I have the daunting job of clearing out my interior and cutting my tunnel open to repair the clutch tube. Does anyone have tips on doing this job? Do the fuel lines need to be taken out? Humm.......maybe I should if they're still plastic.

I appreciate all your wisdom as I'm trying to gain some on my own. Thanks!!

Steve

Tube can be accessed and sometimes repaired through the shifter opening without cutting the tunnel. It's possible to remove shifter with out disturbing the rod

Here's a write-up of how I repaired my clutch tube. It was basically free of any supporting material when I started the repair.

Clutch Tube Repair

The right way of course is to cut it open and weld it up and make a big project out of it. On the other hand, you can make a nice little bracket to put in under the shifter to hold it in place. Not the best repair but it works.

Sorry no pics, I did it too many years ago.

remove fuel lines at engine or at firewall (depends on what you have there after 40 years of creative mechanics)
drain tank then and plug lines with 8mm bolt.
add 1qt water to tank (no, its not going to harn anything)
remove shift rod and shifter

there are 3 attachement points
all must be addressed if firewall is ripped
1. forward of shifter hole about 4 inches on the left wall of the tunnel
2. about 10 inches forward of fire wall. this bracket hangs from teh top of the tunnel
3. where the clutch tube exits the firewall

i go in from the bottom. its cleaner that way

it the tube is loose but the firewall is still OK this means the middle bracket is still intact. the front bracket is the first to break.

in this case i weld a 1"x1" L-bracket to the tube. this minor solution is quick . you only have to remove the shifter and dont need to mess with fuel ines. i still stuff a wet rag against them just in case


did i mention remove clutch cable...

before we get carried away, lets see some photos of the firewall

next time yall cut access panels, clean the metal on both sides of the cut line prior to cutting. easier than after its cut. only cut 3 sides. just score the 4th side and it will bend clean and return to original position to weld iit closed

No need to remove the fuel lines, just wrap them in a wet towel when welding.

So which of the three attachments is broken? If its just the front one then no need to cut anything, just a couple plug welds to hold the guide tube to the tunnel sidewall:

Wow!! Thanks you guys! Now I have lots to chew on after I clear the interior stuff out of the way.
I'm having difficulty with posting pictures but will try to figure that out soon.

Thanks again, much appreciated!

I like that approach, Sean.

I was thinking the same thing. Nice work.

Mine too broke and was good at the firewall. I made a clamshell bracket for the front which was installed using one bolt and did not require any cutting of tunnel. All was done thru shifter opening. Still working good.

Good reason to to properly lube and maintain your clutch cable to prevent this from occurring in the first place. A dry cable housing causes excessive load on the tube.

There is a good write up in the classic threads on the tube repair with pictures and on the Pelican site tech info section they have some good pictures of the center tunnel. I did mine had to replace the entire tube it wasn't that bad.


Jsaum

Did you by chance take any pictures? I'd be curious to see how you did it.

i have had to replace the entire tube on a few
this is currently to most common 914 weld job for 2015
i think they will all break . the
l bracket under the shifter is so quick and easy. i can do it with the clutch cable in place but many have welded the inner cable to the tube (hearse )

I have fixed them with a sheet metal screw and a conduit clamp as a temp......that lasted over 10yrs without an issue.

Thanks for confirming that approach because I thought about that idea as well. Since this car has lots-o-rust and the mechanical components will be the donor I will only need a temp fix for this anyway.

Most all parts will be moved over to a 1973 2.0 tub that has very little if any rust as it sat in a garage awaiting a failed v8 swap. The tub only has 60k mikes on and sat for almost 30 years.

I will be contacting you for a 901 rebuild this year too. Thanks!

Second that, here's mine, i did a little blacksmithing on the conduit clamp to get the correct radius size, my 3/8 socket extension has just the right radius, for an anvil

Click to view attachment

That's what I'm looking to do and it looks like it'd be easy to do without welding. But first I have to open it up to make my assessment of the problem.
Thanks for the visual.

What size is the conduit clamp and did you pick it up at Loews, Home Depot or Ace Hardware? What did you use to attach the clamp to the wall...sheet metal screw or nut and bolt?...what sizes...just want o know as much as possible before purchasing the bits.

Well, my 3/8" extension measures .365" diameter, so guess the conduit clamp was for 3/8 tubing. I used a 1/4" bolt & nut.

I finally got to stripping all the stuff out to access the front tube and confirmed it is in fact the front bracket.

Question, when I cut the tunnel and peal it back enough to make the repair can I just continue to remove the square I cut back altogether and then duck tape the hole instead of knocking it back to weld it?

At that point I don't see a reason to be worried about a structural part of the tunnel....then I can cover it back up with carpet.

Remember, this car it destined for being a donor car anyway and all I want to do with it right now is to drive it while I restore the tub.

I just bent the flap back in place and welded it in enough spots to secure it. The tunnel was cut up before I had the car. Here's a picture.

