throwout bearing, that should be the only bearing you need, these cars don't have pilot bearings.

I have no idea on the 3rd gear synchro pricing but you can check that at the same time while you're looking for a clutch.
 
Steve (Tousley Ford, White Bear Lake. MN) and Bill Jenkins (Team Ford, Las Vegas. NV) have both of their contact information in the "Duratec Maintenance" forum, under the "read first" thread.
 
Okay thanks everybody. Yea I've talked to Bill before on some other parts, but I wasn't sure if thats where the $230 price came from cuz he wasn't mentioned earlier.

Trying to get something soon, so I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thanks,
Frank
 
To make my week even worse... last Wednesday we had a pretty bad thunderstorm. I got caught in the middle with my '67 F100. Then all of the sudden, my fuel pump decides to die. Luckily it was only a $30 fix and was easy to install (gotta love them old engines), but it was just the matter of the situation...
-
On a little lighter side:
Got a decent price on parts thanks to my friend that works for a local Ford dealership. Should be picking up tomorrow, but still haveta wait 2 more weeks for install.:nonono: My mechanic friend and I are gonna do the work at his bros shop, but since the job is gonna be more than a few hours, his shop is full for the next 2 weeks....
I'll try to keep you updated. Thanks again for the help.

Frank
 
I just recently Changed my clutch, luckily I ran into a clutch kit for a cougar from LUK for the $125.00 ball park range. It also came with a throwout bearing. I also Wanted to know the price of third gear.. at a time . I ordered just"the gear" from a STEALERSHIP here in Alabama 101.00 WOO(after getting ripped off) I called Bill Jenkins all the way IN Las Vegas Let me tell you That guy knows his stuff!!! I am very happy with the time he took to get it right for me. at first I wanted to change 3rd gear because of the notorious grind, I then bought ALL new synchronizers and all new gears from bill, I also had the flywheel machined for a mere 35.00 from a local machine shop who had it done in a day, All together I paid like $800.00 for a New clutch and a rebuilt transmission now I'm happy. But The stealership wanted $1,400.00 JUST TO CHANGE THE CLUTCH!!! wow.. Ya I did it myself ya it took some time but I know its right.

Bill Jenkins knows his stuff and I wouldn't Recommend anyone else. Im sure there is others out there but thats the only person I have dealt with and he was perfect ...Hell my parts got here in a day all the way across country... good luck with everything


Oh and I have to agree with reebs on this one
"once you do it, you wont want to do it again"

We removed the engine the first time, The second time we put a new synchronizer in we removed the transmission out the side of the wheel well...twist twist pull ( great method )

But once again good luck with everything!!!
 
Last edited:
SVTGeorge said:
I just recently Changed my clutch, luckily I ran into a clutch kit for a cougar from LUK for the $125.00 ball park range. It also came with a throwout bearing. I also Wanted to know the price of third gear.. at a time . I ordered just"the gear" from a STEALERSHIP here in Alabama 101.00 WOO(after getting ripped off) I called Bill Jenkins all the way IN Las Vegas Let me tell you That guy knows his stuff!!! I am very happy with the time he took to get it right for me. at first I wanted to change 3rd gear because of the notorious grind, I then bought ALL new synchronizers and all new gears from bill, I also had the flywheel machined for a mere 35.00 from a local machine shop who had it done in a day, All together I paid like $800.00 for a New clutch and a rebuilt transmission now I'm happy. But The stealership wanted $1,400.00 JUST TO CHANGE THE CLUTCH!!! wow.. Ya I did it myself ya it took some time but I know its right.

Bill Jenkins knows his stuff and I wouldn't Recommend anyone else. Im sure there is others out there but thats the only person I have dealt with and he was perfect ...Hell my parts got here in a day all the way across country... good luck with everything


Oh and I have to agree with reebs on this one
"once you do it, you wont want to do it again"

We removed the engine the first time, The second time we put a new synchronizer in we removed the transmission out the side of the wheel well...twist twist pull ( great method )

But once again good luck with everything!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks alot George! ...I know I'll be needing alot of luck since last week wasn't so good for me..:laugh: It sounds like you made out pretty good with yours and you got one heck of a deal.

Frank
 
SVTGeorge said:
luckily I ran into a clutch kit for a cougar from LUK for the $125.00 ball park range. !!!
Click to expand...


So you put a non SVT clutch in your SVT?!?! :shrug: I guess it's your car but I would never drop SE/Coug parts like this in any of my SVTs. Did you read that LUK makes the CSVT clutch and therefore think that the Cougar clutch kit was the same or did you not know?
 
Reebs said:
So you put a non SVT clutch in your SVT?!?! :shrug: I guess it's your car but I would never drop SE/Coug parts like this in any of my SVTs. Did you read that LUK makes the CSVT clutch and therefore think that the Cougar clutch kit was the same or did you not know?
Click to expand...


I agree I wouldn't put a non-svt clutch in a SVT but I have to say my stock SE clutch looked very good after some miles at SVT power levels.
 
