ThatGreen5Oh
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- Apr 16, 2019
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I’m grasping at straws trying to solve a clutch issue that has been occurring on my 2014 GT for several years now. I’ve spent tons of money throwing parts at it, and I’m at the point that I’m just dealing with it. I’ve even contemplated getting rid of the car over this aswell. I’ll start from the beginning and give you guys the whole story.
I bought the car with 36k miles on it and it was 100% stock except for a set of wheels and tires. At around 50k I got a screaming deal on an ACT HD clutch and it was put in the car along with a matching ACT lightweight flywheel. It was put in by a ford dealer (where I work) and all was well for a year or two. In this same time I snapped the CV joint in the middle of the OEM driveshaft and replaced it with a Ford performance 1 piece, I did the steeda upper control arm at the same time so that I could adjust pinion angle now that the OEM 2 piece shaft was gone. The rear axle also had a little glitter in the oil around 75k so we went through with all new seals and bearings. This was all that was done to the driveline of the car in this timeframe.
After about 2 years with the ACT clutch I began to have a shudder on clutch release. It started off fairly tame, but after a while it got progressively worse. It seemed to be worse after the car was fully warmed up a while and heat soaked. Drivethrus and stop&go traffic were brutal, the car would jerk so violently on clutch release that it felt like it was going to break something. I had Them pull the trans out of the car and they found that the ACT pilot bearing had failed and seized up. The input shaft was still in good shape and the flywheel and clutch still seemed to have plenty of life left in them and there were no gouges or heat spots to be found. I elected to put an OEM pilot bearing back in it and reuse the ACT clutch.
The shudder seemed to be cured for a few weeks and then it slowly came back, About as bad as before. I also noticed that there was a rattle coming from the shifter/bellhousing area, which was diagnosed as a bad input shaft bearing. So the car was pulled down again, this time the trans was rebuilt with all OEM bearings and seals, bronze shift pads, billet rail stop, and upgraded synchros. The clutch and flywheel got swapped out for a McLeod street pro and a matching steel flywheel, the clutch master and slave were replaced with OEM parts, the line was swapped to a McLeod braided line, and the pilot bearing was upgraded to a Ford performance high load unit. I DID NOT want anymore problems and assumed it would be fixed for good.
It has not been fixed for good. The rattle at idle that was diagnosed as an input shaft bearing is still there, and goes away when the clutch is pressed in. I’ve put 3-4000 miles on it thinking maybe it’s the clutch breaking in, I’ve swapped the adjustable upper control arm back to an OEM one because of the clunk the steeda arm is famous for and swapped to adjustable lowers to dial in pinion angle. I’ve adjusted the pinion angle 3 times thinking it may have something to do with it. I checked The u joints in the driveshaft and none have any play. I’m at a loss.
I’m usually pretty gentle on the clutch, and I’ve driven manual vehicles since I was 16 (I’m 32 now) so I know I’m not doing something wrong. It tends to be worse when the car is hot and heat soaked still, and for whatever reason seems to be worse in reverse. It sounds like the driveline is jerking back and fourth in the play it has.
Any ideas (even long shot ideas) would be appreciated. I’m at the point that I’d look into almost anything
I bought the car with 36k miles on it and it was 100% stock except for a set of wheels and tires. At around 50k I got a screaming deal on an ACT HD clutch and it was put in the car along with a matching ACT lightweight flywheel. It was put in by a ford dealer (where I work) and all was well for a year or two. In this same time I snapped the CV joint in the middle of the OEM driveshaft and replaced it with a Ford performance 1 piece, I did the steeda upper control arm at the same time so that I could adjust pinion angle now that the OEM 2 piece shaft was gone. The rear axle also had a little glitter in the oil around 75k so we went through with all new seals and bearings. This was all that was done to the driveline of the car in this timeframe.
After about 2 years with the ACT clutch I began to have a shudder on clutch release. It started off fairly tame, but after a while it got progressively worse. It seemed to be worse after the car was fully warmed up a while and heat soaked. Drivethrus and stop&go traffic were brutal, the car would jerk so violently on clutch release that it felt like it was going to break something. I had Them pull the trans out of the car and they found that the ACT pilot bearing had failed and seized up. The input shaft was still in good shape and the flywheel and clutch still seemed to have plenty of life left in them and there were no gouges or heat spots to be found. I elected to put an OEM pilot bearing back in it and reuse the ACT clutch.
The shudder seemed to be cured for a few weeks and then it slowly came back, About as bad as before. I also noticed that there was a rattle coming from the shifter/bellhousing area, which was diagnosed as a bad input shaft bearing. So the car was pulled down again, this time the trans was rebuilt with all OEM bearings and seals, bronze shift pads, billet rail stop, and upgraded synchros. The clutch and flywheel got swapped out for a McLeod street pro and a matching steel flywheel, the clutch master and slave were replaced with OEM parts, the line was swapped to a McLeod braided line, and the pilot bearing was upgraded to a Ford performance high load unit. I DID NOT want anymore problems and assumed it would be fixed for good.
It has not been fixed for good. The rattle at idle that was diagnosed as an input shaft bearing is still there, and goes away when the clutch is pressed in. I’ve put 3-4000 miles on it thinking maybe it’s the clutch breaking in, I’ve swapped the adjustable upper control arm back to an OEM one because of the clunk the steeda arm is famous for and swapped to adjustable lowers to dial in pinion angle. I’ve adjusted the pinion angle 3 times thinking it may have something to do with it. I checked The u joints in the driveshaft and none have any play. I’m at a loss.
I’m usually pretty gentle on the clutch, and I’ve driven manual vehicles since I was 16 (I’m 32 now) so I know I’m not doing something wrong. It tends to be worse when the car is hot and heat soaked still, and for whatever reason seems to be worse in reverse. It sounds like the driveline is jerking back and fourth in the play it has.
Any ideas (even long shot ideas) would be appreciated. I’m at the point that I’d look into almost anything