My car has a repair done similar to Doc's, it's a cable clamp. Has worked fine in the 5+ years I've had the car. I'm just not a fan of mechanical substitution for welding but it's still there

I gather it failed in the tunnel and then repeated clutch action caused the firewall compromise; that's another repair point. And rust is not to blame here, there's virtually none in these areas. I just think it's another case of Hans und Franz letting their weld quality slip on a Friday afternoon while thinking of foamy steins at the Hofbrau Haus...

Steve, putting the clamp in takes a single drilled hole from the drivers side into the tunnel for the bolt to hold the clamp. No need to cut or bend anything. One hole. Drilled. About 3/16-1/4". That is it.

So, I can drill it through the existing opening just under the shift assembly....and then just push that over to the side and drill? By doing that I guess the clamp doesn't have to be all the way up to the end near the end of the tunnel nearest the pedal cluster, right?

Nope. You would drill the hole in the wall m the drivers side of the tube. That way when you bolt the clip down it pulls the tube against the side wall like the weld used to.

On the other hand......
Get a large diameter hole saw (2"- 2 1/2 ") and remove a large disc from the top of the tunnel for access.
No need to have an ugly flap. No welding. Your carpet will cover it.
As for the tube attachment, get a U shape cable clamp (or two) of the right diameter
( 1/2") and drill two holes in the side of tunnel to allow the legs of the clamp to be fed through.
Place the U over the tube and out the side of the tunnel through the two holes.
Put on two nuts, draw the tube to the inside wall of the tunnel.
Be careful..... don't overtighten.
Cut off excess threads on outside of tunnel
Done.
Do two clamps spaced a couple inches apart if you want to get fancy.

Hello, today I finished off repairing my clutch tube by using a conduit clamp and ss sheet metal screw. Basically, I removed the center gauge components and took the three bolts off the shifter then moved it over to install the clamp.....piece of cake!
It now shifts as it should be will have to rebuild the shifter itself down the road. Also, started to hear a throw out bearing noise that I'm sure will be alright like that for awhile until I swap over everything to the tub I'm working on.
Thanks everyone for all your help.....I really appreciate it!!

nice job and bookmarked for future reference

I think my clutch tube may be loose up front. Where is this access point to the tunnel? Underneath where the shifter is?

TIA

What do you have to remove to access the clutch tube at this point? I semi-removed the plate that holds the gear shift lever, but I don't see this.

Help?

Once you remove the bolts on the top plate holding the shifter, rotate the assembly 90 degrees to provide more access to the hole. Shine a light towards the top driver's side of the opening and you should see the clutch tube (and a broken weld). Put the clamp as close as possible to the broken weld.

Click to view attachment

I need to thank Dr. Evil. I was searching for solutions on this site and went with the conduit repair. I could not find exactly what I thought would work best, but I ended up using a C type conduit clamp. It has one bolt hole in the top which was easy to put in. I then braced the tube into place and secured it with JB Weld. I tried to put rubber on the back side which might enable it to be removed. There was to much flex, so I put a small patch of JB Weld at the bottom. It is solid now.

I would have to disagree with thought that the best was to repair is to weld to the wall. The tube is held in place at the front with a spot welded strap.

If I was doing it again I would use the same bracket I would try and figure a way to hindge the bottom or tougue end which would allow it to be bolted at the bottom and then fold up the top end and fasten with a bolt. Sorry the picture is upside down. You can see the original strap in the back and the repair is in front of picture. The repair is about 1 inch from front of shifter opening.

Click to view attachment

Trying to post a better picture and each time it is upside down.

HHHHmmm heard this and pulled my shifter the most forward mounting is way past the shifter....not sure you can do much that way.

Glad you sorted it out!

But you may want to consider a clamp that fits tight around the clutch tube while you still have everything open. The JB Weld may not hold up as well as steel against the flexing pressure.

I've reinforced it at the firewall by fabbing an L plate and drilling holes to clamshell over the firewall. I drill the hole too small for the clutch tube and then "bugle" it towards the rear of the car to give more to weld to without blowing through the clutch tube. Then I weld the plate to the firewall and lip.

fixed it for you.

Click to view attachment

This method appeals to me, especially if the carts on a lift.
Question: How do you know where tout the holes, what do you measure from ?

Beware of cutting from bottom.

Potential concerns:

There are locations where the all tubes (throttle, heater cables, clutch) all run within 2-5 mm of the floor pan.
See post #401
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...5209&st=400

Rear brake line runs though the tunnel

Plastic OEM fuel lines (if not updated) -- not only cutting initially but later on for welding up the flap

The bottom side is exposed to the elements. pinholes in welds? Use seam sealer. Better to access from dry interior in my opinion.

How to locate?

Here is tunnel picture -- feel free to measure & scale. Post #322
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...5209&st=320

Note: in middle of the picture you will see where the brace/bracket on this donor tunnel had torn. Likewise, at front you'll see two small J-hooks that were used to attach the front of the clutch tube back to the tunnel without welding.

look at the appendix of the "tech tips 700" book