Favorit clutch cable problem

[warwound]

Hi forum.

Got a question to ask about my Favorit (1995 LXiE) and it's clutch cable.

It's been a problem before - the protective sleeve that protects the clutch cable from the exhaust manifold heat slipped to the end of the cable leaving the cable to get badly damaged by the exhaust manifold heat.
See http://briskoda.net/forums/rwd-skoda...lipping/64674/ for a thread i started at the time.
I replaced the cable and a year later it snapped on me - that was new years eve 2007.
The cable had been snapping strand by strand for some time it seems and finally the remaining strands weren't strong enough and snapped.
Snapping on the short length of exposed cable that connects to the clutch pedal.
The rubber bush that protects the cable as it goes into the car was still in place by the way - the cable hadn't been rubbing again the car chassis.

I replaced the cable with a genuine part...
Had problems getting the remains of the old cable off the pedal but succeeded after an hour and a bit.
Got the new cable located on the pedal and quickly finished the job off by connecting it to the arm that engages the clutch.

The clutch worked but had an awful action. Slipping frequently and requiring me to put my foot under the clutch pedal and manually raise it to dis-engage the clutch.

I'd routed the cable too tighly from where it enters the engine compartment to where it attaches to the clutch arm.

So while doing some other work on the car the garage re-routed the cable and it worked perfectly again.
No slipping and no need to manually raise the clutch pedal.

Then about 4 weeks ago as i pulled up to park i felt the cable snap again.
Being just a mile from home i walked home and had my tea, planning to return to the car with my dad and start it rolling then drive home mid-evening when the roads are clearer.

So a bit later i returned to my car and had a look under the bonnet.
Tugged the cable where it goes from the engine compartment into the car and pedal - expecting it to come off (snapped) in my hand.
But it was still connected!
Many of the cable's strands had bust but there was about 1mm diameter of strands remaining intact.
I adjusted the clutch to take up any slack and tested it.
It worked, so i drove home.
Careful not to change gear more than was essential.

What had happened i think was that some of the cable's strands had snapped and the remaining strands stretched.

So i again replaced the cluctch cable - genuine part again off ebay, cost me £20.

I'm now a bit of a dab hand at Favorit cluctch cable fitting and soon got the new one fitted.
Prior to fitting it i hung it up and poured clean engine oil into the rubber washer/bush that sits on one end.
The bush acted as a funnel and slowly the oil drained into the outer cable and emerged at the bottom - the cable now well lubricated.
I took maximum care to route the cable correctly through the engine compartment of course - making as gentle a bend as possible in it to connect to the clutch arm.
Once again the clutch seemed to be working perfectly.
Nice smooth action and no trace of slipping.

Now after 4 weeks or so (maybe done 400 miles) i suspect the inner cable is experiencing resistance from the outer cable.
I got a mate (the Fav's previous owner) to slowly engage and release the clutch and i felt the cable as it comes into the car from the engine compartment.
The cable that i could feel was ok - no signs of any broken strands.
But my mate noticed same as me - the clutch cable just didn't seem to be moving freely within the outer cable.

So now i'm wondering what to do.
I'll probably remove the cable, examine it, lubricate it and finally refit it.
There's no better way to route the cable from pedal to clutch i'm sure - the required bend to connect both ends is as smooth as possible.

Can anyone suggest why i'm having these problems with the cable?
Is clean engine oil a suitable lubricant or should i be using something more suitable?

Thanks.

Martin.

[ap0gee]

I reckon some kind of non-melting grease would be better - you should be able to get hold of some from motor factor or motorbike shop. Get it in a cartridge not a tub, and inject it into the housing from the end that you will thread the cable. As you feed the cable through, it should make sure the grease gets in all the nooks and crannies, and being non-melting, it should stay in place no matter how hot it gets!

HTH

[warwound]

Thanks for the reply.
The clutch cable - inner and outer - is a sealed unit (is that the right term?).




There's no way to remove the inner cable and apply any lubricant to it's entire length.
All i could try would be to apply grease to the exposed inner cable on the end that attaches to the pedal.

I'll visit a local motorbike shop later or tomorrow and ask about non-melting grease.

Martin.

[ap0gee]

Originally Posted by warwound

Thanks for the reply.
The clutch cable - inner and outer - is a sealed unit...
...All i could try would be to apply grease to the exposed inner cable on the end that attaches to the pedal.

Martin.

You probably could, but I wouldn't necessarily want to. I think what you said is probably about right, as the portion that stays inside the housing all the time should be OK. Just pull the cable as far as you can in either direction, and apply grease to the exposed inner cable (peel back the little boot too!)

And after all that, a tub might be better than a cartridge in this instance!

[Captain Sisko]

My Fellys clutch cable snapped. Was a pain as it was a new cable.
What happened on mine was the rubber grommit thing failed and the cable rubbed on the chassis and unwound. The pedal was really stiff though.

I now have a newer skoda/VAG cable and this time the cable is coated with some sort of plastic lining. Pedals a lot easier to press now.
only cost me £10 from my local dealer.

[warwound]

Well i invested in some high melting point copper grease and have just finished removing the clutch cable, lubricating it and re-installing it.

A short test drive and it is again smooth in action with no clutch slip.

Upon inspection i saw that the cable was slightly damaged on the end that connects to the clutch arm - opposite end from pedal.
A few strands of the inner cable have snapped - maybe 5 strands or so, not many.
And the engine oil that i'd used to lubricate the cable had all accumalated on the lowest end - the damaged end near the clutch arm.
The accumulated oil didn't stop it getting damaged on that end though.

When fitting the cable from new i'd painstakingly ensured that the cable coming from the pedal was taking as smooth a path as possible.
But after getting both ends connected i clipped it to the various other cables around the exhaust manifold area and that pulled the cable slightly from it's optimal path to make the end nearest the clutch arm a tighter bend than it would have been without the clips.

I'll get a new cable ordered tomorrow, copper grease it and fit it so that it takes the best path possible from pedal to clutch arm.

Looks like i can get a new cable for just £4.00 plus vat and postage so not too expensive:
New and salvaged cars spares for sale and special parts deals


Martin.

[warwound]

All fixed!

Got a new cable from skospares.co.uk (next day delivery and good price too ) and have just returned from a short test drive with the new cable fitted.

It's smooth and the clutch doesn't slip - what more could i want?

I applied a liberal amount of CarLube Copper Grease to the exposed inner cable at each end. Working as much grease as i could down into the outer cable.

Tried two or three paths for the cable from pedal end to clutch end and finally found a perfect route with the cable taking as smooth a path as possible.

Also arranged the heat protective sleeve exactly where if needs to be to protect the cable from exhaust manifold heat.

I'll be checking the cable frequently over the next few weeks and hope that finally this cable is well fitted and will last a good while.

Martin.