Topic: 1989 5.0... what's it worth?

[rmodel65]

yea its possible that the cable broke, you need to crawl up under the dash and see if the stock quadrant is in place or an aftermarket. if its the stock quadrant you want to go with this setup, stock(buy it from ford) clutch cable, a maximum motorsports alum quadrant, and the maximum motorsports firewall adjuster. this is the most reliable setup you can buy and is easy to adjust.

the stock quadrant is a pain to remove i suggest removing the drvers seat and taking a few folded over towel and lat them over the seat mounting studs for inspection. looking up near the gas pedal you will find the quadrant located

http://www.americanmuscle.com/maximum-motorsports-clutch-quadrant.html

firewall adjuster:  http://www.maximummotorsports.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=500

[Konrad]

update on that last post. I talked to local dealership and they said this was a common problem on these cars because the self adjuster was made of plastic. Most people apparently replace the adjuster quadrant with an aluminum one that is cheaper, stronger, and easier to replace. Sound about right?

[Soaring]

 If you have mechanical savvy, you can replace the cable yourself, otherwise take it to the Ford dealer to replace it.  I replaced the quadrant and cable on my Nephew's 02 GT with an adjustable one you can adjust from the firewall and it was kinda neat to be able to adjust his clutch cable to meet his leg needs.  Yeah, the billet aluminum one is the ticket. 

[rmodel65]

you pretty much just get under the dash and break the old quadrant off. its not hard but it is very aggravating

[Soaring]

you pretty much just get under the dash and break the old quadrant off. its not hard but it is very aggravating

Or, you can do it right and take the clutch pedal off and work from there. 

[Konrad]

Ford said that to install the aftermarket aluminum quadrant would take 3.5 hours labour. they said to install the original would be 6.5 hours. The difference being that with the original they have to take everything apart but otherwise they would just cut out the old quadrant and install the other one. I'm mechanically inclined but I really don't like working under dashes. The haynes manual is talking about removing the steering wheel and the instrument panel and dropping the steering column and the whole assembly that the pedal is mounted to. Doesn't sound like something I have time for. Can it be easier than that in reality?

[rmodel65]

you pretty much just get under the dash and break the old quadrant off. its not hard but it is very aggravating

Or, you can do it right and take the clutch pedal off and work from there. 

nah glen on the these foxes the quadrant isnt at the top of the pedal. its has a bar in between the pedal and the pedal and quadrant. idk why the haynes manual says to drop the steering column? i imagine if you had to replace it with the stock plastic you might need to. you dont need to just, remove the seat put the towels down over the front seat studs. you look up over the gas pedal and, find the old quadrant. i guess you could cut it off with a sazall blade iirc i used some pliers and just broke the plastic off. this might take you all of an hour to do.

[Soaring]

you pretty much just get under the dash and break the old quadrant off. its not hard but it is very aggravating

Or, you can do it right and take the clutch pedal off and work from there. 

nah glen on the these foxes the quadrant isnt at the top of the pedal. its has a bar in between the pedal and the pedal and quadrant. idk why the haynes manual says to drop the steering column? i imagine if you had to replace it with the stock plastic you might need to. you dont need to just, remove the seat put the towels down over the front seat studs. you look up over the gas pedal and, find the old quadrant. i guess you could cut it off with a sazall blade iirc i used some pliers and just broke the plastic off. this might take you all of an hour to do.

OK, if the foxes are different from the 02 GT's then I don't have any reason to be giving out any information here.  But, I cannot imagine that you would have to remove the steerign column to replace the quadrant with an aftermarket aluminum one. 

[Konrad]

The quadrant has been replaced so that was indeed the problem. Took about 2 hours. Thanks guys.

[Soaring]

The quadrant has been replaced so that was indeed the problem. Took about 2 hours. Thanks guys.

Wonderful.  Glad to see it worked out for you. 

[crzylx]

Glad to hear that worked out for you. Both foxes I had the quadrant had to be replaced, the stock plastic one is trash without a doubt.

[Konrad]

Just to let you guys know, I sold this car now. I think the guy that bought it is crazy because he's driving it 15 hours north of me and I live in BC canada. Where he lives it is 30 below and he's driving it through mountains and snow with no winter tires. I fear for the poor car, I hope he makes it and doesn't wreck it.

[Soaring]

Anybody with two ounces of brain knows you don't drive a peg leg rear wheel drive Mustang in snow and ice on steep mountain sloped roads.  What an idiot. 

[Thierry]

Anybody with two ounces of brain knows you don't drive a peg leg rear wheel drive Mustang in snow and ice on steep mountain sloped roads.  What an idiot. 

How did they do in the old days when all cars were all rear wheel drive? 
I know that my Firebird never let me down during our snowy winters and I didn't feel idiot when I was passing light import cars stuck on the side of the roads. It's easy to get a sliding rear end back on track but when a fwd car starts to slide in the front, you can say bye bye to the road  .

[Soaring]

Yes, the cable broke on my nephew's 02 GT, and he was in another town, so had to have it towed to a shop to have it replaced.  It was one of those aftermarket cables too. 

[Konrad]

I'd agree with winter tires at least that rwd is fine. Some weight in the back would be nice too, as would some chains where he is going. Unfortunately he is doing it with none of those things. In fact, the tires in the back, although they are the same brand, they are a completely different model with very different tread design. One of them is Z rated and the other is not. So properly equipped, I'd say no problem, but he is not.

[Soaring]

Well, the difference in how to drive a rear wheel drive car and a front end drive car is that with the rear wheel drive, you turn the steering wheel in the opposite direction of where the rear is going, and on a front wheel drive car, you turn the front end in the direction you want to go and give it gas.  It just takes getting used to, and most people don't know the difference. 
Now, the ass end on these classic Mustangs is very light, so spinning out is easy.  I would at least throw some sand bags in the trunk, and drive slowly in the highest gear.  Yeah, he needs all-weather tires on there. 

[crzylx]

He's pretty nuts to be honest. The Fox has no weight over the rear, I didn't even like driving those cars in the rain. I've done it, and I've driven them in the snow not by choice. Your pretty much asking to crash... I'd get some killer snow tires and some sand bags like soaring said.

[Jaime_302]

umm well i have a foxbody

[brent]

 For those who believe it to be outdated, the Second Amendment provides a good test of whether their allegiance is really to the Constitution of the United States, or only to their preferences in public policies and audiences. The Constitution is law, not vague aspirations, and we are obligated to protect, defend, and apply it. If the Second Amendment were truly an outdated relic, the Constitution provides a method for repeal. The Constitution does not furnish the federal courts with an eraser.