#$@*&%! Clutch!

[CaliMR]

Pumping eventually swaps the fluid around, it doesn't get the bubbles out if they are already formed.

My fluid still turns black when I pump it, so something is fouling the fluid. And fades away when the car cools.

 

[F.D. Sako]

I don't know much about clutches, but is there another slave cylinder for the clutch that could be causing this problem?

 

[jeepinocala]

Clutches are pretty simple you have your master cylinder with a resivior that holds the fluid then a line to the slave cylinder that pushes the pressure plate springs allowing the clutch to release. This is absolutly rediculas if it is a clutch problem, being such a rare problem ford should take responcibility nobody should be having any problems with the trans/clutch they are to damn simple to be going through this. I did have 3rd to 4th lockout this past weekend with the regular black key it just made me so damn pissed. I love the car but ford has disapointed me very much causing me alot of extra cash along the way to make this car right.

 

[Justin]

Clutches are pretty simple you have your master cylinder with a resivior that holds the fluid then a line to the slave cylinder that pushes the pressure plate springs allowing the clutch to release. This is absolutly rediculas if it is a clutch problem, being such a rare problem ford should take responcibility nobody should be having any problems with the trans/clutch they are to damn simple to be going through this. I did have 3rd to 4th lockout this past weekend with the regular black key it just made me so damn pissed. I love the car but ford has disapointed me very much causing me alot of extra cash along the way to make this car right.

I am with you on being disappointed. The clutch is the only let down I have with the car.

 

[PeteInCT]

May i suggest that this thread stop being used to whine about potential issues with the clutch and focus on defining the problem and potential solutions. We all know some people are having issues. We also know that a vast majority of us are not. I personally am tired of reading how the Boss sucks in one way or another. If you have a real issue take it up with Ford, do what you can to have a successful outcome and use that to help others. Otherwise, watch soap operas instead.

Moderators - kill this if you must, it's OK. I just think this forum is too damn good to be wasted on useless chatter. I doubt very highly that ChuckP intended all of this to come from his initial post. He was just reporting the facts.

 

[Justin]

May i suggest that this thread stop being used to whine about potential issues with the clutch and focus on defining the problem and potential solutions. We all know some people are having issues. We also know that a vast majority of us are not. I personally am tired of reading how the Boss sucks in one way or another. If you have a real issue take it up with Ford, do what you can to have a successful outcome and use that to help others. Otherwise, watch soap operas instead.

Moderators - kill this if you must, it's OK. I just think this forum is too damn good to be wasted on useless chatter. I doubt very highly that ChuckP intended all of this to come from his initial post. He was just reporting the facts.

just unsubscribe from the thread.......

 

[Hermes]

Jumping into this discussion a little late.

Chuck, sorry to hear your have so much trouble with your clutch, but if your pedal is sticking down, then I would suggest the problem must be in your pedal assembly. The interface between the pin attached to pedal and the piston in the master cylinder is such that the pin can push on the piston and the piston can push back, but not pull. Therefore I doubt that anything downstream of this interface in the clutch system can cause the pedal to stick down. Hydraulic systems are good at pushing, but not good at pulling. To be absolutely sure, I would want to see if the spring(s) on the pedal are capable of raising it to the up position without help from the hydraulics (I'm 90% sure this is the case). If this is true then I would look at the pedal assembly for anything that could cause binding. Could be the over center spring, although I'm not sure. I took mine out and like the clutch feel better though it's still very artificial compared to what I'm used to.

Now it seams that you also have a hydraulic issue with the spongy feel that requires lots of pumping to clear. This is probably due to air in the fluid which could come from a lot of different sources. I wouldn't rule out fluid boiling since I have no knowledge of how hot it gets at the clutch slave cylinder. This problem, however, is likely unrelated to your pedal getting stuck.

Well good luck, hopefully no issues this weekend at VIR.

 

[Justin]

I came across this the other day.
http://store.jpcracing.com/OEM-Clutch-Line-Bleeder_p_1801.html
I dont know how hard it will be to get to the fitting to bleed it but it has to be better than placing vacuum on the master cylinder to get the bubbles out.

 

[CaliMR]

Bleeder would require 2 people, unless you have a vacuum hooked to the bleeder.

