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FORDMUSCLE.com FordMuscle Nav
Late Model AOD to T5 Conversion
Clutch Pedal Installation
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Fortes
Removing the AOD pedal assembly and installing the T5 pedal assembly is trial of your patience. Not only are you working in a dark and confined space, but the pedal bracket is wedged up in under the dash. We found the easiest way is to create as much working space as possible. Remove the drivers seat, unless you like being a contortionist. Secondly, take our advice and drop the steering column down. We know it sounds like a lot of work, but the ten minutes it takes to drop the column will save over an hour of wrestling with the pedal assembly.

Finally, if you haven't done so yet, purchase a aftermarket clutch cable quadrant, the stock plastic one is junk. We highly recommend the Fortes unit as shown here. The billet aluminum construction will last forever, and the large firewall adjuster makes adjusting the cable tension a breeze.

Fortes Quadrant with Firewall Adjuster

1. Here is the T5 pedal assembly we pulled from the donor car. You cannot install the clutch pedal on the automatic pedal assembly. 2. On the lefthand side of pedal assembly are the neutral saftey and clutch interlock switches. Make sure you get these when pulling pedals from a donor car. 3. On the right side of the pedal assembly is the cruise control switch, which disengages the cruise when the clutch is pressed. Also notice the stock plastic clutch cable quadrant.
4. Now is a good time to install the new quadrant on the pedal assembly. Remove the two hair-pin clips and slide off the stock plastic quadrant, adjuster and spring. 5. The supplied white bushing goes on first, then the quadrant. Secure it with the stock hairpin clip. The front of the quadrant should rest on the stop as shown. 6. On AOD Mustangs, the factory routes the speedo cable through the clutch cable hole. The highlighted area is where the speedo needs to be relocated to.
7. To re-route the speedo cable, the gauge cluster needs to be removed. Remove the dash cover and disconnect the switch plugs to access the half-dozen torx screws that secure the gauge. 8. Squeeze the white clip on the speedo cable and pull the cable off the gauge. Now the cable can be pulled through the firewall and rerouted through hole shown in pic.6. Reattach the cable and reassemble the dash 9. Remove the two nuts that hold the steering column bracket, and let the steering column hang down as low as possible. You'll want to remove the harnesses that plug into the column to avoid straining the wires. Remove the upper pedal bracket bolt shown in the highlighted region in the photo.
10. Four 9/16" nuts hold the pedal bracket to the firewall, you can access all but one with a ratchet. Be sure to disconnect the master cylinder push rod from the brake pedal, it's held in place with a hair-pin clip. 11. The top left pedal bracket nut cannot be reached from underneath. Take our word for it, otherwise you'll spend an hour swearing and cussing. The way to get to it is with a super long 3/8" extension, reaching through the dash as shown. 12. If you're lucky the pedal will come out without any of your blood on it. Otherwise, expect to wrestle with it for a while, eventually it will work its way out from the tangle of wires and brackets under the dash. Take a breather, because the new clutch pedal assembly goes in the same way
13. With the pedals in place, the hardest part of the swap is behind you!
Before you climb out from under the dash, find the two plugs shown in the highlighted region in the photo. On AOD cars they are jumpered and taped up as part of the large bundle of wires near the drivers side vent.
14. Remove the jumpers and attach the plugs into the switch on the clutch pedal. Note, the two plugs look similar, but they are not, each one will fit a unique position on the switch as shown. Once they are plugged in, grab the white serrated plastic rod and pull the square adjuster (arrow) as far up as it will go, you'll feel it ratchet up. You can see this rod better in pic.2. 15. On AOD cars, behind the stereo and console you'll find a plug with a green jumper wire. This is the cruise control disengage circuit. If you have cruise, you'll want it to disengage when the clutch pedal is pressed. Remove the jumper and attach to the switch shown in pic.3.
16. Remove the rubber bushing that is included with the stock cable, and use a razor blade to cut off the four plastic tabs at the end of the firewall bushing. 17. Place bead of RTV around the lip of the adjuster and place it through the firewall until the lip seats squarely. Then feed the cable through and seat the plastic cable bushing into the aluminum adjuster. From under the dash, attach the cable to the hook on the quadrant. 18. The new replacement cable comes with a bracket which attaches to the factory mounting point above the motor mount and k-member. We had to bend our mount slightly to keep the cable from touching the headers.

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