Hi guys, my wifes panda dropped it's clutch cable on Friday and she is away at the in-laws some 300 miles away.

Managed to get a cable and get it fited by father in law but he tells me that it won't reach the clutch release lever arm!

It is definately the correct cable.

there is giggle room on the lever, so it is not jammed or seized.

I can not work out how much pressure there should be from here.

So to my question has anyone ever heard of the bearing fork coming adrift when the clutch cable breaks and jamming the mechanism?

My only other option is to travel 350 miles, remove box and see what has happened inside the bell housing, or get him to applu some pressure to attach clutch cable and hope it doesn't break when depressed.

so any help would be very appreciated.

Dennis

If you're saying that the cable is too short to connect to the release arm then either the cable is'nt fitted right or it's the incorrect cable. It's not really possible for the srm to be wedged forward, (of course anything is possible) because when the lever is pulled backward it pushes the fork forward.

There's often more than one clutch cable available for a car in production as long as the Panda. Different car I know, but Jai bought a brand new clutch cable for his mk1 Uno turbo and that looked identical to the original. Except after fitting it was too short, despite everything appearing to be the same. Only when we removed it and put it alongside the original did we see it was about 1.5" shorter :bang:

As per the flying clutchman's post, you're likely to either have the incorrect cable or it's not fitted correctly. Also if the clutch was working fine before the cable snapped than it's unlikely to be a fault with the release mechanism or arm. The cable should still just fit with the arm fully released (i.e. not operating the clutch).

Do you still have any play in the release arm or is it jammed at all?

Thanks to Damon (panda sport), problem seems to be fixed.
To finish off the thread here goes.

Of course would have been much simpler if my 75 yr old father in law wasn't whelding the spanners but.....

Clutch release lever is working correctly, he used a jimmy bar to disengage and engage the clutch whilst my wife was in the car changing gears.

So he removed cable again and checked against old one and it is 1" shorter he tells me but I strongly suspect the old one is stretched a little.

He re-fitted and with the help of the jimmy bar got one nut started and then was able to tighten up and get locking nut on.

Clutch pedal he says is higher than brake pedal, I don't remember if that is normal? but in any case it is useable and will be coming back along the M4 tomorrow.

Interestingly the Quinton hazel guide does not state the cable we bought for the car! maybe that is why so many people have difficulty getting
cables from the their motor factors, the cross reference codes were

FKC1146/BC1236/CGL1236.

Hope that is clear and helps,

Thanks again to the two people who replied. Fingers crossed she gets here under her own steam and not in the back of an AA wagon.

Dennis

Got to be the wrong cable. Even if the clutch is near to wearing out you should be able to get the nut on the end without much effort. Be careful you don't burn the clutch out on the way back!

OK, you can all officially call me a plonker for trusting a motor factor and the eyesight of a 75 year old!!!!

Panda is home safe, (and wife of course!) and it is definately the wrong cable, you can just get the two nuts on without it riding the clutch, and breathing on the pedal disengages, you can do some really nifty gear changes I can tell you.

So I now need to find the correct one locally and refit. Looks like the codes I quoted are for pre 1986, as to why it should 1" shorter who knows.

whole problem is because I converted a 93 selecta to a manual using 88 gearbox and pedal box, so can use vin/engine or reg no. for parts lookup.

Oh well, all is well that ends well.

Thanks again

Are there at least 3 types from memory?

One for pre-86

One for 86-93 (ish)

One for 93 onwards?


Could be wrong. My memory ain't what it was.

Yes I believe so.... well at least now I do.

The later ones have the metal sleeve to create nice bend and two bolts to the pedal box.

The early ones have the white plastic twist fit and locking plate (discussed in other threads) and appear to be at least one inch shorter than the middle group.

The middle group have no sleeve, white twist end instead and longer than old ones.

Perhaps some kind soul would put up a post with all part no's as it seems that clutch cables are consumables when it comes to panda's, and I have failed and suceeded only in confusing the situation more it seems.

[FONT=ArialNarrow,Bold]The qcc1236 I purchased is one inch (23mm) shorter than qcc1418.[/FONT]
[FONT=ArialNarrow,Bold]So unless anyone wants to correct me, [/FONT]
[FONT=ArialNarrow,Bold]Old pandas pre 1988 type Qcc1418[/FONT]
[FONT=ArialNarrow,Bold]Around 1988-1991 two types (old style Qcc1236) (new style Qcc1401)[/FONT]
[FONT=ArialNarrow,Bold]1991-1993 (qcc1900)[/FONT]​

[FONT=ArialNarrow,Bold]Post 1993 (qcc1901)[/FONT]
[FONT=ArialNarrow,Bold][/FONT]
[FONT=ArialNarrow,Bold]Hope that helps someone. [/FONT]​

[FONT=ArialNarrow,Bold]Panda[/FONT]​

[/FONT]769cc FIRE 1986-88 -vin.4104780

Cheers for the info copy taken for the record book

Qcc1418 reference also known as CCL6270 and vjc771 from other manufacturers.