Reply to "Mangusta clutch"

HI,
You can adjust the lever on the ZF. It sits on a splined shaft that runs in the opposite direction of the centerline of the car. Loosen the bolt and tap it lightly from the side to push it off the shaft if necessary. It can be repositioned if necessary.
See the directions below.

With someone in the car that can push the clutch in and with the slave cylinder working very well, with no air in it and the adjustment allowing enough play in the mechanism when the clutch is released, do the following:

>Check the angle of the lever when the clutch is out. The end of the lever engaging the slave cylinder rod will be pointing up.

>Have the person in the car push the clutch pedal in. The lever will start pointing down as the pedal is pushed in.

>When the pedal is all the way in the lever will be pointing down at maximum. Imagine an imaginary line running horizontally through the splined shaft.


>This is when you check to see if the lever travels an equal amount of distance above the imaginary line, pedal out, and below the imaginary line, pedal in.

In that position the lever is being pushed by the clutch rod through an arc that is divided in half by the imaginary line.

>After re-positioning the lever, if necessary, re-adjust the clutch rod length.

It helps to work this out on paper first so you understand it. If the lever is not adjusted in the center position you will be pushing the end of the clutch arm in a straight line, with clutch out or clutch in, instead of an arc. This requires a lot more effort to release the clutch.

You can play with this once you get it centered to be hard to push the pedal at the top and easy tp hold it in at the bottom.

CLUTCHES
The car clutches, clutch brand, diameter and material have nothing to do with the force required to depress the clutch pedal in YOUR car. Only the spring loading in YOUR pressure plate does that.

Using a clutch pressure plate that is not matched to the engine displacement, horsepower,
torque, engine weight and traction capability can result in a slipping clutch or a clutch pedal that is very hard to push in.

Do not fall for a "racing clutch" that is over pressurized for your engine.

That is how you get a clutch that is too stiff for street driving.

A pressure plate and clutch for your engine in a Mustang that weighs fifteen percent more than a Mangusta would be just about right given that the Mangusta has superior traction potential.

Give me a call if you have problems. 313-824-0539.

DICK RUZZIN