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#$@*&%! Clutch!

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After running 2 flawless days at VIR blowing by almost every Porsche on the track, right in the middle of a great session my clutch pedal goes to the floor and stays there. I manage to get back to the pits and let the car cool for a while as I guzzle a bottle of water. Go back to the car and still no clutch. So I manually pull the pedal back up then work it back and forth a few times and the clutch appears to be working again. I pump it about 50 more times and it feels OK. I then drive the car out of the track to and motor around about 30 minutes and all seems fine.

I go out the first run session this morning and the clutch screws up again on the 3rd lap. I'm able to pull the pedal back up with my foot and at least get enough clutch action to shift but it does not lend itself to fast lap times so I gave up on the session and the rest of the day on the track. The clutch seems OK in "normal" street driving and I made the 180 mile trip home from the track with no problems. It just screws up on track. Note my local shop installed a JHR clutch line last week and bled the the system using a vacuum pump on the master cylinder. Any chance they somehow messed up the install and caused this problem? Any suggestions on how to attack this annoying problem? Thanks!
 
Bummer. Doubtful they messed it up and IMO the clutch line does nothing for the car. It's a band aid at best. I'm sure Gary will be along soon and explain what happened to his clutch as he had a similar issue.
 
That sucks Chuck. Fortunately it came back enough so you could get home. The downside is it didn't "fail" so who knows what the solution is to that problem. In the 2 cases I lost my clutch there were clear component failures. I did have one incident of the pedal on the floor like you just experienced at RA a couple months ago but it hasn't happened since.

From what I learned the upgraded clutch line that FR developed was due to the addition of headers and the concern about heat on the stock plastic line. The various "higher" capacity lines haven't shown themselves to be consistently effective in resolving the stuck pedal issue as it has happened on other cars with those lines. I wish Ford would figure out what's going on here as it's obviously a big issue when it happens either on track or the street. I have a feeling it's "heat related" but unfortunately no solution yet.
 
Which session was it in? And do you still have the 2nd spring? Pumping doesn't usually fix the problem, in my experience, but if you pump it 100 times between sessions it will help prevent it.
 

Justin

Save the dawn for your dishes!!!
I have the JHR clutch line and my clutch does this too me more and more ofter as time goes on. I have just about had it with that clutch. on friday I was locked out of 4th thought the transmission broke. nope clutch was just on the floor. had to pull it up with my foot while going 110mph then pump it till I could get it back in gear. I am going to give this fluid a try as per shaun@aed's recommendation but I am not going to hold my breath.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&vxp=mtr&item=271041434360#ht_1282wt_1138
I drove my friends 2012 GT the same night at the track his clutch was so much smoother and didnt even hint at sticking to the floor but I was shifting at only 7100 vice 7600

if the fluid doesnt fix it I am getting a centerforce DYAD clutch
 
Which session did it start acting up? How much time was there between sessions? Has it gotten worse with the new line? Did you rig up a heat shield for the new line? Do you have the 2nd spring still on the pedal?

I know I say this all the time, but between days you can try putting a vacuum on the reservoir to clear out any air from the fluid boiling. Or even every few sessions, which is what I will be doing next time I track the Boss.

I suspect the fix is in heat dissipation/prevention rather than about volume of the line (I understand higher volume will take longer to heat, but that is a band-aid that will eventually fail as heat builds up). Also I have not seen any proof that the higher volume allows more to cycle per pump, given that the slave is pushing the same amount of fluid it seems like a lower % of the fluid would kick back into the reservoir but that is just a pure guess on my part. If I am correct, then it would take longer to heat up due to higher volume but also take longer to cool down since it is cycling in a smaller % of the volume from the cooler (at least in theory) reservoir. Maybe one of our engineers knows? I noticed that if I let it sit a long time between sessions, it was fine the next one, but if it only sat 30-40 minutes then it would go squishy the next session, with the stock line and Dot4. That is why I think higher volume will not help, because it will partially be offset by slower cooling. I haven't figured out if it is heat from the clutch or ambient heat from the motor, but adding a good layer of heat shielding to the clutch line and reservoir may help if it is the ambient heat. If it is the clutch, then I don't know, maybe there is some way to rig up a heat tube with a heat sink down in the scoop :-\
 

Justin

Save the dawn for your dishes!!!
5 DOT 0 said:
Justin said:
if the fluid doesnt fix it I am getting a centerforce DYAD clutch
Sorry but I don't think the clutch fluid is going to fix it either. Gary and Chuck both have DOT 4 fluid in their cars along with many of us and they still had issues.
I am thinking the same thing.....but 66 bucks its worth a shot.
 
Justin said:
5 DOT 0 said:
Justin said:
if the fluid doesnt fix it I am getting a centerforce DYAD clutch
Sorry but I don't think the clutch fluid is going to fix it either. Gary and Chuck both have DOT 4 fluid in their cars along with many of us and they still had issues.
I am thinking the same thing.....but 66 bucks its worth a shot.

I have had the same issue with the clutch pedal sticking down. It happenened once on a very hot humid day with a long run. The problem has not happenend again. I do think it is heat related. What about a possible wrap?
 

PeteInCT

#LS-378 - So many Porsche's, so little time....
Moderator
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Chuck - Do you have the clutch pedal spring is or did you remove it already? I'm sure you are aware that some drivers have evidence that this spring can hang up the pedal.
 
Hah I had a few beers last night, so that post above is kind of rambling. But I think the basic premise stands. Also the comment in the other thread about the AED tune helping fix the problem, the smog code in the stock tune (what causes the slow rev down/no engine braking/J brake noise) may be causing too much torque to be applied while off throttle? I know from my Evo that with quick shifting, the throttle hang built into the stock code was a problem and it smoothed out a lot when I had it dialed out with an aftermarket tune. But I think that would probably be a lock-out issue, not a clutch stuck to the floor issue (maybe if it sticks at the point where it should engage and slips, but I think that is more about fluid temp).
 
jim woodruff said:
I have had the same issue with the clutch pedal sticking down. It happenened once on a very hot humid day with a long run. The problem has not happenend again. I do think it is heat related. What about a possible wrap?

Ford use to sell an fire proof/insulating sleeve that would slide over the fuel lines used on 460 CID engines. It was used on F350 ambulances if I remember correctly.
 
I think this issue has nothing to do with heat rather BINDING. Did you remove the clutch assist spring yet?

My guess is there is only one fix to the issue ford sold everyone is simple replace the clutch with something that can handle the engine. Good luck forget the fluid youll need the cash towards a clutch as they are well over a thousand and thats not installed :-\ It would be 50% good if ford would just pay for installation instead of getting a bad name for it.

This may help https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/VehicleComplaint/index.xhtml
 
I have already been searching clutches to make sure I get the right one. Then I might take the old one and send it to Ford ;D
 

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