Clutch acts up?
 

First off, I have been driving manuals for a long time - so its not me.

The car is an 03 w/ the factory clutch and 5 speed - it has 62,000 miles on it.

Here is what I am noticing. The clutch seems to have a soft / firm trade off - what I mean is it randomly gets soft, then after a few shifts its firm again (like what most clutches I have drove feel like), then it gets soft again.

Example - I don't do it often but only when I absolutely need to - if I take the rpms up past 2,500 before I shift the clutch gets really easy to push in - there is no grinding, noise, chatter, shaking or anything that leads me to believe it is the clutch but as I said every vehicle I have ever driven no matter what has a consistant pedal feel and this car does not.

Another example (sorry if it doesn't make since, it was the only way I can explain it) after it has set for a few days - I get in start it up and the clutch pedal feels firm or soft, back out of the garage and then take off after a few stop lights it seems to get kind of spongey / soft or firm then after awhile driving in one gear it gets back towards the firm side (or if I stop somewhere and then come back and restart it).

It never gets to the point of being spongey enough where I feel that it is affecting shifts or anything but it just gets annoying as most cars I have drivin they don't do that unless the clutch is starting to go out. And usually when they do this they don't get better and they get worse.

I have checked the adjuster, everything else that I know would cause it, I even checked the fluids and can't seem to find anything wrong and there is no chatter or unual noises only gear whine or if you are going really slow you get the gear noise (spinning noise). I also get the gear chatter if I try to take off really slow without giving it hardly any gas.

When it is in neutral and the clutch is not engauged there is no chatter or noises that would concern me.

So is this just another one of Fords designs that makes no since or is there a problem. Anyone else have this.

Someone told me its just the springs getting older and not to worry about it. He said they all do it to a certain degree and as long as the pedal comes back up and I am not experiencing the typical problems not to worry about it.

What do you guys think? I heard that these newer Ford clutches are weird anyway.

haha.
i have this also.
it wasn't this way before but finally came to the conclusion that maybe its suppose to be this way.

Does the spot where the clutch engages and disengages change too?

Not that I have noticed. I have been driving for a long time and mostly stick cars so I am really good at noticing differences.

The car only has 62,000 on it and the way I drive (most of my friends say I drive like a Grandpa - can't afford the ticket or the unjust wear and tear) I don't think it is the clutch.

Like everyone else occasionally I accidentally dump the clutch or let it out a little rough but by no means abusive.

Could be the stock cable stretching. Mine started to act very strange before it broke.

exactly what i was thinking. that or the pressure plate. when i got my clutch cable changed out (added the firewall adjuster and new quadrant) it got rid of the alternating spongey/firm feeling. then a year later (at 75,000 miles) my transmission gave out and i upgraded the clutch, flywheel and got the tranny rebuilt the clutch feels great.


and btw, the car and the transmission are meant to be driven. driving like a grandpa can be just as damaging as driving it at the limit. with my 3.73s in my old V6 i used to shift at 2500 minimum just cruising around.

What I mean by driving like a grandpa is, not abusing it - like power shifting it, doing burnouts and launching like I'm on a track. I usually shift at around 2,000 rpms. I do occasionally floor it like when I have to power merge or when I have to pass somebody quick but other than that the car is taken car of.