 

[VoodooBoss]

It would be nice if we could stay focused on a solution. We do have a clutch/trans discussion thread so please use it. It can be found here:

https://trackmustangsonline.com/boss-302-general-forum/boss-transmission-issues-poll-discussion-thread/

 

[Justin]

It would be nice if we could stay focused on a solution. We do have a clutch/trans discussion thread so please use it. It can be found here:

https://trackmustangsonline.com/boss-302-general-forum/boss-transmission-issues-poll-discussion-thread/

thats the problem there is 20 threads about the same thing. Same complaints over and over and over and over. Same useless solutions that dont work over and over and over and over.

Taking the car to the dealer for the clutch issue to me is a waste of time and gas. Waiting/wishing Ford would come out with a fix is also a waste of time.

Make one of them a Sticky. Call it CLUTCH ISSUES/COMPLAINTS GO HERE.
List possible solutions at the top of the thread
List solutions that dont work.

 

[VoodooBoss]

One of my goals for the poll and discussion thread was to centralize those comments so we don't keep rehashing this issue in every other thread.

Anyone that has a problem with their tranny/clutch needs to get it documented at their dealer. Ford isn't going to act on owners complaining on a forum. Owners need to complain to their dealer and get the issues documented. I've had my issues documented twice already and am ready for a third time.

 

[Justin]

One of my goals for the poll and discussion thread was to centralize those comments so we don't keep rehashing this issue in every other thread.

Anyone that has a problem with their tranny/clutch needs to get it documented at their dealer. Ford isn't going to act on owners complaining on a forum. Owners need to complain to their dealer and get the issues documented. I've had my issues documented twice already and am ready for a third time.

make the poll and the other thread a sticky. new guys that come in arent going to find them. I am good at forum and have trouble with the search feature here you have to know exactly what you are looking for.

I am going from past experiences with what I have seen ford do in the past with the very small % of people that actually beat on the cars the way that they were meant too just isnt high enough for it to show its face and be taken to ford in the amount of numbers that it has to be for a recall and reengineering of the system. It was taken up with the highway safety already about the clutch sticking to the floor and was found not to be enough complaints to warrant a recall. and the band-aid fix from ford is to change the assist spring and depending on the build date check the pressure plate bolts. I truely believe that is the best we are going to get from FORD. As in the past I am waiting for the aftermarket to fix Ford's short comings. I have emailed RAM/SPEC and Mcleod about making an up graded throw out bearing for the MT-82.....but in the end I think the only real fix is going to be doing a a swap to a T-56 XL or TKO 600/500 and remove the remote shifter and the crappy throwout bearing from the equation.

 

[CaliMR]

One of my goals for the poll and discussion thread was to centralize those comments so we don't keep rehashing this issue in every other thread.

Anyone that has a problem with their tranny/clutch needs to get it documented at their dealer. Ford isn't going to act on owners complaining on a forum. Owners need to complain to their dealer and get the issues documented. I've had my issues documented twice already and am ready for a third time.

The problem is that a lot of the issues are intermittent, I have had mine in 5 times and they marked "customer claims blah blah blah" but "could not verify"

They also "could not verify" brake issues when the caliper was visibly leaking, so I am not really confident that they will act anyways.

 

[zzyzx]

Ok, here's what I observe.

If I do a 1st/2nd full throttle pull to 60 MPH+ shifting near redline, then back off, shifting to 3rd is "spongy". Within a few shifts, it feels normal again.

Has anybody else observed this?

Given this, I will rule out heat and/or fluid issues caused by heat.

So, let's recap the exact circumstances:

1. 1st -> 2nd shift @ 7000 RPM @ WOT (not a power shift).
2. 2nd -> 3rd shift, partial throttle.

During #2, I feel the "weak" clutch feel, where the pressure to depress the clutch is noticeably diminished.

I believe that the issue is RPM induced. The question is, what about high RPMs has a momentary affect on the "return" and "push" pressure observed at the clutch pedal?

In talking face-to-face with OLOABoss at PBIR, he said that anything above 6000 RPM or so, and his stock clutch would not engage at all until the revs came back down to around 6000 RPM. His opinion is that the clutch pressure plate was the culprit.

And, after replacing it with a "good" clutch, he solved his issue.

All this said, the question in my mind is: what about high RPMs could affect things this way?

