clutch cable broke **FIXED**

[idosubaru]

i'm in atlanta and my clutch cable broke, the end broke off where it attaches to the pedal assembly. i'm trying to rig it now, if anyone could post a picture of where the cable connects to the pedal assemly, just crawl under any manual trans XT6, XT or similar subaru so i can see how the clutch pedal is and what it is attached to that would be huge.

 

any tips on a fix to at least make this drivable are welcome as well.

 

if anyone knows of a parts source in atlanta do let me know as well. a 4wd XT clutch cable will work as well so i've been told. anyone with info/leads/tips can PM or email me their phone number and i'll call back as i'm not sure where i'm staying tonight and my cellphone isn't working.

 

thanks

[idosubaru]

found one in stock and it's open until midnight. leaving now to go pick it up. if anyone knows any tricks or how to install a clutch cable please advise. i've pulled a few manual trans and pulled and installed a few auto trans, but never installed a manual trans so i'm not familiar with the cable install or adjustment and i don't have my FSM (IDIOT!!!!!!)

 

thanks.

[froggymike]

Many moons ago I fixed the clutch cable of my 76 Civic with a coat hanger. The eye on the cable that hooks at the pedal broke off while I was driving through a bad part of San Diego. I was not going to stay where I was at. Uh uh! I wrapped it around the back of the eye and made a new loop. Next time I'll share the knowledge of how to fix a carburator with a ballon.

[Humble Nuto 53]

i found it easiest to remove the clutch pedal from the pivot, there's a circlip

then you can pull the pin on the piece that holds the cable....

 

its way up there under the dash, no comfortable way to get at it....

hard to get a light, your face and your hands in there at the same time

 

third time around you can do it by feel.

 

 

careful popping that circlip off

[MilesFox]

if youre feeling confident you can drive the car with no cable. its a bit tricky but can be done. tim's trashwagon replica snapped the cable and i drove it back to the house

 

freeway driving is the easiest as there is no shofting involved

 

anyway you will have to start the car in gear to get going, wind the gear out moderately and pull into neutral and light pressure on the next gear, once the rpm idles down and matches the next gear's rpm it will go in. this is best if you wind the gears up

 

to downshift you will want to be off the gas, pull out of gear, and rev the motor up a good pull, let off the gas and put pressurte on the next gear down, once again she will go in once the rpm matches the speed.

 

put in neutral when stopping and turn off the car. start over

 

if you manage to downshif into 1st and can slow down with enough gap ahead of you you can keep it crawling till the light tiurns gree so you dont have to stop, so long as traffic doesnt fill the gap.

 

its not recommended for "daily driving" but it will get you off the side of the road or even get you home. try parallel parking in this manner, it can be done, but only if youre comfortable with the notion.

[idosubaru]

got it fixed. one autozone in atlanta had it in stock. installed it without any problems, though it is a pain in the rear end to do. but it's done and fine.

 

i was TOTALLY wondering how to get it to shift. i did get it to shift some when it first broke, but it wasn't consistently going in, now i get it. luckily i was real close to the house i was at and it was on a college campus, so no big deal. just installed it on the side of the road.

[MilesFox]

hey god deal glad you took care of it one way or the other. miracle the parts store had the cagble in stock!

[idosubaru]

thanks miles. the clutch is and always has been hard to press in on this car, much harder than my other 2 manual trans XT6's. is there a spring somewhere on the system that i'm missing?

 

i was equally surprised someone had it, luckily autozone has literally like dozens of stores in and around atlanta...like 50 and some are open 24 hours even. i called and they can search all the other stores, one store had it.

 

have fun

[MilesFox]

when tims cable broke it was ultra stiff as well

 

the hill holder cable is actually the return spring, but this raises the pedal back up. you will want to make your clutch adjustments first before adjusting the hill holder

 

its possible the cable may have been too tight. actually as the clutch wears out you wii loosen the cable to adjust it. too much tension on the cable will overextend the pressure plate, or wear on the cable itself

 

you will want to adjust the cable by turning the nut by hand till it snugs against the fork, just enough tot take the slack of freeplay out. then you can turn it a turn or 2 or 3, to adjust your pedale height, but no more! then adjust the hill holder.

 

calibrate the hill holder by backing in reverse, still holding the clutch after stopping shift into 1st and go. if the brakes stick its too tight. you will want it on the threshold of sticking for the hillholder to be working properly

 

here is a story. this dude asked me to help him replace his clutch because it was slipping. he had the car for a few months after he bought it from some old lady after having a bunch of work done to it. anyway i help him tear out the tranny and he is like "oops, i forgot my parts!"

 

anyway i took a look at the parts and they were new! but glazed. so i sanded down all the surfaces and out it back together and its perfect.

 

whats the moral of this story? clutch cable was too tight