That dreaded feeling whern the clutch cable drops to the floor happened again yesterday...i say again as I changed the clutch cable about 4 months ago
Put a new one in this morning (I did it about an hour quicker than the first time) the old one had broken flush with the eyelet that gets pegged on the pedal shaft (like the original). I paid $16 at the local, double what i paid for the first but the guy said people ask for that brand...hard to believe as it was producto brasileiro. Didnt really have a choice anyway
Anyone do worse than f4 months for a cable? maybe that $8 cable was all it was worth? or have i missed something in installing it?
I made sure i stopped the whole cable from spinning when i was fitting the wingnut at the gearbox btw
I'd preffer try beating my installation time in another 4 years maybe....
Hmm... had the cable broken, or been cut/worn through ???
Reason I ask is that the tube up that end can work loose and cause 'em to go early. Likewise not having it adjusted properly, or if you have shudder.
My record for changing a clutch cable was from memory just under 45 minutes... it let go as I pulled into the carpark at Macquarie Centre one night, so I stayed put to fix it while my sis and flatmate went in and did the grocery shopping... all ready to go again just as they came back out !!!
😉
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There are a few things that can chew the cable up. Gotta make sure all is adjusted and lubed etc.
I bought a $90 custom made stainless steel cable for our bus 15 years ago, and it is still good.
Very likely you either don't have positive stop on the pedal, or it is not adjusted correctly...at full travel of the clutch pedal the lever / hook /, to which the cable is connected to, rotates to the point, where the cable is being bent at the end of the fitting...if this is the case, cable may break in even shorter period of time...
Buy a German cable. You get what you pay for.
I read it on samba, so it must be correct.
Sometimes Volkswagen dealers sell spare parts. Amazing isn't it!😂
Check to inside of the bowden tube, i have had a worn one of those and the cable broke there, should replace that with the cable, also look at the bend in the bowden tube and make sure that it is not to large, i think is about 20MM.
cb john wrote:Very likely you either don't have positive stop on the pedal, or it is not adjusted correctly...at full travel of the clutch pedal the lever / hook /, to which the cable is connected to, rotates to the point, where the cable is being bent at the end of the fitting...if this is the case, cable may break in even shorter period of time...
I'm with John, set up the pedals correctly and a German cable and it will last for years.
Matt Berry Motorsports...air cooled advice, repairs and mods Ph 0408 704 662
OFF-ROAD,CIRCUIT,DRAG,STREET,ENDURANCE
I snapped on quickly years ago and reaced it with a heavy duty. No probs ever again
michelineister wrote:That dreaded feeling whern the clutch cable drops to the floor happened again yesterday...i say again as I changed the clutch cable about 4 months ago
Put a new one in this morning (I did it about an hour quicker than the first time) the old one had broken flush with the eyelet that gets pegged on the pedal shaft (like the original). I paid $16 at the local, double what i paid for the first but the guy said people ask for that brand...hard to believe as it was producto brasileiro. Didnt really have a choice anyway
Anyone do worse than f4 months for a cable? maybe that $8 cable was all it was worth? or have i missed something in installing it?
I made sure i stopped the whole cable from spinning when i was fitting the wingnut at the gearbox btw
I'd preffer try beating my installation time in another 4 years maybe....
Hi
it sounds like the cable is being bent where it snapped off..
same as carby cables snapping where they bend next to the carby..
I found a company in the USA who made cables with lifelong warranty [not too expensive either] a few years ago.
but they were not interested in selling to outside the lower 48 states... lol they didn't sell to Hawaii or Alaska either.. lol
cables are very cheap from Brasil , but the quality varies greatly also.. and I don't know of any brasillian brand names to recommend... ??
Maybe if You make sure the clutch pedal end of the cable is pivoting and NOT bending...
but at $14.. I wouldn't promise anything...
LEE
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
PS someone once suggested buying a v8 boat clutch cable and just crimp the thread end to the correct length
chances are you might be able to buy a custom cable with teflon or nylon sheeth or maybe a full length complete cable with outer jacket too tan can fit inside the steel tunnel tube.
haha 16 buks for a cable that long 😂
cheapest cable I ever bough for other cars is $75 for 2 foot long cable 😂 They only go up from there!
71 notchback,
Past owner of, 70 NB, 73 SB and 72 FB TLE
Aussie Dubbin wrote:PS someone once suggested buying a v8 boat clutch cable and just crimp the thread end to the correct length
You can get cables made to any length and size etc
as many Vehicles and tractors etc use them...
they are usually in a sleeve with rubber dust caps each end etc..
Maybe someone still sells GERMAN made clutch cables???
