Chapter 3
Getting in Deep

by Ryan King
9/06

It was a gorgeous evening in June of 2000 when the Project LX ‘87 Mustang gave up the ghost.

Derrek (my cousin) and I were heading home from his brother Brandon’s high school graduation. Just as we were about to get on the freeway, it happened. The clutch assembly went POP! And no more clutch pedal pressure.

We were just getting onto the onramp when it happened and I had to decide whether I should try to make it home in third gear (since I could no longer disengage the clutch to shift) or limp over to a nearby parking lot and try to get a ride.

I used my common sense and found a parking spot to kill the motor.

The only problem with this situation was that everyone I had to call was going over to Brandon’s graduation party. Derrek and I were stuck downtown until we could reach someone to bail our behinds out of trouble.

We did the only prudent thing and tried to find a phone so that we could make the call when everyone arrived at the party.

It just so happened that while we were looking for a phone we lucked out. Brandon and his girlfriend, Chrysta, were running late and they pulled up in the left turn lane of the intersection Derrek and I were waiting near.

We waved our hands and ran out into the road towards his blue ‘68 Nova SS.

After getting a ride to the party, calling a tow truck and spending the evening hanging out, I knew had my work cut out for me when I arrived home.

As I mentioned at the end of the previous chapter, I had to decide whether to just repair the problem or go a step further and continue modifying the car to see what I could get out of the little notchback.

I didn’t come to a decision right away. My first concern was getting the transmission out so that I could see exactly what happened inside the bellhousing. After I got the transmission out I discovered the problem as I mentioned in the last chapter: The aluminum front bearing retainer had grooves worn into it which caused the throwout bearing to cock, wear excessively and eventually shred. Literally shred and scatter itself all over the inside of the bellhousing. The clutch didn’t look all that bad for 131,000 miles, but the pressure plate had funny wear patterns on the release fingers where the misaligned throwout bearing made contact with it.

I knew that at the very least I had to replace the clutch, pressure plate, throwout bearing and transmission front bearing retainer.

So began my journey into Stage 2.

At the time, the most compelling reason to simply fix the clutch issue and move on was the cost (as compared to, say, ripping out the entire drivetrain and starting over). Later I would discover other, more compelling reasons to just fix the clutch problem (and even just repair the other age-related problems the car was experiencing), but that information wasn’t part of the picture then, and nothing breeds confidence in decision making like ignorance.

Seriously, I did make some good choices. Namely that the engine was on its last leg. It was burning lots of oil and was having a number of running issues related to the age of the sensors and actuators. Another good call was that the transmission needed an overhaul. The synchros were getting really notchy and the gears were starting to grind during shifts. My last, and probably best call was that replacing the clutch goodies was at best a Band-Aid measure that would only keep the car on the road for a short time before the engine or tranny took it down again. Along with that thought, I realized that it would be a waste of time and money to replace the clutch components only to have to tear it back down again for the major repairs that were looming (money loss comes from the need to replace certain components that have a single use such as the pressure plate bolts).

Initially, I did try to keep my costs down. First, by getting a lower mileage (60,000) engine from a local Mustang parts house. Second, by rebuilding the original transmission myself. I’d never rebuilt a transmission before, but I had the factory repair manual with complete and detailed instructions about how to rebuild it so I felt I was able to do the job.

Obviously, something went wrong with this plan. An experienced mechanic, or even the average Joe, would probably point to the decision to rebuild the transmission as the problem with this plan. I know if I were looking at someone who had never been inside a piece of equipment as complex as a transmission, saying they were going to rebuild it themselves, I would point that out as the most obvious flaw. However, I know myself better than that.

It was the low mileage engine (which I bought from what I thought was a trustworthy source), that was my problem.

I disassembled the engine to re-gasket it and discovered the cylinder walls were excessively worn, ridged and gouged. I called the parts house I bought it from and they said it was my problem because I opened the motor.

To say I was displeased would be an understatement.

I was stuck with two bad engines, no funds and a decision to make made up of nothing but unpleasant options.

Click image for Chapter 3 Work Photos.