Ok OK I know it's been talked to death here but...

[andmcit]

my clutch cable top end has just snapped - heard it as I was engaging
2nd pulling away at the lights. After a few seconds of blind embarrassment/
panic I found 3rd and limped the car home - stopping it prooved 'interesting'!!

The car is a 1996 N plate TD SX. The clutch as been delightful and light
and has never given any issues in the year and a half I've run the car.
Historically the previous keeper of the had a 60k mile replacement engine
fitted which had the clutch etc done then and it's showing 130k now.

I know the fiddle associated with this job any have always dreaded when
it'd be my turn - well it's here now in the middle of a bank holiday
weekend!!

First question - which type of replacement cable do I need? - I thought
they were all automatic adjust but not so according to GSF's listing

Second - I've just sprung the hooked clip off the stripped bulkhead of a
S2 1.8 16V today which released the bayonet fitting of the cable's end
- is it the same on the TD? It was a fiddle with the dash removed god-forbid...

Can someone point me in the direction of the definitive thread I need
to read up on this repair - any pointers suggestions!?

Andrew

[citronut]

hi Andrew you more than likly wont need a cable,and i have not tried fitting the clip via the instrument panel removale method,so cant coment on that way,i allways remove the pedel fit the nylon block with the clip partly home,then refit the pedel being carefull not to let the clip go fully home,now put the pivot bolt back in from the left hand side,now get an asistant to push the inner cable in from the gear box end till the other end is fully home into the nylon block,now push the clip home with a long screw drive,attatch the gear box end of the cable and reassemble the rest
regards malcolm

[andmcit]

Thanks Malcolm. Maybe I need to add that the 1.8 16v I've been
messing with was being broken for spares - it wasn't a case of dash
removal to get at the cables' end!!

Ok - I've found Richard's helpful account in the hints and tips section.

I must confess I'm still a tad green to the actual fix though!

So it's the actual plastic/nylon white piece that is held by a hooked brittle
metal clip onto the clutch cables nipple with a kind of paired fork
arrangement that's broken and the cable is still fine and dandy and where
it comes through the bulkhead it's been disconnected off the pedal...?

I understand the whole removal of the whole pedal by somehow undoing
the cross bolt and nut to get the 'improved access' required. The one I
dismantled today had a spring behind the pedal connecting onto the
firewall bulkhead. The TD type I've had let go tonight isn't certain yet as
it was a tad dark.

Do I start getting despondent about an impending clutch change as it's
never been heavy and bites well and I'd expect it to have covered few
miles with the 'new' engine fitted sometime in the recent past - surely
it'll still have loads of miles on the clutch plate & lining and it'll be the
cable itself that's done the hard part of 130k miles!?

Is there a way to determine the type of adjustment from the pedal spring
mechanism or from delving into the viper's nest above the gearbox?

Guess it would be 'nice' if someone could 'draw' me pictures - I am a
'visual' kind of bloke!! Is there a pic guide somewhere in netland?

Andrew

[andmcit]

So, which bit has failed!? Is it a case of the metal spring snapping - the one
I removed of the breaking 1.8 managed to snap one of the legs off the spring
without too much provocation.

Other thing, what does the lug on the lower left of the picture connect to
- the lever of the pedal!? I just can't remember.

Too late in the day after a hard slog earlier is hindering my brain!!

Andrew

[dnsey]

It's usually the plastic that fails rather than the metal spring. Considering the small cost of a new clip and the regularity with which they fail, I'd be hesitant to use a second-hand one, but of course it's up to you.

The lug is in fact a pivot - the pedal lever fits into the slot, and the protruding lug can then be pressed through the hole.

The pedal spring arrangement differs between manual and auto adjust cables - the auto one is a sort of over-centre arrangement, presumably to return the pedal to the correct position to allow the cable to 'ratchet' when necessary.

Arm yourself with a decent lightsource and a pair of long-nosed pliers, and it's not too bad a job. What isn't, perhaps, obvious (wasn't to me until I first did one) is that the cable nipple snaps into place with the clip spring fully fitted, with less pressure than you might expect.

[andmcit]

Wont use a second hand one that'll have done 120k miles too
Thanks for the comment on the snapping in of the nipple through
the spring - I hadn't read this elsewhere yet.

In practice does it matter what type of clutch cable I've got as I
'only' need to sort the clip which is the same on both - does it
affect the pedal though if I remove it as per Malcolm's method?

Andrew

[CypherPunk]

I've got a brand new plastic clip that I was going to use for my old 1.8 Xantia when the same thing happened; if you send me a PM with your address I’ll stick it in the post today.

I replaced mine with a metal clip in the end as the clutch was starting to get really heavy, although I wouldn’t recommend it as the metal clip caused a number of problems and I’m not really sure it would last that much longer.

[dnsey]

In practice does it matter what type of clutch cable I've got as I
'only' need to sort the clip which is the same on both - does it
affect the pedal though if I remove it as per Malcolm's method?

No, the job's the same either way.

Some say that they have difficulty refitting the spring on the auto adjust system, but I've never had a problem with it - if necessary, the spring can be tensioned and hooked on once the bivot bolt is back in place.