clutch: mustangsteve roller/cable vs hydraulic

[Lee12609]

alright i finally have most of the T5 swap parts and cant decide if I want to go cable or hydraulic. if i go cable it will be full roller mustangsteve setup, if i go hydraulic it'll be the modern driveline external slave setup.

the car will mainly just be a sunny day cruiser, low power (carb'd 95 cobra motor, mild cam under 300whp), late model diaphram clutch (most likely stock replacement 5.0 set).

my MAIN concern is pedal pressure, so i'm looking for first hand experience from those who have felt both, pro's and cons of both, etc.

planning short tube headers or hi po manifolds because either option will be using a clutch fork, and incase it matters i'm using a 95 cobra T5 so the fork will be lower than a fox body setup.

[Bucket Lister]

I have had the MustangSteve cable clutch for six years and it has worked problem free. Not too heavy a pedal, adjustable, and an easy install.
I have no experience with hydros, but I've heard they're a difficult install, adjustment issues, bleeding issues, with possible leakage.

[Lee12609]

exactly the kind of response i'm looking for bucket, keep them coming.

it might help if yall could list the clutch you're running aswell. i've owned a fox with a king cobra clutch and all new cable setup and still found it way to much to drive in traffic. keep in mind i prefer a SOFT pedal, like a modern hydraulic clutch pedal.

[Bucket Lister]

I have a Ram diaphragm clutch. Not sure which model or part #.

[gikort]

I have a cable clutch setup similar to the one mustangsteve sells. I also added bearings to the pedal. Works fine with my kingcobra clutch. It also works with my mac long tube headers since i have a 94 trans. Cable was fine for ford and works well, hydraulic is obviously a better setup, but is a little more expensive.

[Lee12609]

gikort could a 16 year old girl drive the car without complaining of pedal pressure?

[Bucket Lister]

No offense to your daughter, but from my experience a sixteen year old girl will complain about anything. Raised one y'see.

[DrStang]

I have a Spec stage 2+ clutch with MS's clutch setup. With the inherently heavier duty clutch, I still have manageable pedal pressure. Not noticeably hard. Stop and go hwy traffic - not a problem.

[gikort]

I wouldn't let a 16 year old near the driver's seat of my car haha. It's not bad, but a 16 year old would probably complain about it, that, and the steering, the brakes, it's hard to start, the suspension is stiff, it's loud, uncomfortable, and unsafe. The clutch doesn't feel much different than the one on my jeep which is hydraulic. It works just fine for me, but like I said, hydraulic will obviously be better, just $$

[Lee12609]

Originally Posted by Bucket Lister

No offense to your daughter, but from my experience a sixteen year old girl will complain about anything. Raised one y'see.

pretty good, i'm the only man in the house with 3 women so i know what you mean, however, i'm comparing myself to a 16 year old girl.

is the hydraulic much lighter than cable or am i paranoid?

[Bucket Lister]

Typically, a hydro should be lighter, but that's in theory. They're not all the same. I hope someone chimes in that has a properly operating hydro and can post from experience.

[slow-poke]

I tried a clutch cable setup, I found the cable would stretch requiring constant adjustment. The cable also interfered with the headers.

I really like my home-brew hydraulic setup.


http://forums.vintage-mustang.com/at...1&d=1360812507

[wheelsup351]

i have the dazecars hydraulic set up in my car with a tko. i really like it. piece of cake to install and daze is extremely responsive to emails if you have any issues whatsoever.

i didnt have to modify a thing to install his kit. im not sure if the t-5 bracket is different or how different it is.

my headers precluded me from running a cable and i would never run the mechanical linkage again.

[MustangChuck]

DazeCars' T-5 bracket won't work with the SN95 T-5. It was designed for the Fox fork location. The rest of the pieces he offers should work great, though. There is a great thread here on VMF where Juit drilled and taped a pair of holes in the back of the bellhousing to mount an angle bracket to hold the slave cylinder. I am planning on making a bracket that mounts to the two transmission-to-bell bolts that are near the fork. I have a 94 T-5 and roller block. I haven't gotten to the headers yet (still planning a rack-and-pinion setup), so I cannot speak to fitment. But, I do know you can route the hydraulic lines around the headers much easier than you can a cable.

There are a few sites (1) (2) (3) running around on building a hydraulic clutch setup.

As for cost, the hydraulic clutch isn't terrible. Not including the mounting and firewall reinforcement brackets, Juit's total was just under $200. With the Fox T-5 bracket, DazeCars' kit is about $240. I'm not sure how much the MustangSteve roller cable setup runs.

Good luck with your project!

Chuck

[LastDeadLast]

I've got Modern Driveline's hydraulic setup and my 11 year old son can push it down with no problems. I'm running a Spec Stage 2 clutch which is good for over 550 ft/lbs of torque.

BTW, it can be a PITA to bleed.

-Shannon