I've taken out 5 transmissions in these cars and I dont mind doing it anymore. I'ven taken them out of the wheel well and the last one (mine the second time) TRicker and I pulled the entire engine ( Spec 3+, 8lb Fidanza, MSDS Headers - then a power steering pump and belt tensioner.. dont ask :rolleyes:)

Had my car for a few months with the 3L and completly grenaded the diff - whoops. Thing is - when the transmission is out - have everything replaced that is driving you nuts. It isn't exactly hard to pull the transmission - it is just time consuming. I can almost tell you every size of every bolt and how to take it apart and where you will run into troubles - I got good at doing these...not by choice.

Find a local transmission shop, not a chain store, not a franchise, a localy owned and operated shop. Talk to them and see if they will install parts you bring to them. My local shop installed a torsen, bearings, and seals for around 80 bucks. For ~150 they did 3rd gear, torsen, bearings, shift forks, and seals.

My car grinds 3rd gear when you shift into it around 6-7000 rpm and 5th gear does the same. I drained the crap that was in there and started running Ford Honey - it costs a pretty penny, but works damn good. I've also heard wonderful things about Royal Purple MTX. The grinding has almost completly gone away - including redline shifts in every gear.

Do it right the first time - it takes about 5-6hrs to leasurly take the transmission out your first time. Take lots of pictures and bag and label where you took nuts and bolts from. Be sure to take pictures of how the starter is hooked up, where the ground straps go on the transmission and if you want, use a cardboard template to remember where the longer and shorter bolts go into the transmission. Be careful when removing the subframe bolts as the welded nuts have been known to come loose and then you need to start cutting the floor up in your car. I've heard good things about using an impact on these... If you are going to drop the rear of the subframe - disconnect your steering (under the dash - one 8-10mm bolt) to avoid tearing the rubber boot.

If you are going to have some work done in the transmission - invest the ~50 bucks on the updated shift forks - you will be glad you did. I'd also suggest taking a peek at the bolt that commonly sheers on the shift tower while that is removed from the car.

When that bolt shears (if you drive your SVT "spiritedly") the head of the bolt falls into the transmission, and if you are unlucky, can catch a gear and put a hole into the case. I sheared mine, one of my friends sheared his, and my other buddy has sheared his twice. It happens when you least expect it - mine broke shifting into 2nd goign into a parking lot at low speeds - I was with my buddy when his went pulling out of the drive-tru one night. Never had one break while I was pounding on the car. This is my solution - it doesn't prevent it from breaking, it prevents it from falling into the transmission and forcing you to fish around in there with a magnet to look for it. I have found and removed the broken piece in less then 10 seconds, mine took almost 3 hours and I was getting ready to pull the transmission.


PICT0002.jpg



Just this last month my buddy sheared the bolt for the second time - it was parked in a Wendy's parking lot and that is where the fixed it. Yanked the intake air tube, transmission mount, shift tower and used a magnet to nab the broken bolt. Replaced it with the spare I always keep in my glovebox and then they put it all back together - the rain stopped just as they closed the hood.

Cliff notes for the lazy --->

Dont spare expenses when the transmission is out, find a local shop to do the work on the transmission, tack weld the bolt to the tower.
 
Got my car in the shop this weekend!!! Feels like it was a long time coming...
Got everything done in about 10 hours on Saturday with NO bolts leftover!!!:laugh::crazy:

You guys are probably gonna hate me, but I chose not to work on trans. We did find a bushing missing on the clutch cable that controls 2nd and 3rd gear though, and now 2nd gear grinds. We ended up breaking a couple of sensors (hard not to break something with a big job), but everything should be good in a couple days. The car is very drivable as of right now, with just easing into 2nd.

I'll let you know when update comes.

Thanks for all the help.
Frank
 
todras said:
You'll need to order the white shift cable end to get a new bushing. Luckily you have a '98.
Click to expand...

Yea you are right. But it still only cost me $10 from my buddy at Ford.

What do you mean that I'm lucky mine's a '98??

Should be getting sensors and stuff in tomorrow after work. I'll let everybody know how it goes. Then we'll see what else goes wrong next....:crazy:



Thanks,
Frank
 
Hey everybody,

We got the car all fixed up last week with the sensors and cable end.

It shifts ALOT better, but Now 2nd gear grinds if I go into it hard, like 3rd gear use to...:shrug: ...2nd does shift better than it did without the bushing on the shift cable end, but its confusing me. 3rd gear doesn't grind anymore, so I'm getting my hopes up thinking it might not be synchros... **knock on wood**.

So maybe the new shift cable end just needs to be adjusted...:shrug:

Its still not bad...I've just gotten use to being alittle easy with 2nd gear like I've been doing for 2 years with 3rd gear.

**Any thoughts???

Thanks,
Frank
 
I forgot to post some pics from the clutch job...

My clutch was really worn! You can see all the wear spots. I definitely got some good use outta 2 years, when I bought the car already having a worn clutch.:cool:




Here's the clutch cable end. The one to the left was missing the bushing to hold onto the pin in the trans.
 
Hello Bolt99csvt you know the last picture of the shift cable ends, can u buy them seprately so that u only get both cable ends instead of the whole cable assembly, if so is it from fords or is there another place that sells them and if so how much do they cost? Any info appreciated thanks :)
 
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