Review & Install Video
Hey, guys, Adam here with americanmuscle.com. Today, I'm bringing you a detailed overview of the Exedy Mach 400 Stage 2 Clutch with a Hydraulic Throwout Bearing, fitting all 2005 to 2010 Mustang GTs. In this video, I'll be going over the benefits and performance of the Exedy Stage 2 Clutch, as well as the Hydraulic Throwout Bearing. I'll even touch on the materials and construction, and I'll top the video off with the installation, which I'll let you know upfront, gets a full three out of three wrenches on our difficulty meter and will definitely test the toolbox at home. So let's hop right into it.
The Exedy Mach 400 Stage 2 Clutch and the Hydraulic Throwout Bearing will be for any '05 to '10 GT owner who's experiencing issues with their factory clutch and looking for an upgrade, or for those of you looking to upgrade, to really handle your mildly modded Mustang. So like I just said, there's definitely more than one reason you'd be looking at the Exedy Stage 2 Clutch I have with me today. There's a couple of reasons you'd pick up a new one, and the biggest one by far is obviously gonna be because you're having issues with your factory clutch or your current clutch in your Mustang.
Now with that said, I'm gonna detail a few symptoms that'll definitely stand out to let you know if it's time to pick up an upgraded clutch. One of the biggest and most dreadful signs of a bad clutch is no doubt going to be the burning smell of a slipping clutch. A slipping clutch offers an unmistakable scent and offers your clutch pedal to grip your gears really high up off the floor, whereas a good clutch should grip 'em a lot down low.
Now with that said, you also have the acceleration problems of your car not accelerating properly, maybe a little bit slower than normal, and it's all gonna be thanks to your pressure plate and clutch disc not having enough friction with the gripping all around here, as you can see. Now, of course, there are several other symptoms of a bad clutch, some of which would include a sticking clutch, basically when your clutch isn't disengaging properly, or when your pressure plate is worn down to the point of replacement.
Now with that said, any of these symptoms will signify a bad clutch, as well as many others you can find online, but it would definitely be a good time to pick up the Exedy Stage 2 Clutch here, the Mach 400 option, which is going to be a direct fit replacement.
So as I said in the beginning, there's more than one reason somebody would swap out your factory clutch or your current clutch for a new aftermarket upgrade, one of which is if your clutch is going bad, the other is if it's more convenient when you're dropping the transmission anyway. Now that's something I'm personally going through at this point. I've got a leaky rear main seal in my own Mustang, so when I drop the transmission to fix that issue, I'll be swapping out the clutch just to make my life a little bit easier. With that said, it'll save you money in the long run from having to drop the trans a second time when your clutch goes bad anyway. Now that way, you save yourself some money and you pick up an upgrade in the meantime.
Now that same theory is gonna apply directly to your hydraulic throwout bearing. Now, a lot of you guys might not understand exactly what the hydraulic throwout bearing does and what its function is, so let me explain that to you quickly in a nutshell. So the hydraulic throwout bearing is honestly what makes clutch engagement happen and it's kind of the whole heart of the operation. Now, in a nutshell, when you press down your clutch pedal, the hydraulic throwout bearing will press in the pressure plate's release fingers, disengaging the clutch, allowing you to change gears.
Since I've given you some symptoms of a bad clutch, I'm gonna give you some symptoms of a bad hydraulic throwout bearing, one of which is gonna be having trouble disengaging and engaging your gears, as well as hearing a loud obnoxious squealing noise coming from your transmission area. If you hear any of these symptoms, it's always a good idea to swap out your hydraulic throwout bearing. And like I said, since the trans is coming out to do so, you might as well switch out your clutch, which makes this kit a perfect upgrade.
So one of the many good things about this particular kit from Exedy is going to be that it offers almost everything you need to get the job done. Included in the kit is your pressure plate and clutch disc, your alignment tool and pilot bearing, and of course, your hydraulic throwout bearing you see here. Now, the clutch itself combines all-natural organic compounds, as well as a high clamp pressure plate, all made of high quality and offers a stock-like drivability, great for daily drivers. All of the Exedy discs include spring-loaded dampers as well to reduce drivetrain shock in the meantime.
Now speaking of daily drivers, this one is going to be perfect for any stock or mildly modded Mustangs out there as a direct fit replacement. Now, what I mean by "mildly modded Mustang," of course, is just the basic bolt-ons, the cold air, throttle body, full exhaust, maybe a manifold. Of course, you wanna keep in mind this is rated for up to 510 foot-pounds of torque at the flywheel, so you wanna keep in mind what exactly your setup is pushing at the crank.
Now, if your setup's featuring a little bit more done to it than the average Joe's, then you might wanna think about other options on the market. Any forced induction setups, you can check out some of the Stage 3 and 4 Exedy kits. As well as some of the guys out there pushing crazy numbers in the 600, 700s, and even more, you might wanna check out some of the twin disc setups as well. Now, if this is something that you are interested in and you think it fits your issues, or if you're just looking to get the replacement to do while you're dropping your transmission, you could pick this particular kit up with the clutch as well as the hydraulic throwout bearing as the kit for about 400 bucks. Now, that's definitely a very common price tag for these clutch kits just like this, and Exedy offers some of the top-of-the-line stuff, so there is definitely a bang for your buck here.
So there's one more thing I wanna point out before moving forward to the installation, which gonna relate to your price tag. Now, it's highly, highly, highly recommended to pick up an aftermarket flywheel to match up to the same brand of aftermarket clutch you're getting as an upgrade. What this basically means is, when you're getting the Exedy Mach 400 Stage 2, it's highly recommended to get the Exedy Lightweight Racing Flywheel with the six-bolt pattern for the TR 3650 10-spline manual transmission you have in our '05 to '10 GT.
Now this isn't me trying to make an extra sale here, guys. What I'm trying to tell you is that it makes a difference for your ride quality and your long-lasting support of your brand new clutch. Matching up an aftermarket clutch with a different brand or a stock flywheel really does not mesh the greatest and it will definitely wear down faster than it should. Matching up the brands here will give you the best ride quality and the most maximum performance, which, of course, means the flywheel is sold separately. It's definitely a good idea to factor that into your price tag when you're shopping around.
So now we can shift gears over to the install portion of the video, thanks to the good clutch we have on the table - pun intended. Now with that said, there's a full three out of three wrenches on our difficulty meter here, guys, simply because we have to drop the entire transmission. There's a lot of mechanical know-how required, so it's definitely a good idea to seek out professional help if you don't feel comfortable taking care of it yourself. Now if you're tackling this job yourself, it'll test the entire toolbox and will take about four hours worth of time in your driveway at home, if you know what you're doing.
And just to wrap things up here. If you're the owner of a 2005 to 2010 Mustang GT and you're looking for an upgraded clutch here to handle your mildly modded Mustang if you're having issues with your current one or if you wanna knock it out while you got your transmission out, you might wanna check out your Exedy Mach 400 Stage 2 Clutch with a Hydraulic Throwout Bearing, all of which can be found as a kit, right here at americanmuscle.com.
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