Lobsterboy
Junior Member
Hi everyone Lobsterboy here! well its Terry from Sussex in the south east of England. I have for about two and a half years owned a very smart looking 2011 5.0 GT (Shelby clone). Its a manual and has had some minor upgrades - an Airaid induction pipe/cone filter - cat back Flowmaster exhaust and an undisclosed tune put in it.
I bought the car with 55k (miles) and had no issue with the clutch until around 3 months - after changing gear 1-2 at high rpm the car stuck in gear with the pedal to the floor. Eventually I pulled hard on the stick and got it into neutral pulling the pedal back with my toes, and yes the clutch disc was now toast and slipping badly. I was 180 miles from home but I limped it carefully home. I couldn't source one here in the UK so I ordered an OEM kit from Rock Auto.
After getting a garage to fit it the pedal kept sticking to the floor I spoke to them and they thought it was something about them not being able to bleed the system properly. However after a bit of research I found out about the dreaded clutch assist spring and after following a video on youtube took mine out and the pedal never stuck again, however I was never happy with the new clutch which would often slip slightly and give off that tell tale smell if gunning it from standstill.
Move on two years and while I was accelerating hard this time from 2-3 de ja vu - it happened again complete lock up of the transmission! This time however after pulling hard on the stick and again lifting the pedal the clutch seemed OK so I carried on for around 40 miles when I had to pull up at some lights. As I pulled away there was no slipping but an ominous sound coming from the clutch. I continued another 30 miles and the return journey fine apart from the noise taking off in first and then almost yards from my home I smelt that terrible smell of a burnt out clutch and then the clutch pedal no longer did anything and I knew after just two years I was in for another clutch replacement.
This time I ordered an upgraded clutch kit from Rock two up from the OEM one and just had it fitted, it is very heavy compared to the one I had before. So I am thinking of replacing the Clutch Assist mechanism but before I do would you recommend a lighter spring from Steeda? I am also wondering if this would also cure yet again the very slightly slipping clutch (you can smell it) I was hoping never to smell that again from my Mustang. FYI the car has now done 65K.
Sorry if this is a bit long for a first post but I could do with some good advice, while there are plenty of S197's and S550's here in the UK, nearly all are Auto's!
Cheers Terry
I bought the car with 55k (miles) and had no issue with the clutch until around 3 months - after changing gear 1-2 at high rpm the car stuck in gear with the pedal to the floor. Eventually I pulled hard on the stick and got it into neutral pulling the pedal back with my toes, and yes the clutch disc was now toast and slipping badly. I was 180 miles from home but I limped it carefully home. I couldn't source one here in the UK so I ordered an OEM kit from Rock Auto.
After getting a garage to fit it the pedal kept sticking to the floor I spoke to them and they thought it was something about them not being able to bleed the system properly. However after a bit of research I found out about the dreaded clutch assist spring and after following a video on youtube took mine out and the pedal never stuck again, however I was never happy with the new clutch which would often slip slightly and give off that tell tale smell if gunning it from standstill.
Move on two years and while I was accelerating hard this time from 2-3 de ja vu - it happened again complete lock up of the transmission! This time however after pulling hard on the stick and again lifting the pedal the clutch seemed OK so I carried on for around 40 miles when I had to pull up at some lights. As I pulled away there was no slipping but an ominous sound coming from the clutch. I continued another 30 miles and the return journey fine apart from the noise taking off in first and then almost yards from my home I smelt that terrible smell of a burnt out clutch and then the clutch pedal no longer did anything and I knew after just two years I was in for another clutch replacement.
This time I ordered an upgraded clutch kit from Rock two up from the OEM one and just had it fitted, it is very heavy compared to the one I had before. So I am thinking of replacing the Clutch Assist mechanism but before I do would you recommend a lighter spring from Steeda? I am also wondering if this would also cure yet again the very slightly slipping clutch (you can smell it) I was hoping never to smell that again from my Mustang. FYI the car has now done 65K.
Sorry if this is a bit long for a first post but I could do with some good advice, while there are plenty of S197's and S550's here in the UK, nearly all are Auto's!
Cheers Terry
