apparition13

I'm assuming you mean here, and I didn't see it. Anyone have a link to installation diagrams?

So the consensus seems to be "not worth the bother", and get a dealer cable/housing. What sort of grease would you recommend for lube?

The clutch cable keeps going slack, and I'm tired of messing with it. Has anyone done a hydraulic conversion? I'm wondering what parts would be needed; photographs and suggestions/instructions would be helpful as well. Thanks, apparition13

thanks, that seems to be working so far.

My plan was to install this one, and send the old one off to be rebuilt. Unfortunately, I need the car and can't have it sit while I send the ditributor off. The SPFI swap sounds great, but I'd have to have it done, since I'm not much of a mechanic, and I fear the labour cost may prove prohibitive.

Follow up to this thread; It's the distributor. The tach been doing more of the dancing around. I tried to get one through ebay, but it doesn't have the same housing. Anyone know where I can get a Hitachi ditributor for an '86 Brat? Anyone know where I can find a catalogue of part numbers for said Brat? Or even someone who carries Brat parts, and is easy to deal with? thanks, P.S. fwiw, the distributor in my Brat has these numbers on it: 4298787 00, D4R88-12 6503, and the one I ordered has these: 22100 AA 121 D4R84-52 6701. It has an extra flange on it. Could I remove the flange and use the ditributor? Anyone know? apparition13

Today: Started the car, had to press the accelerator to keep the revs high enough to keep the engine running, but after about 15 seconds it suddenly jumped to 5300 (no click, must have been my imagination last night) or so and stayed there. I had to turn it off to make it stop. Started it again, and it was idling fine at about 1.2 -1.5k, a couple of minutes later it jumped to 5300 or so again, but unlike last night it didn't do it for only a couple of seconds and then drop back to where it was, I again had to shut it off. Started again, it finished warming, and I drove it to my mechanics without further problems.

Before: To start, when colder ouside: Give it some gas, turn the ignition. Engine would rev to 2k+, then settle arount 1.5 or so while it warmed up. If I started driving too soon, it would hesitate (at lower rpms) until it had warmed up. If I let it go until the rpm dropped to a normal idle, it drove just fine. I mentioned this to my mechanic (I just drive), and he adjusted the choke Since: Same starting procedure, but the engine will only rev to 1.5 or so, and then die unless I press the accelerator to hold the revs above 1.2 or so. After 20-30 seconds I can let off the accelerator and the car will hold idle on it's own. If I pull away before it warms up to the point it drops to normal idle, it drives fine, no hesitation. Last night: Same starting procedure. Gave it some gas, turned the key, and... EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE... Immediately jumped to 5500 for a couple of seconds, and just as quickly to 0 and died. I sat there for a few seconds wondering if I had just killed the engine, then tried again. This time it went to 3500 or so, then came down to a more normal warming up rev, except, about more times before it warmed up and dropped to a normal idle, it jumped to 5500 again for a second or two (I may have felt/heard a click right before, but I'm not sure), and then dropped to where it was before the surge (but didn't drop to zero and die). I drove it a couple miles to a friends house, spent 2.5 hrs there, then started it up again to drive home. Started normal, drove fine, until a mile or two later when it suddenly surged to 4000 for a second or two while in gear (the car didn't jump forward though), and that was it until I got home (which was a mile or so later). My mechanic has no idea what the issue is, but I'm going to drop it off in a bit here. He'll keep it overnight and look at it in the morning when it's cold, but I thought in the meantime I'd try posting here to see if anyone has any idea what may be the problem.

