Right, having scraped together some money, I was all ready to drive to an engine reconditioners to get the head gasket mended. In the month since the car's been off the road the interior had got a bit mouldy. So I hoovered it and was all ready to go, I put my foot on the clutch pedal and crunch... the cable snapped. The bit where it pivots around a bolt seems to have rusted fast. This has happened before, but it hadn't snapped the cable.

I reckon I'll be able to fit a new cable, but to free the rusted on bit - is it OK to whack it wih a hammer to free it? If not how do I do it? And is there somewhere on tinternet I could buy the parts from so I don't have to go out to the dealer?

I'm getting more and more exasperated...

Can you show us a pic?

some where on the internet www.shop4parts.co.uk
i not sure what bit you are saying is rusty

edit just looked on shop4parts and they dont list the cable, there are often some on ebay though

This had happened before? Pivot round a bolt?

On a car of this age, there should be the 501 clutch cable and I suspect that the pivoting referred to is at the pedal box end. I have never seen one of these rusty as it is inside the car, protected from the elements.

Could we have a picture please. Dont get dishartened, its an easy fix
Rgds.

here's a photo

you mean the little half moon thing is stuck on the old cable? hammering that off should be ok

Are you saying that the clutch release arm ( bolt pivot thing ) has seized in the past or does it just appear to be siezed now because you cannot move it by hand? In normal circumstanses this lever will be too stiff to move by hand in any case because the release bearing is engaged with the clutch. The release arm is a welded assy and the rust to which your arrow points is only surface rust, this will not stop the clutch working.

It looks like a 501 cable and you will have to get a replacement in any case.
Rgds.

:yeahthat:

The half moon bit should have dropped off when the cable snapped.

Now that the cable is no longer attached, can you move the release arm at all by hand?
Rgds.

A small piece fell off when the cable snapped. It was the bit that was in front of the part marked 'where cable is meant to connect to.' I have kept it. Does this thing come with a new clutch cable?

I wasn't able to move the lever here by hand.

What happened before is the clutch pedal would sometimes stick down when the engine was cold. One day It stuck completely and the RAC man said the bolt pivot thing was sticky. I took it to a garage and it got a clutch kit, which seemed slightly unrelated, but did the trick untill now...

You were not able to move the clutch release by hand. This means that the arm is siezed in the gearbox casting and this what caused the clutch cable to snap. There is no point in fitting a new cable ( which will include the broken off items ) until the release arm has been freed. Use WD40 or similar, where the shaft goes into the gearbox casing ( under where your arrow is pointing ) and work the arm back and forth until it moves freely. Ideally, you should be able to clatter it back and forth between your fingers.
Rgds.

Right, I'll do that then. Thanks for your help, guys!

If you would care to send me a PM with the VIN number of your car, I can supply you with the correct part number for the clutch cable. This need not necessarily come from a Fiat dealer if a motor factor is cheaper.
Rgds.

My release arm seized a few months ago, but didn't snap the cable as the clutch had been adjusted to have a tiny amount of pedal travel. Nothing would free it and they ended up heating it up. Clutch now works a treat.

Petel I've PM'd you.

I've been squirting wd40 and bruching off the crud and prising and tapping the release arm for ages, and it won't budge more than about 3mm.

Fuzzy how was yours heated up? With kettles of boiling water? Should I get one of those mini-blowtorches for caramelising the tops of creme brulee? I don't want to set fire to all the WD40 though...

salford scheemie said:

Petel I've PM'd you.

I've been squirting wd40 and bruching off the crud and prising and tapping the release arm for ages, and it won't budge more than about 3mm.

Fuzzy how was yours heated up? With kettles of boiling water? Should I get one of those mini-blowtorches for caramelising the tops of creme brulee? I don't want to set fire to all the WD40 though...

Click to expand...

I think they used a blowtorch or something similar, they were setting up the equipment as I was leaving after checking up on the car. Whatever it was, it worked. Good luck.

Well I'll put the kettle on and hope for the best...

Another thing, though - before I realised the cable snapped, I was selecting different gears in the hope that might do something - but if the clutch was engaged due to the cable having snapped, will I have fouled up the gearbox by doing this?

PM is on the way with clutch cable numbers. Do not throw away the end that broke off, as it seems that the cables are no longer supplied with these pieces attached.
Rgds.

salford scheemie said:

Well I'll put the kettle on and hope for the best...

Another thing, though - before I realised the cable snapped, I was selecting different gears in the hope that might do something - but if the clutch was engaged due to the cable having snapped, will I have fouled up the gearbox by doing this?

Click to expand...

No you wouldn't have messed up the box by moving the gearstick, however when the lever goes to it's max position sometimes the release bearing can stick and will make the lever hard to move as it is on sliders and may have reached the end position.

When the cable is removed or snapped in your case the release bearing will still sit on the face of the clutch plate and will be difficult to move in any case so wouldn't worry about it not moving much. Until a new cable is fitted I would just keep giving it a spray with release oil such as plus gas or WD40

Right, I've got a new cable, but I'm a bit stuck.

Haynes seems to be describing replacing just the actual cable, but the one I got has the sort of housing, a curved brass bit for it to pass through, an outer sheaf and a springy rubber bit.

I don't think I'd manage removing the existing brass bit where the cable emerges into the engine bay - it's all really awkward to get to and impossible to see by torchlight - so is it OK to tear off the rubber springy bit and just change the actual cable?