2012 Boss 302 Clutch Replacement Recommendations

[tomsgarage]

I aquired my 12 Boss 302 last summer replacing the 03 Cobra that I did track events with for 14 years. The Cobra was a great car, but as with all Mustangs they seem to have an achille's heel somewhere, the Cobra was the rear differential getting too hot and the Boss 302 seems to be the clutch...

I have tracked the Boss at CMP, Road Atlanta and VIR and have experienced shifter/gear lockout. At first I thought it was the driver but after installing an MGW Shifter, Transmission Scoop, seperate clutch reservoir and new hi temp fluid I think the next step will be clutch replacement.

After talking with people at the track, some of them on this forum, forum reviews here and other places, the consesus seems to be to switch out the clutch for a McLeod RST Dual Clutch with their steel flywheel, new throwoutbearing and while in there a s/s clutch line.

I am leaning this way but would like your thoughts and ideas on this clutch and others. The Boss will be on track at 4-5 events per year (10-11 track days) and is driven for fun (going to the beach, mountains) as I have a company car for daily use. I am planning on leaving the motor stock as it does have the track key activated (which is awesome!) The suspension is stock at this time and I believe I need to resolve the clutch/transmission isssues before i go down that rabbit hole.

Your input is appreciated in advance and a question for those who have done the McLeod Clutch are there installation issues that I should look out for and other areas of concern?

 

[superhero]

I still maintain the stock clutch but do not track my car. With all the reading that I have done over the last 6 years. You are spot on with your choice of clutches. Only item you may want to add is a separate reservoir and just maybe the MGW shifter. But that can be added at a later date if still needed. It's a shame we were sold a bill of goods (Race Car With License Plate) when one of the main drivetrain parts was not any where near up to the task. Even street driving you will get the lock out.

 

[BigTaco]

I would consider the Centerforce Dyad. It's still dampened compared to the RST (un-sprung clutch discs) and moves the weight of the clutch closer to the center of the input shaft. It is near the same weight as a complete stock unit, but revs and de-revs like a unit that is 30% lighter with none of the draw backs usually associated with lightening clutch and flywheel componets. Another very important fact; McLeod does not recommend the RST for use in a Boss 302. They only recommend the RST which is not too smooth on the street. The DYAD is smooth as butter and is balanced from Flywheel to Pressure plate.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Tom

Great meeting you at VIR this weekend. Letting your Blue Boss's play together was a good time...if not a bit cold.

I went with the RST option. Only negative I have experienced is a noise/moan around 2200 RPM. To be honest, I don't spend a lot of time in that RPM range. I have the MGW with Blowfish bracket. The car shifts great.....now. I went with the braided stainless clutch line mostly because I intend to put on LTH's in the future. The line did Nothing for lockout. I did add a second reservoir for the clutch hydraulics. Being able to eliminate changing fluids in the clutch when I changed brake builds was a good idea. Saves on high cost fluids. I also see a black dust/paste in the clutch fluid, likely clutch dust migrating back up in the system. I run a low cost dot 4 in the clutch, changing fluids once a year. I don't want dust to accumulate in the brake system.

Good luck with the clutch swap.

Tracy

 

[Black Boss]

@tomsgarage Good to meet you at VIR. I had both the stock clutch and a McLeod fail on my Boss, running the Blowfish bracket and MGW. Exedy ET04XD is more expensive but has been bullet proof and is race proven. Change the slave cylinder while the Trans is out -- it's cheap insurance.

 

[VoodooBoss]

The RST for street and track and RXT for track only are proven options. We don’t all drive like Nick.

The Exedy twin disc is also an excellent option. IMO a twin disc is key. While you’ll see opinions about what’s run in the 302S race car remember it doesn’t have the fragile MT-82 trans.

 

[Champale]

I have the RST and lightened steel flywheel in mine and it is the only thing that finally fixed the high rpm lockout after trying all of the other supposed "fixes". I am happy with it overall, although it definitely has a slightly weird feel to it compared to most other cars - takeup is right at the top of the pedal travel and it judders a little gently leaving from a stop but 5 minutes into each drive I adjust for it. I drive my Focus RS more often so I get used to how it feels and then when I switch to my Boss, it just feels a little odd but it's not bad at all.

FYI lots of Black Friday sales will have McLeod discounts. Good luck!

 

[Gray Ghost GT]

I had the TR3650 3rd to 4th lock out at high RPMs and resolved it successfully with the following parts:

‘13/‘14 GT500 Clutch Master Cylinder
MGW shifter
Blowfish Shifter Support Bracket
Exedy Stage 2 clutch with aluminum flywheel
Stainless Steel Clutch Line
Pennzoil Synchromesh Manual Transmission Fluid

 

[kcbrown]

I have the Exedy Stage 1 clutch and like it very much. But I don't have a Boss so I can't say how well it would handle shifting at 7500 RPM. If you want the engagement smoothness of the stock clutch (which is why I chose it. My stock clutch threw a spring) then it may be worth considering. If you're only tracking it about 5 times a year then anything more could be overkill unless you like the higher pedal pressures or other compromises that go with the more advanced clutches.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[WinterSucks]

Are the lockouts at high rpm or high loads at moderate rpm (or both...)? The Whiteline transmission insert, mgw(gen1), and Steeda engine mounts fixed all my shifting issues. I never had high rpm lockout, I usually shy away from redline and Thompson and NHIS are small courses.

