Clutch cable/clutch, clutch cable/clutch Options

[partwerks]

I'm a little confused about what my mechanic is telling me here lately pertaining to the clutch and pressure plate that he THINKS I need.

It started when I had the clutch cable break at the back and so I bought a Terry Cable and had him put it in. The first thing I noticed is that the clutch pedal sure pushed harder. Well, about 4 months down the road (no pun intended) it breaks again.

So I ordered another Terry Cable and had him put it in. On closer observation, on the front end of the housing where the cable he took out, comes out the hole, it was oval/egg shaped as the cable was rubbing on the housing, apparently at an angle, I'm guessing and ultimately rubbed it till it snapped.

Ok, so he got the cable put in this time again and the clutch pedal is pushing with the normal resistance as before, but now he is telling me that he doesn't think that the clutch "feels right" and thinks that I need a new pressure plate and clutch. I think he is talking about on the rear end and not the pedal itself.

A. I'm wondering if he had got the first cable installed correctly as to why it had rubbed a oval shaped hole?
B. If this pedal is pushing normal again, why would I need to rework the clutch?

From others opinions of him, he isn't dishonest. He wanted me to park it till he gets it sorted out. I have it parked in my garage. I don't see any reason NOT to drive it. He didn't move forward with adjusting the cable shifter in the back as I wanted him to, cuz he thought it would be a waste of time if he put in a new clutch, which would be true if it really needed it.

Since it is NOT pushing harder as before, would lead me to believe that it is NOT rubbing like before and should be safe to drive w/o worrying about it snapping again I would think??

Ultimately, a couple of club members are working on a set up where I could use the Subie trans with my Subie engine and circumvent this whole soap opera?


Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions?

[Mike Bellis]

If it shifts fine and does not slip, drive it until it breaks...

[partwerks]

I was also going to have him adjust the cable shifter in the back, as 4th seems to be the bugger, but goes into 5th real sweet, but all that ain't going to happen with the thought in mind that he has currently, and so I would have to take it upon myself to try and adjust it.

I think he is a perfectionist as he said he would never use a rebuilt clutch or anything questionable about the flywheel if it don't meet specs.

You would think he knows what he is doing as he specializes in Subie, VW and Audi and runs the shop by himself. He charges plenty too for his know how.
He doesn't work for cheap as other people in town take their stuff to some cheap shop and then they don't know what they are doing and do it the cheap way and ultimately bring it to him to fix their screw ups. So he does have a bit of a point as also some may work out of their garage and don't have the over head like he does, which the customer ends up paying more for those hidden things as well, up to and including things like charge card fees that he lets the customer use for their convenience, insurance,etc.

My niece's husband just opened a shop. Maybe I can get him to take a look at the whole situation for his 2 cents worth?

[john rogers]

Several things to note about clutch cable replacement:

- Before hooking up the new cable, check the pedal feel to make sure it is smooth and the spring makes the pedal go smoothly to the floorboard.

- Make sure the floorboard or it's replacement has the rubber stop in place.

- Make very sure the silver colored end of the outer cable is seated completely over the tube coming out of the firewall. If not it will slowly seat itself and the clutch will come out of adjustment.

- Make sure the first several inches of the cable where it leaves the firewall goes straight and then curve it as needed. That way the inner cable will not rub excessively and break.

- Make sure the lock nut is tight on the front cable threaded end AND be sure to use TWO of those 7mm lock nuts on the threaded rod end at the clutch for secure locking. Do NOT try to use one nylock lock nut as it will fail.

Good luck.

[partwerks]

The rubbing was on the front end of the cable.
What could have happened to make it do that on the front end?

[bigkensteele]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think you need to buy a minimal set of tools and learn how to do some of this stuff on your own. The clutch cable is pretty easy to replace, and getting to know your car is priceless. The tools will pay for themselves in less than a year. Owning a 35+ year-old car without having mechanical skills is going to get very expensive, very quickly.

From a couple of the things you have posted, I think that you definitely need to find a new mechanic.

[Dave_Darling]

The most common cause would be getting the cable wrapped around the accelerator cable. That usually will cause the engine to rev up when the clutch is pressed in, so that may not have been it. There are other things in the tunnel up there, but they are much less common to have the clutch cable rub on.

Maybe the front attachment of the tube is breaking loose?

--DD

[partwerks]

Is it possible to see in the tunnel with a mirror to see if the tube is possibly breaking loose and IF it is, how would one go about getting to it, if need be?

I may ask another guy here in town to see where he takes his 911's.

[Mikey914]

Part of the joy of having a 914, is it will give you an education. It's one of the simplest cars to work on and with a factory manual you can do a lot of the "easy" stuff without a lot of hassle. Maybe you are not mechanically inclined, but put an eyeball on it, sometimes these things are reall obvious. It will save you a lot of money in the long run.
Just my .02, please don't take it the wrong way, but you may find you have more ability than you though you had.
-Mark

[SLITS]

Is it possible to see in the tunnel with a mirror to see if the tube is possibly breaking loose and IF it is, how would one go about getting to it, if need be?

I may ask another guy here in town to see where he takes his 911's.

If you pull the pedal board and the front center tunnel access cover, you can use a mirror and flashlight to see the ends of the clutch and throttle tubes. They terminate about 6" or so in front of the shifter, drivers' side.

I have had two break. Using a hole saw, I cut a 3" hole just above the termination of the tubes in the center tunnel. On one car I used a "U" clamp (cable clamp) to reattach the tube. On the other, I just hit it with a mig welder.

You might also want to check your pedal assembly for worn bushings as this would cause misalignment of the attachments.

[76-914]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) I did the same thing after conferring with Ron. And mine has
"0" rust in the tunnel. It was just a poor factory weld or should I say tack. If you need a pic of that kind of repair just ask. Several of us have been there and have pics.

[rjames]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I think you need to buy a minimal set of tools and learn how to do some of this stuff on your own. The clutch cable is pretty easy to replace, and getting to know your car is priceless. The tools will pay for themselves in less than a year. Owning a 35+ year-old car without having mechanical skills is going to get very expensive, very quickly.

From a couple of the things you have posted, I think that you definitely need to find a new mechanic.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

[partwerks]

After I pulled the carpet, one of the previous owners had already cut a rectangular hole about where the end of the cables are up front and already had an access hole and the tube had been welded up already.....and the cables were not crossed.

[McMark]

Another option is that the throwout bearing was not greased before installation. The throwout bearing rides on a tube and if that isn't greased, it can cause stiff or erratic clutch movement. The TO bearing is in the center of the picture, and the tube is in the center of the TO bearing.