apparition13 Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazerFacePunch Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Was this ever solved? I am having the same problem, and having trouble finding anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIMBERTIGER Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 me too. my 86 brat is acting like a real jerk lately when trying to shift. even more so in 1st and reverse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Could be the throwout fork bending/breaking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIMBERTIGER Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 ok so i tightened my clutch cable up and she drove like a champ for a couple days. then i pulled into taco bell drive through and SNAP! my foot went all the way to the floor. once i removed the broken cable i could tell it had been hanging by a thread. bought a new one from subaru for 30 bucks. adjusted to my likeing and she works like a champ. Also, my hilllholder works now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOONGA Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Check where the cable attaches to the pedal box, it is inherently weak and can be the cause of the un-adjustable clutch cable . I had one break and the fix was to replace the pedal box with a strengthened one. TOONGA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitch de la Brat Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Same problem only I've already rebuilt/reinforced my pedal box. I really don't want to snap my new clutch cable (3rd one from having a collapsing pedal box) and I'm getting sick of grinding every gear. Continuing to adjust but I'm running out of cable. I've run all the standard diagnostic stuff to see if I can kill it but it just comes back after every adjustment. My setup is a tad different than stock though, I'm rolling with an 85 5sp d/r, EA82 flywheel machined to XT6 specs with an XT6 clutch. I've noticed some odd seepage of goop around the bellhousing seams, so it makes me wonder if my clutch is coming apart :-/ Any thoughts? Twitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbianchi Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 I 2nd the fork/throwoutbearing tip, I had the same prob on an 86, turned out the fork was cracked, replaced and good to go, its a small prob that requires alot of work to r/r. good luck...........G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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