I was fixing a pedal board issue, no hardware, wrong hardware, poor alignment, etc. Once I got all that worked out, I was going for a drive and the clutch was barely engaging. Made for a tough drive. 1st and Rev were grinding and the others were not much better.

I did find a list of things to check for issues like this and I am going through those.

I also saw the Dr Evil drawing for clutch engagement. Mine seems to engage just off the pedal stop now. Is there a real spec for clutch adjustment or is it just by feel?

How could this be related to the pedal board? It was fine before I moved it around.

Just a swag, but maybe in the process of adjusting and fiddling with the board (it can be finnicky, I know) you may have yanked the cable and broken loose one of the spot welds for the clutch tube inside the tunnel.

I hope not but it is on my list of things to check.

Is it possible for this adjustment to be correct and function properly? It is not loose and I have not changed anything.
Click to view attachment

The adjustments on the pedal board are to restrict the maximum pull on the cables, clutch and accelerator.

The clutch pedal stop is to prevent over pulling the cable so the fork does not contact the transmission case. If this happens it will tear the clutch tube right out of the tunnel.

The photo looks as though you are at the beginning of cable adjustment.

The clutch should have 3 or so inches of play from the top of the pedal, it should be slightly loose until it engages. I usually set the stop on the pedal board to a bit more than half way to maximum. Adjust the clutch and engage it, if there is gear clash with the pedal pushed to the maximum, loosen the stop and push it back until the clash disappears, just make sure the fork doesn’t strike the transmission case.

You have a lot of room left to tighten that cable.

I agree, I just don't know what changed since the only thing I messed with was the pedal board.

Did you add the clutch pedal stop hardware where it was previously missing?

If so you may have restricted pedal range that you previously had available. May need to either tighten the cable to get the same level of disengagement in a shorter pedal travel or adjust the pedal stop to get some range back.

I tightened one side of the pedal stop that was loose, the washer was rattling. I leveled it out and tightened it. I guess that could have taken up any travel that it needed. But if that is the case the clutch is not adjusted correctly. The pedal stop might have been at an angle as the one side that was loose slid up to the top of the board. it is almost all the way at the top of the board. Not sure where it is supposed to be.

By the look of the nuts on your cable I would agree your clutch probably isn't adjusted correctly.

Tighten the cable so the clutch pedal goes "over center" in the first 1/3 of pedal travel. then adjust the pedal stop to keep the clutch fork from hitting the tranny case when fully engaged.


Also worth noting, every single one of my 914s I had to add a shim to the clutch fork pivot ball to get proper clutch feel. I suspect most flywheels out there have been machined to the point where they would benefit from a re-shimming of the clutch fork.

The plot thickens... I am missing the stop plate washer, the boot and a washer on the roller. I am wondering if moving the pedal board around caused some slack and the cable changed position due to the missing washer making the clutch operation more slack. I was able to move things by hand easily. It was not like this until I pulled on the cable a little. It should not do this so easily...
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Yeah, that would for sure make your clutch a little more difficult to operate.

How do you install this washer?
https://914rubber.com/clutch-cable-stop-pla...for-porsche-914

Your clutch cable is not engaged properly. The cable should be in the slot at the point of the arrow in pic. None of my cars have had that washer listed by others but seems like a good idea. One car I purchased had some wire to hold the cable in place. I will probably add the washer as it seems like a good idea but has not been a problem yet.

Click to view attachment

Having just adjusted my clutch tonight. Adjust the cable at the tranny end until you get to the point that you can just put it in reverse with out grinding.

john

The cable goes through that washer and the "pointy" end is inserted through that square hole you see in your picture (center, above the M8 nut) and bent around to keep it in place. It's needed.

Your picture explains a lot of what's going on now!

We always called that washer a "Beer Tab", because it looked similar to the old beer tabs from the 70s, and because we are old and can actually remember the 70s.

Thanks all. The cable was in the U shaped slot before I started pulling on it. I don' think it would shift at all if it wasn't. The pic I took was after I pulled on it and it popped right out without the beer can washer installed. Shows how much slack was in the line. Seems like a series of small events that lead to the clutch not performing properly.

All's well that ends well. I was thinking of driving this to the RRC but I have not had it long enough to work out the bugs yet. Getting some parts on order from Mikey today. Yet another learning opportunity in 914 World.

Do it! Just drive it to SLC. We are coming with a truck and trailer, so if it breaks, we can get you home. We have to go through Colorado to get back to Texas anyway.

when the cable is in its housing, safety wire it in so it cannot come out.

Got the repair parts, thanks Mikey. Took it all apart, cleaned it up and started the install. The threads at the end of the cable were buggered so I had to chase those the whole way. Got it back together the proper way and am going through the clutch adjustment, test drive, adjust process. Much better now. 10 bucks worth of washers and rubber boots that someone skipped during the re-install.

Everything I touch is a learning process on these cars.

That’s the way it should be!