I'm just going to start over here. When I got the car last year (it was passed down to me), I thought the clutch felt heavy; it seemed to take a lot of force to push the pedal. In addition, it was difficult to shift gears, particularly into reverse, unless the pedal was pushed all the way to the floor. Even then I certainly wouldn't call it smooth. Late spring, after driving the Brat for a few months, I push down on the clutch and feel a pop. The only thing this seemed to do was make the pedal lighter. It took less force, and since "different is bad" I talked to my mechanic about it. He didn't know what could have happened, and just told me to keep an eye on it. Shifting was not smoother, though. Six or so weeks later I pressed the pedal and the cable snapped. Had a new cable installed, and Doug showed me how to adjust the cable. The clutch felt better, the pedal was easier to use and shifting was a little smoother... for a while. Eventually I adjusted the cable (screwed the nut down the cable), and things seemed to work better, again for a while. A couple weeks ago things got bad enough, meaning I was having difficulty shifting into first and second, and couldn't shift into reverse without grinding, that I tightened it again. Seemed to work pretty well, for about two miles, then I was back where I started. I took it back to the shop. He looked and told me I had tightened it too much, so we backed the nut off. This left shifting still too difficult, so I again tightened it up, only this time when I felt the resistance on the nut increase I backed off a little. At this point it was shifting fine. There was virtually no free play in the pedal, bet it was shifting fine. For about a week, then I'm back to square one again. Went back to the shop and left the car overnight. They couldn't find anything obviously wrong with the cable (though I don't think they removed it to look for something not so obvious). They seem to think (after outside consultation), that the problem is the cable is catching somewhere, and it may be necessary to open up the tranny to figure out what's going on. Seemed to shift a little better after that, but it soom got bad again. Present situation: 1. Shifting while the engine is running is really difficult. I've had to turn the car off at red lights to get into first a couple of times. Getting into any other gear can also be a bear, reverse if impossible with the engine running. 2. Shifting with the engine off isn't exactly better. Getting into gear is easier, but I may have to go throught them to get into first, and I may have to start the car and shut it off again before I can get into reverse. 3. It's been really cold, like under 10 degrees cold. I don't know if that has anything to do with my difficulties right now. 4. The pedal feels heavy, and it doesn't engage until it's right up against the floor. Adjusting seems to help, but not for long, and I'm out of room on the cable. Any tighter and it's going to be riding. 5. The change from decent to bad is gradual. Make an adjustment and things are okay; after a while they aren't. No sudden changes. Any ideas? I'm missing some terminology here, hopefully you can read between the lines. I'll try to get the correct terms again a little later. Thanks.

Once it warms up, under 1000. Seems pretty normal.

Howdy all, I had an 86 brat passed down to me a little under a year ago, and discovered that I really enjoyed driving it. The clutch felt a bit heavy; okay the clutch felt a lot heavy, and didn't engage until I had it pressed almost to the floor, but I just thought it was a quirk. I've driven heavier clutches. Sometime in late spring I was driving and pressed down on the clutch. I felt a pop, and it suddenly felt lighter. This concerned me so I contacted my mechanic, but as it still worked fine, maybe better, he didn't know what to tell me other than keep an eye on it. I said okay, and continued driving, and eventually mostly forgot about it. A month or so later I pressed the clutch, and felt and heard a snap as the clutch cable broke. I had the brat towed, and the cable replaced. They told me the hill holder also needed to be repaired (I had noticed it was out while driving), but given the expense they suggested disconnecting it instead, which is what I decided to do. Got the brat back, and things seemed better. Clutch wasn't as heavy, shifting was easier, good deal all around. As time went by, the clutch became heavier and shifting became difficult, particularly into reverse. My mechanic had shown me how to adjust the tension on the cable, so I removed the spare, grabbed a couple wrenches and tightened it up. Things were okay for a while, then I had to do it again. About a week ago I did it again, and things were okay for about four miles, and I was back to a heavy clutch and difficulty getting into reverse, first and second. I'd sometimes have to double clutch going around a corner to get it from first to second. Stopped by the mechanics, he took a quick look and told me I had over tightened the cable. We backed it off, but that didn't help with the shifting. A day or two later I tightened it up again. This time as soon as I felt resistance I backed off a little and tightened the retaining nut. Now things felt good. Lighter feeling clutch, much smoother shifting. Lasted about five days. Now I can't even get into reverse with the engine running. I'm stopping by the mechanics again today. Last time I was there he said it sounded like the cable might have broken through the firewall (or something along those lines), though he seemed doubtful as he had only seen that in bigger pickups with very heavy clutches. So, anyone have a diagnosis? Is he right, does it involve the firewall? Any other possibilities? I'm going to have to adjust it again before I drive today, and I plan on stoppin to see if there is anything visible and look into a repair, assuming it is a problem where the cable passes through the firewall. Any other suggestions would be appreciated. thanks.