i Have a '66 mustang, 289, 4 speed. i installed a new clutch roughly 500 miles ago and all of a sudden i'm having severe pedal problems. at first, the pedal and everything was fine, very solid, but it would stick about 2 inches from it's full return, so i had to pull it up with the top of my foot... no big deal. now recently, it has had to go almost completely to the floor (with no resistance until the very end of travel) before it will disengage the clutch. i thought it was adjustment, so i adjusted it out (at the adjustment on the threaded pedal rod in the engine bay) almost all the way... i had resistance from the clutch pedal about 4 inches from the floor. i took it out for a drive and after about a mile of city driving, i lost the clutch completely. the pedal didn't have any resistance until an inch from the floor and the clutch would not disengage. I made it home and checked all the linkage and it didn't seem like there was any play in any of the bushings, but for some reason, it seems like there isn't enough travel in the linkage to disengage the clutch. if the pedal is all the way out, the clutch rod down at the fork is about half an inch from the clutch fork (with the adjustment all the way out). i have no idea where to go, i read a bunch of the forums with little help. all advice is greatly appreciated.  

Check to see if the adjustment part that pushes the clutch fork has worn through and punched a hole in the clutch fork.  It sounds crazy but it happened to me years ago.  I felt a little pop through my left foot and instantly the clutch was out of adjustment.  The rubber boot keeps you from readily seeing it.  Also, are the bushings okay where the clutch and brake pedal shaft goes through the steering column brace?  

I checked the clutch fork when i was inspecting it before i posted this forum and there isn't a hole in the clutch fork... the dust boot is torn so i can see it clearly. I assume the bushings are alright... i haven't pulled the pedal shaft apart to thoroughly inspect the bushings, but i tried to move the pedal side to side and in all directions and i couldn't feel any play in it. do you think i'll have to pull the pedal apart to tell if the bushings are shot?
but even if the bushings were completely shot and it was just riding on the shaft, shouldn't the pedal still release the clutch if i have it adjusted all the way out?
it's such an enigma. thanks for the advice tho, i'll double check the components you mentioned and get back to you.  

I've been thinking more on this today and I'm wondering if it's possible that a tooth on the pressure plate could have broken off and jammed the clutch. that way the clutch would grab, but it would be sitting far enough out where the clutch fork couldn't push on the pressure plate teeth. If that could be the problem I'll pull the tranny. let me know what you think.  

Your shaft bushings under the dash are probably okay.  You can look at them and seee when they are fouled up enough to cause problems.  The pedals move left and the brake light tends to stay on.  Is the "z" bar bent?  

yah, it's bent... when i looked at it at first, i just looked for fore and aft bending, but the bottom arm of it is bent towards the driver side, which *** the clutch fork rod off to an angle, causing it to lose all it's stroke. i also discovered that the Z bar was wedged all the way to the driver side on the Z bar shaft... the bushings are shot, but you couldn't feel it because the bar was jammed crooked and had no play in it. it was hard to see because the Z bar shaft looked like it was straight and everything. when i put a pry bar on the Z bar to try and bend it back, the whole Z bar shifted towards the passenger side about an inch. I'm guessing that's where my problem lies. thanks for all the help. have any suggestions for a remedy? do i fix the one i have and get a bushing kit, buy a new and improved Z bar and bushing kit, or switch it over to like hydrolic or cable?  

This is common with anyone who has used high performance pressure plates with strong resistance. With today's centerforce type clutches there is not so much pedal effort. This can be repaired if you can determine the original position of the zbar arms. Triangular pieces of 1/4 or 3/8 inch steel plate can be fitted to be welded between the zbar tube and the arm. The short arm was always cracking on me, never the long one. I guess an experienced welder could heat the zbar and bend it back to an adjustable position with the rods mounted to check for correct orientation of everything then disassemble and weld in the triangular braces. I did this about 15 years ago and have had no trouble since.

Once, one of the pivot pins on one of the three pressure plate arms came out and the clutch acted the same with only two arms working.

cushman  

Thanks for the advice Cushman. The type of clutch that's in there now (which I should have mentioned earlier) is just an off the shelf NAPA clutch fitting a V8 mustang. it is a multi-armed clutch, not a three arm clutch like the original I replaced. I'm fully capable of bending the Z-bar back into it's correct possition and welding some braces in.
I had asked in an earlier post on this thread if an arm on the clutch pressure plate could have broken off and jammed the clutch like it had in your situation. Is that a likely possability?
When I have the money, I'll disassemble the clutch linkage and repair the Z-bar and replace the Z-bar bushings. If that doesn't repair the problem, I think the next step will be to pull the transmission and bell houseing and inspect the clutch for damage.
Thanks again for all the help. I'll keep in touch.

Mike  

Mike,
When you replaced your long style(three finger) with the diaphram style, was it simply a direct swap using the correct throwout bearing? Same flywheel? I'm thinking of doing this myself.

cushman