LEE
PS: back in the late 60s early 70s I had clutch cables break but usually they broke a few strands and stretched before finally snapping with the pedal to the floor... LEE
- Helping keep Air Cooled VWs on the road - location: SCONE in the Upper Hunter Valley - Northern NSW 320 kms NNW of SYDNEY---
helbus wrote:There are a few things that can chew the cable up. Gotta make sure all is adjusted and lubed etc.
I bought a $90 custom made stainless steel cable for our bus 15 years ago, and it is still good.
Well F me. The friggin cable snapped tonight. Had to drive half an hour in suburbia changing gears with no clutch. Oh well it can be changed in a few minutes. I have a stock cable in the shed.
You should've kept quiet! I certainly don't envy you, driving with no clutch is no fun or should I say just the pulling away!! I had a cable bodged together from a Hills hoist wire just to get me by but ended up lasting for nine years!!
Yeah it was tricky at a couple of intersections, as I had to stop completely. But driving on the road is ok, get the revs right and you can change gears easy enough.
I had a spare clutch cable that we always kept in the bus under the back seat as part of our long trip survival kit. Took me about 20 minutes to change, the room is a bit limited as the bus is lower than original, and I couldnt be bothered jacking it up.
I had a similar problem my bowden tube needed setting and it came good again!!!!
1915,c95,44's,44x37.5,NA, DuBwAy
well my $16 clutch cable lasted 2 months
🤪
Since its the 2nd time in 6 months ive broken a clutch cable, ive begrudgedly accepted that i wont be putting another off the shelf cable, even if my bug has to sit on my work carpark for 2 weeks i think its time to do the job properly
Ive asked this mob in the U.S if they make RHD assemblies
http://airkewld.com/index.php?product_id=459&page=shop.product_details&category_id=71&flypage=ilvm_fly_showroom_mall.tpl&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=252&vmcchk=1&Itemid=252
which they dont....but i thought about asking if i could just buy (and if it would fit the standard pedal shaft hook) that cable with the heim link cos the cable is shearing at the pedal end. Also thought id try asking on here if anyone had had a custom heavy duty cable made before? any help much appreciated
I had a stainless one made, didn't last very long at all but certainly because the cable had no protection at the drivers end, just a loop in the cable to go around the hook, the new one I made myself has a "thimble" at the end and dosn't look like breaking.
I dream of a day when a chicken can cross a road without being asked for it's motive!
Both cable and bowden tube should be replaced together at same time
the bowden tyube can kink and create friction on the clutch cable
Also check that the clutch arm is on the right way around as it hasa indent so the wing nut will locate and swivle through the arm movement
I found my clutch arm was on backwards after 2 cable changes but they did last longer than yours
Good to know. I broke one on the way home today.
vw54 wrote:Both cable and bowden tube should be replaced together at same time
the bowden tyube can kink and create friction on the clutch cable
The other thing to check with the bowden tube is that the cable often wears a groove in the top part of it. I have turned them around before to get a new side to wear, but it probably really should be replaced.
From your ole' mate Jeff
OK, if it's sheared in the same place that quick then I suggest taking the pedal cluster out and with the old cable end make sure it slides freely up and down the pedal clusters hook end. It really sounds like it's catching and being bent which cables don't like being kinked or bent.
Beyond that fabing a hydraulic kit just takes an MC, 8mm plate, some hyd piping anf a bit of spare time.
Try the hook test first tho
😉madness is in the eye of the beholder 👍
Had mine go in that spot, not so much a shear but strand by strand until there was only a dozen or so left.
Was the clutch cable tube, it had come adrift in the tunnel right at the pedal end, allowing the eye and hook to operate at all sorts of angles.
Regards,
Matt.
Ive snapped 3 cables.Now i dont have the flex tube bending down but have it at 90 degress facing towards left hand wheel.
Its lasted 4000km so far where others snapped at 1000km.Car came already moded with split pin through the hook to hold cable eye from falling off (6v).cable was wearing on metal tube as it enters bowden tube.Still takes me an hour or more to change but still dont know if it is rectified.
So did you fix the problem or find the answer t owhy its was breaking
WE would all like to know
vw54 wrote:So did you fix the problem or find the answer t owhy its was breaking
WE would all like to know
dont know but still working .looks like less angle to reduce drag.will post if she snaps.
Have u changed your profile ???
Clutch cable snapped last night,not having a spare and on the weekend ,I pulled the one from my stock 59 beetle spares car.This cable seemed slightly shorter,The bend in the bowden tube was not as severe.So i shortened the newer one by about 15mm.Im running a 1500 gear box and motor this could be as to why the tube has more bend in it.Clutch pedal now has a smoother feel to it.
