2016 GT Weird Clutch Pedal Behavior

[NoahsArk117]

Hey Everyone,

I had an interesting experience with my clutch pedal this morning. On my way to work, I experienced the following things.

1: Clutch pedal would occasionally be slow to return to the top after the pedal was depressed and also had a "sticky" feel on return. Only happened 1/5 times the clutch was engaged. Most shifts felt fine.
2: When the clutch return was its issues returning to the top I noticed a vibration coming from the pedal that felt a bit excessive, much stronger than the vibration you get when the clutch is engaged.
3:I didn't notice any weird sounds or smells (grinding, clanking, rattling, burning, etc.) coming from the transmission at all and I also didn't have any issues getting into any gear.
4: The clutch didn't seem to be slipping and the car would accelerate and decelerate fine

Some notes about the car: 2016 Mustang GT Premium (Non-PP), bone stock other than oil separator, and Steeda clutch assist spring, just crossed over 30k on the odometer, driven pretty lightly, only get on it occasionally, I don't track it and it hasn't been to the strip.

After I got to work I took out the Steeda clutch assist spring and drove it around for a few minutes and I didn't experience any issues at all. While I'm not sure if the spring was the problem, I am wondering if anyone has any input or experience with similar issues. I know the MT82 transmission and OEM clutch setup seem to get a lot of flak on here so I'm perfectly fine with going with Mcleod or Exedy when I inevitably replace the clutch, but I want to run out the powertrain warranty before I make the change.

Thanks, any input is greatly appreciated.

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[cop on my back]

Any recent high RPM shifts? I'm talking 6500+ RPM?

 

[NoahsArk117]

Any recent high RPM shifts? I'm talking 6500+ RPM?

Yes, I did try a few redline shifts this morning both before and after removing the spring and I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. The weird clutch feeling I experienced was during normal shifts both up and down.

 

[cop on my back]

Strange. If was after a high RPM shift I would say the friction disc is coming apart. Still could be that, they are crap and fail. Word of advice, if you find out it is that, replace it with something other than a FORD OEM clutch.
You might want to look around the bottom of bell housing where there are some vents that you can see inside the flywheel area. It is really small but with a flashlight you might be able to see if there is any friction material strewn about.

 

[NoahsArk117]

Strange. If was after a high RPM shift I would say the friction disc is coming apart. Still could be that, they are crap and fail. Word of advice, if you find out it is that, replace it with something other than a FORD OEM clutch.
You might want to look around the bottom of bell housing where there are some vents that you can see inside the flywheel area. It is really small but with a flashlight you might be able to see if there is any friction material strewn about.

Thanks a ton for the input, I'll try that out when I get home tonight, I've been researching aftermarket clutches and I have seen good things about Mcleod and Exedy, but they all seem to be rated for 650+ hp, I don't plan on boosting the car so I'm not sure if it's overkill. Is there any clutch setup you would recommend for normal daily driving with a few bolt-ons?

 

[cop on my back]

I had 2 Mcleod RST clutches. First failed after a track day and the other did the same, it is still sitting on my shelf. They are noisy and no good for track duty. I went with Exedy Mach500 and lightened billet steel flywheel. Awesome clutch that has been beat on pretty hard with no issues. It is a bit heavier than stock but a good clutch.

 

[NoahsArk117]

I had 2 Mcleod RST clutches. First failed after a track day and the other did the same, it is still sitting on my shelf. They are noisy and no good for track duty. I went with Exedy Mach500 and lightened billet steel flywheel. Awesome clutch that has been beat on pretty hard with no issues. It is a bit heavier than stock but a good clutch.

Thank you for the advice, I'll look into the Exedy setup.

 

[Kong76]

I have a clutch pedal vibe at 1500 rpms. If I push in the clutch and hold it while reving to 1500 the pedal comes alive. If I go past 1500 the vibe subsides. I have had my tranny and clutch replaced once due to bad synchros. The new clutch did this vibe immediately after install. Dealership said it's operating normal. Been like this for over a year. Doesn't shift to well. It's picky when the gates open up.

I will check the vent holes like someone posted. I agree the made in Turkey oem clutches suck.

 

[Elp_jc]

How about using the newer (2018+) dual-plate OEM clutch, if car is not going to get tracked? Extra noise would annoy the hell out of me, and looks like you don't need a beefier clutch than what a new OEM (better than yours) would give you.

As a side note, I'm pissed Ford didn't put a bleed valve on the slave cylinder, so there's no way to ever bleed that line. If I was going to replace the clutch, I'd look to either add a bleed valve to the slave, or convert the clutch to mineral fluid, which never requires bleeding, but that would also require a separate reservoir, since the clutch is fed from the brake fluid reservoir now. Wonder if it'd work. That's what BMW uses on their bikes, so it should work in cars too IMO.

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