Hydraulic Clutch vs Cable

[Bakers35]

Good morning all,

I'm planning on adding in a Coyote/T56 6speed, but my engine supplier is asking why go Hydraulic clutch the mustang cable system works great? Any thoughts?

Also, assuming I stay the same path of Hydraulic, what are people using for the best hyd throwout bearing setup?
This is will be used as a daily driver, not for racing.

[Jacob McCrea]

I found it to be very easy to route a hydraulic line cleanly, for what that's worth. I used an external slave cylinder, and have no idea about the hydraulic throwout bearings.

Edit: I am not trying to be snide but this topic has been discussed to death, buried, disinterred and discussed to death again in many threads on this board. A search will bring up lots of advice from real authorities on the matter.

[rponfick]

I used the slave cylinder method also in my roadster. Much easier to replace, bleed, or service, without pulling motor or tranny. Running AOD in my pickup.
Just also unsolicited advice.
Ralph

[cv2065]

Another vote for slave. Give Forte a call...he can hook you up. Very easy to access should things go awry. And...things always go awry...:cool:

[Jeff Kleiner]

My scales tip to the cable which is what I use on all of the cars I build. Simple and reliable. There are literally hundreds of thousands of Mustangs out there that have racked up millions and millions of trouble free miles with their original cables. That said both can and do fail (only time I've ever been stranded was due to a faulty hydraulic clutch). I've not been sold on the idea of a hydraulic throwout bearing. If you opt for a cable get an OEM Ford one from Mike Forte...they operate smoother than the aftermarket ones and unless you put on miles like Ralph Button it will last the life of the car.

JMHO,
Jeff

[NAZ]

For a street car, either will work. But from a performance POV, the cable is superior and will work with any type clutch (not all hyd releases will). Simple, reliable, and much quicker operating than hydraulic.

[Bakers35]

Thank you all, I'll go with the Hyd slave cylinder approach. Happy holidays everyone... we just got 12" snow here in Alberta :-)

[edwardb]

Little late to the party and sounds like you made a decision. But FWIW:

A fairly recent thread on the subject: https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?37903-Forte-hydraulic-clutch-pedal-pressure&styleid=1.

As I described in that thread, I've had all three. Cable (Ford cable!!!), external hydraulic slave, internal hydraulic throw-out bearing. A properly installed correct cable works fine. The external slave is perhaps a bit lighter pedal and a bit smoother. I've used it a couple times and would again. But at least in my experience it isn't night and day difference over a cable. The internal Tilton hydraulic release bearing (HRB) I decided to go with in the Coupe build I'm super pleased with. Compared to external hydraulic, is cheaper, easier to install, and effort is significantly less. I would use it again in a heartbeat. I know there are concerns about reliability, having to pull the engine or trans to service, etc. Which are legitimate questions. But you also have take things apart to service the clutch, flywheel, traditional TOB, etc. I decided to give it a shot. So far, couple thousand miles in and really happy with it.

Regarding the point that there are millions of Mustangs with cables. Yup. And now there are a whole bunch of newer ones (can't cite a number) that have internal hydraulic bearings. Ford went to that some time ago for their manual shift Mustangs. Add Corvette to the list, and many more. For the automakers, I suspect it's a matter of economics over performance. And they don't always make the best decisions regarding serviceability. But they are pretty common nonetheless. As far as performance, I agree there are performance limitations of any hydraulic over a cable. But that's a somewhat theoretical discussion if you're talking about a street driver or even occasional track driver. Where we'd never see the difference.