General Clutch cable tales- good and bad!

[Steve70]

I'm just about to press my 66k 2001 Seicento SX into front line service, which means a daily 60 mile round trip to work and back. Knowing the reputation these cars have for lunching clutch cables, I've taken the precaution of ordering a new one which I'll stow in the boot just in case, although I suppose whether the AA would fancy changing it as a 'roadside repair' is another matter...

I wondered whether the problem of cables being prone to snapping was down to the fact that the cars were designed primarily for left-hand drive and the arrangements for RHD mean that the cable has a more complicated route...

I've only had one cable go on me, a few years ago in my first Seicento- luckily it was limping distance from a garage who replaced it for me that morning.

Have you got a twanging tale of when the cable has let go- either in a very good or a very bad place? Spill the beans!

 

[Eklipze3k]

As long as the clutch itself is in good working order, the cable and linkages are perfectly adequate.

 

[David C]

I wondered whether the problem of cables being prone to snapping was down to the fact that the cars were designed primarily for left-hand drive and the arrangements for RHD mean that the cable has a more complicated route...

If you take a look above the passenger footwell of your RHD 'cento you'll see the cable finishes there. So no extra complicated route.

 

[Steve70]

That's good to know. Just me being paranoid I guess! Maybe I imagined the cable being a design weakness. The clutch on my car is smooth and light in operation, so hopefully it shouldn't give any problems.

Funny how you get an idea stuck in your head.

 

[f1ian]

Hi.


My Sei Sporting destroyed the end of the long clutch rod running from the pedal to the quadrant. When I pulled back the carpet to replace the cable I found the ends of 3 other cables. Actually my problem was the rod not the cable but Ricambio in Wallington (Surrey) have made their own version of the cable that they claim very good results with. The quadrant end has a banjo fitting but is a straight swap with a standard cable. 8 months later all is good. The clutch however is another story! poor gear selection and difficulty getting into reverse required a clutch swap. I am told exploding cables can often be a sign of the clutch at the end of its life.
As far as the story goes, mine exploded after dropping the missis at work. It went as I changed into third. I stalled the car into a bus stop, had an argument with the bus driver who took exception to my car having died in his spot. I had to put it in second, bump start it on the key then drove it 2 miles home that way. All was going well until I had to stop at a round a bout and a level crossing. While causing a huge hold up due to not being able to pull forward in the traffic a woman in a Mercedes hit my car. Not the finest day in my Seicento owning history....

 

[purf]

In my first Cinq sporting I broke two cables. The reason was the old clutch being heavy. I've recently learned thanks to someones post on this forum that its mainly down to the clutch pressure plate springs work-hardening over the years. So even though the clutch works perfectly well, you get used to an increasingly heavy pedal and then the weakest part of the linkage is first to go. Mostly its the cable, sometimes the plastic quadrant and even the pedal itself for some people.

I bought the up-rated modified cable i think your referring to with the eye and it snapped or rather i think the eye pulled off or something. Difficult to recall now. I then drove off in haste after fixing it - straight through a SPEED CAMERA and got 3 points.

Then a few months later the release bearing totally failed in a que of traffic. Its disconcerting when you press the clutch and the car is still moving forwards!

Somehow I managed to drive it 2 miles down country lanes back home whilst holding the clutch pedal UP with my left foot as the clutch fork was mashing with the clutch pressure plate making a nice noise. I think I was in 4th gear all the way after it totally failed.

Had to fit a new clutch kit and clutch fork. Lesson learnt.

I replaced my Sei's clutch last month as soon as I noticed the pedal was getting heavy. Its had 3 clutches and only covered 75K miles! The original, an AP Lockheed and a AIS (italian) one.

I would carry a spare if you have an older clutch and its easy to fit in your lunch break with a 10mm spanner and pliers for the split pin, AA man should have no excuses!

 

[JDMT]

I dropped my son off at a birthday party at his friends house and on the way back home I went to change into 3rd and the pedal went to the floor and stayed there. The cable had snapped. Stranded, a guy in a jeep pulled up and asked if I was ok, then tried to help me by driving me 5 miles to a motor factor at 4:45pm to get a new cable. Made it there in time, got back with the cable and it was too short. Anyway got the car recovered home, got the right cable the next day, fitted it and the quadrant snapped. While I waited for it to arrive in the post I had time to get the box off and check what was going on. It looked ok but the release bearing was not in great shape and the arm wasn't moving freely. So I ordered a clutch kit and swapped it all in and it's still running today. Touch wood. Car was off the road for a week. The only time in 4 years it has been.