Well, i have gone through 3 clutch cables in 4 months, 2 of them quite recenlty. They are being installed as per the haynes manual, and the same as any other clutch cable I have fitted to a panda before without any trouble atall....

Has anyone else had this trouble? As I beleive I know why......
I have just bought a new clutch cable in case it snapped again...and again it snapped this evening on my way back from work.:bang: Now, the old clutch cable was really stiff and would not bend through any sharp angles very well. IN fact it springs quite violently (almost caught me out putting it back in a bag). My new cable bends very easily indeed and the clutch pedal now feels like it should. Light and smooth

So in short..this is a warning to you all. There are some dodgy clutch cables for sale on ebay that are just too stiff. They are perhaps just made from cable that is too thick and once bent start to fail. Also, they pop out quite easily from the bulkhead hole because they are so springy and the cable then begins to rub on the bodywork and frays.

This might be a coincidence too....but all the cables I have had trouble with have a black plastic fitting where it fits onto the bulkhead (the bit that slots into place and turns to lock into position). The ones I beleive are correct for my panda and the one I now have fitted have white ones, but are otherwise identical.

Please correct me if I am wrong, I am now sure time will tell....fingers crossed though. I will need to buy a new car otherwise as it will be a clutch/gearbox issue and I have not got the time for that!

Hope this helps,
Cheers!
Si

Sorry to hear of the problems you've been having Si, I do hope your right and that you have got the correct one now.

Jon

Most Easterly Pandas said:

Sorry to hear of the problems you've been having Si, I do hope your right and that you have got the correct one now.

Jon

Click to expand...

Thanks, I am feeling more confident this time. The clutch just feels much better this time.

Will report back in a month or so.

Si

Hope things get sorted with the new/correct type....will look out for the type you mention!!!

cheers kev

Thanks, these are bad times to need to be constantly out working on cars!!

More clues to the puzzle....

Chichi, the grey panda is an '85 car. The white panda is '86, and I noticed that it has a small bracket to hold the clutch cable in place. I have now fitted it to chichi and taken a picture for you all to see.

Has this bracket been put on all post 86 pandas? It would explain that when fiat had first released the panda to the UK, clutch cables were snapping left right and centre. Was this an add on to the panda to solve this or is it a bracket that has been made up or borrowed off something else.

The photo below is of the bulkhead where the cable comes through....

Every panda cable I've replaced has had the metal retaining bracket. I assumed it was to stop the plastic flange turning in the bulkhead. I don't think the small pimple on the back of the flange is strong enough to guarantee it doesn't turn.

Dave.

Davren said:

Every panda cable I've replaced has had the metal retaining bracket. I assumed it was to stop the plastic flange turning in the bulkhead. I don't think the small pimple on the back of the flange is strong enough to guarantee it doesn't turn.

Dave.

Click to expand...

Well well. I guess that solves the mystery!! So I should be able to keep this clutch cable for 5 or 6 years hopefully. Or is that tempting fate.

Thanks Dave, its things like this I cant find out as all I have ever known is early mk1 4x4's.

Si

well I think I should resuscitate this thread as I beleive that some of the information is now incorrect. There is definately a fault with the clutch mechanism inside the housing so although the stiff clutch cables made the problem worse they probably would be ok if something wasnt jamming inside!!

The bracket has helped too and keeps the cable running through the centre...which brings me on reason 2 of the thread revival....

I borrowed the fixing bracket (in the picture I posted up before) from my other panda, but that will need one too so I was wondering if anyone had one spare? Sorry to post up a wanted thing here, but its better to ask in context here I think. I can pays ya .

All the best,

Si

I had never seen the bracket you refer to until you mentioned it in this thread. Still never seen one! Never had a clutch cable snap or be bad in any way in a Panda either. Don't mean to rub it in like!

The RHD Mk1 Panda was prone to clutch cable failure due to this design of cable.

On LHD cars, this type worked without problem because the clutch cable was shorter and left the bulkhead in a straight line, whereas on RHD cars, the cable had to turn through 90 degrees after leaving the bulkhead, in order to cross the engine bay, thus putting heavy pressure on the white plastic mount each time the clutch was used.

After 86, Fiat changed the design of the cable. They introduced a metal curved tube ( secured to the bulkhead by a mounting plate with two short bolts ) to cover the 90 degree bend and then started the flexi cable from there.

It is possible to fit the later type cable to the MK1 cars but a little " engineering " is required.

Rgds.

Oh dear... bit of a doh!! I just assumed that all panda's had the same cables as I had never spotted a different type on ebay. Well thats a pain, I'll see what I can find out after work today.

Thanks for the info guys, seems like this is turning into a much bigger job than I had anticipated

Si

I'll try and get some detailed pics up for you Si of the cables in the mk2's with the metal bends in that Petel has mentioned

I have fitted one of the later types of cable to a Mk1 pedal box in the past. It worked without problem for the remainder of the life of the vehicle.

Though it was some time ago, I seem to remember that it was not that big a job, just somewhat of a fiddle.

Rgds.

petel said:

I have fitted one of the later types of cable to a Mk1 pedal box in the past. It worked without problem for the remainder of the life of the vehicle.

Though it was some time ago, I seem to remember that it was not that big a job, just somewhat of a fiddle.

Rgds.

Click to expand...

Cant be as fiddly as replacing clutch cables left right and centre while on the way to work! I'd say its worth a shot! Although fingers crossed, the cables still going from when this thread was started

Thanks for the info guys, I sometimes think I would be lost without this forum!

Photo's on the way Jon? Or anyone who has a spare minute, a camera and a mk2 panda i guess.

Si

pandamonius_maximus said:

Photo's on the way Jon?

Click to expand...

Oi Oi, here they are :nerner:

Cable from 750L 2x4, as fitted to most/all mk2's with FIRE engines as far as I'm aware from 1989 (you'll see why I say from 1989 in a min, and not all mk2's)



Bit on top left is where it attaches to the bulkhead (NB, the washer that goes between the bulkhead and cable is on the other end (bottom right) in the pic and isn't there when fitted)


Above two pics where the cable attaches to pedal, and plate to bulkhead

So, I goes to the Sisley to take a pic of one fitted, and see this

Look familiar Si? Compleatly different to all of our other Manual Panda's!

My Sisley is a 1988, and is classed as an early mk2 which is a buggar for getting parts for. Perhaps alot of the mk1 and early mk2 parts are similar/compatiable? The earlier mk2's were 1987/88, and 1989> were the later ones which are easier to source parts for from my own experience

I've got that cable on the (1987) 4x4 too (not sure about the bracket though) I've never had any problems with it.

Bougainvillea Rosso said:

I've got that cable on the (1987) 4x4 too (not sure about the bracket though) I've never had any problems with it.

Click to expand...

I assume your on about the one I pic'ed on the car?

Just waiting for Si to confirm it's the same or not.

I to have had no problems with it.

Sorry, yeah. The one on your Sisley is the same as the one on my 4x4.

The plastic mounted type is the one I am familiar with (exactly the same as Uno and couple others). Had this on my last 5 Pandas and all didn't have the bracket keeping it true.