 

[VoodooBoss]

make the poll and the other thread a sticky. new guys that come in arent going to find them.

Done. I was going to do this originally but there are a lot of stickies in the general forum. I moved a few things around to make room.

While Ford may not do anything if you get it documented I guarantee they will not do anything if it's not documented. We should all be taking our cars to our dealers and raising hell.

 

[ChuckP]

May i suggest that this thread stop being used to whine about potential issues with the clutch and focus on defining the problem and potential solutions. We all know some people are having issues. We also know that a vast majority of us are not. I personally am tired of reading how the Boss sucks in one way or another. If you have a real issue take it up with Ford, do what you can to have a successful outcome and use that to help others. Otherwise, watch soap operas instead.

Moderators - kill this if you must, it's OK. I just think this forum is too damn good to be wasted on useless chatter. I doubt very highly that ChuckP intended all of this to come from his initial post. He was just reporting the facts.

just unsubscribe from the thread.......

Pete, I respectfully disagree with you on this. I absolutely LOVE my Boss but it sucks in many ways as track car even if Ford promotes it as such. I may be spoiled by owning 4 Porsches which needed nothing more than tires and brake pads to be track ready. Changing pads alone on the Boss is stone age compared to my Porsche. I would still rather have my Boss than an $80K Cayman R but that does not mean there are not a few things Ford could do that make the Boss a MUCH better track car. BTW: it looks like my clutch slave cylinder has failed. More to come on that.

 

[PeteInCT]

I agree that there are things they could have done better. For the same price? I don't know but I doubt it. The Boss is NOT a 'track' car in my mind when in stock form as much as it's a trackable car. If we wanted the true track car I believe we needed to go for the 302S with the associated cost (and the tranny, clutch, suspoension and brakes that it has). The rear calipers are a pain in our car (not the fronts, would you agree?), it's a solvable issue which as with most issues can be solved with $$$. I don't believe it's fair to compare the Boss to any car that has a significantly different price tag. As for your slave cylinder, it's very possible it's a true weak point in the design. I'll be the first to admit that if I could afford it I'd be in a Porsche Cup car with all the trimmings, or a McLaren MP12-4C if I really want to dream.

I get your point but at the same time maybe my point was not clear. Reporting issues articulating some level of aggravation I think is appropriate on a Forum. Constantly beating a dead horse is not (which you specifically did not do BTW) since it can steer others who are less in the know in the wrong direction. That my $0.02, for better or worse. I hope they did find your problem as the slave cylinder, and if they did then you going through all of this will undoubtedly help others down the road with real data to work off of.

 

[Justin]

May i suggest that this thread stop being used to whine about potential issues with the clutch and focus on defining the problem and potential solutions. We all know some people are having issues. We also know that a vast majority of us are not. I personally am tired of reading how the Boss sucks in one way or another. If you have a real issue take it up with Ford, do what you can to have a successful outcome and use that to help others. Otherwise, watch soap operas instead.

Moderators - kill this if you must, it's OK. I just think this forum is too damn good to be wasted on useless chatter. I doubt very highly that ChuckP intended all of this to come from his initial post. He was just reporting the facts.

just unsubscribe from the thread.......

Pete, I respectfully disagree with you on this. I absolutely LOVE my Boss but it sucks in many ways as track car even if Ford promotes it as such. I may be spoiled by owning 4 Porsches which needed nothing more than tires and brake pads to be track ready. Changing pads alone on the Boss is stone age compared to my Porsche. I would still rather have my Boss than an $80K Cayman R but that does not mean there are not a few things Ford could do that make the Boss a MUCH better track car. BTW: it looks like my clutch slave cylinder has failed. More to come on that.

what are your symptoms? mine are at higher rpm the clutch will get very stiff and most times either come up only half way or not at all. and will have to be pumped a few times to restore it to normal height. I am leerie to take my boss in as it has a few mods shifter and DS among others listed in my sig.

 

[SoFlaBoss]

This weekend I got a chance to speak with a Ford technician friend who knows about my Boss and the problem it has with the clutch pedal staying down and the clutch not disengaging during the occaisional high RPM shift. He told me that Ford recently developed a solution, which has something to do with the master cylinder, something to do with not providing enough pressure. I'm not sure if it's a published TSB yet. However, when I get more info I will share it.