In my opinion, there are two causes for lockouts and I think most will agree. Cheap clutches that were not made in China (at least they know how to make it cheap properly...) and the shifter getting misaligned with the transmission. Mine were mostly turning right or hard on the gas going straight. On left turns the shifter just fell into the gate like butter. Then I installed the Whiteline trans insert and Steeda engine mounts. The stiffer transmission and engine mounting keeps them lined up with the chassis-mounted shifter better since the OEM mounts are very soft. I like the extra vibration from the engine . The Whiteline transmission mount insert is cheap and easy, and engine mounts are not bad either. A lot of guys seem to just do the insert, bit I think it is smart to do engine mounts at the same time. In my opinion, stiffening the trans mount up with floppy engine mounts will create a lever at the trans mount. I would be worried about extra stress, especially for racing.

The other option that I have purchased but not installed yet is the blowfish shifter mount, which simply mounts the OEM or mgw shifter to the transmission instead of the chassis. A lot of guys seem to have no issues after that upgrade, and it is a drive shaft loop at the same time. I think that upgrade should work perfectly without touching the engine mounts, but the extra NVH is minimal in my case.

 

[TMSBOSS]

Install the Blowfish bracket. Elimination the effect of the body mounted shifter is key to solid shifts.

 

[tomsgarage]

Thanks for all of the replys and VIR was a blast running with some of the people on here, good times!!

My transmission gets hard to shift as I go further into the run session. It happens at hi rpm when shifting to 4th and then up to 5th. At VIR it occcured going down the back straight and coming out of the last corner before start finish. I have the MGW Race Spec shifter installed which has arms that attach to the transmission housing, George of MGW installed it so i know it is rock solid. I also have a seperate clutch reservoir and transmission cooling scoop. When I got the car I changed the transnission fluid to the new specified fluid from Ford.

Still thinking about changing the clutch in order to keep from damaging the transmission down the road, so any additional thoughts or comments are welcome. And remember, I'm just an old guy having fun out there and living out a dream.....

Update, talked with McLeod and they recommended the RXT with the Aluminum flywheel...hmmmm...thoughts?

 

[Gray Ghost GT]

Thanks for all of the replys and VIR was a blast running with some of the people on here, good times!!

My transmission gets hard to shift as I go further into the run session. It happens at hi rpm when shifting to 4th and then up to 5th. At VIR it occcured going down the back straight and coming out of the last corner before start finish. I have the MGW Race Spec shifter installed which has arms that attach to the transmission housing, George of MGW installed it so i know it is rock solid. I also have a seperate clutch reservoir and transmission cooling scoop. When I got the car I changed the transnission fluid to the new specified fluid from Ford.

Still thinking about changing the clutch in order to keep from damaging the transmission down the road, so any additional thoughts or comments are welcome. And remember, I'm just an old guy having fun out there and living out a dream.....

Update, talked with McLeod and they recommended the RXT with the Aluminum flywheel...hmmmm...thoughts?

I had the same issue and was able to fix it by having a 2013/2014 GT500 Clutch Master Cylinder #DR3Z7A543A installed.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Update, talked with McLeod and they recommended the RXT with the Aluminum flywheel...hmmmm...thoughts?

That is what I ran on my race car since 2013. First one lasted two and a half seasons before the pressure plate cracked, still plenty of material left on the discs. I had a few rough downshifts in there that probably didn't help.
The RXT should hold up well if you are doing HPDEs and such; it is a little grabby for the street but not big deal. I would recommend removing your clutch assist spring if you go with the RXT.

That all being said, I'm putting an Exedy Hyper Single in the car soon along with a Magnum XL. If you can afford the Exedy, I'd try that. The design looks superior.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Update, talked with McLeod and they recommended the RXT with the Aluminum flywheel...hmmmm...thoughts?

I know that's what they recommend but if you drive your car on the street much at all I doubt you'll like it. On my Boss with the RXT it pretty much ruined driving it on the street for me. That's why I always recommend the RST for a street driven car. Different people have different tolerances for clutch action and the RXT exceeded mine.

 

[Gray Ghost GT]

That all being said, I'm putting an Exedy Hyper Single in the car soon along with a Magnum XL. If you can afford the Exedy, I'd try that. The design looks superior.

+1 for the Exedy

 

[tomsgarage]

Talked with Bill at Exedy and he recommended the Exedy Hyper Single Clutch Kit Part # EH06SD1. It is more expensive than the McLeod but I like the way it is constructed. Who would you all recommend to buy it from?

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

https://www.kohrmotorsports.com/product/exedy-eh06sd1-hyper-single-clutch-2011-mustang-mt82/

 

[302 Hi Pro]

Great choice in going with the Exedy, great component build quality.

Insofar as the clutch line, I replaced my plastic OEM line with the Ford Performance SS line. Expensive but excellent fit. Looking at the 2 lines side by side I did notice the OEM line had more restriction in both of the aluminum end fittings.

FWIW, It made me think that perhaps the FP SS line provided a lower pressure/higher fluid volume to the T/O bearing v. the OEM line.

 

[Swine]

Any decent clutch besides OEM should fix you right up...pick a brand you prefer and that you are sold on. Kinda hard to screw it up really.