CLUTCH CABLE

While driving down the street recently I shifted into second gear as usual, but heard a loud pop and the clutch pedal went to the floor. Luckily traffic was with me for the five blocks it took to get back to me driveway.

Upon inspection under the car the end of the clutch cable was missing. The cable had broke and the spring force of the clutch had shot it out of the inspection hole in the cover.

I had replaced the cable years before, so it was to be expected. Actually, a ford dealer shop had done the clutch in the winter, replaced the cable wrong, which melted in a few days, and then I replaced it again. Never even went back to complain. Just never dealt with them again and bad mouth them whenever I get the chance.

   The parts store wanted a hundred dollars for a replacement, but had no stock anywhere in their system. Napa wanted seventy, but had no stock either.
  The problem is that early Fox Mustangs like mine use a different cable than the later ones. It has no self adjuster on the top and a manual adjustment on the bottom. And yet the motorsport part doesn't fit for some reason.
  I thought about changing it over to the later type, but that requires the complete removal of the master cylinder, the steering column, and the pedal assembly to change the clutch pedal jackshaft.

So I decide to try the wreckers for luck. No early foxes, but plenty of later four cylinder ones. For five bucks I found a good one and took it home. Bad ones seemed to have broken sheaths right near the plastic bottom connection, which lets the wire wrap in the cover rub on the cable. My old one was worn in the same area, and was working with only the middle wire out of seven before it snapped.
The cable is a 1/8 inch with seven wires, with each one having 19 strands. Break strength should be around 1700 to 2000 pounds.

  Here's the top end of the cable. Mine has the swivel connector swaged onto the cable, while the later model has the top hat pin.

  The firewall connection also has a plate to screw it onto the firewall, while the earlier version just plugs in.

  The bottom is different too. The bellhousing plug is the same size, but the end has a ball swaged on instead of an adjustment rod. I went back to look for mine but it had disappeared.

  The cable has a rubber bellows over it because it is exposed to the weather. The four cyl. uses a bellcrank with the cable pulling forward at the bottom, which pulls the clutch fork backwards at the top.

  That idea could be adapted for a V8 if you wanted to swap in a conventional type bellhousing.

   The ball swaged onto the cable is too small for the V8 clutch fork hole. Looking around, some ball bearings from a front spindle were found.

  At first the drill wouldn't even scratch it, but after a propane torch was used to heat it until it went black, and it cooled, a drill would slowly cut it.

  The top was made from tubing tack welded to washers. After the top hat was cut off a standard hardware store wire crimp was used to hold it together.

  Before final assembly the cable was pulled out, greased up several times, and run through the sheath. Grease was also pumped into the sheath before assembly.

At the top there was a surprise. The end of the sheath was too big for the hole in the firewall. This is why the motorsport cable can't be used.

After an air grinder was used to hog out the hole the end was lightly crimped with pliers and slipped over the clutch lever. The cable length was adjusted a few times before this final choice was made, and then greased.

  The problem was it wasn't exactly right. The pedal was too low and a few gears ground during shifting.

There are kits to install firewall adjusters. So I made one with a fat washer. After sides were ground down to fit the firewall, and a slot was cut in bottom, it was installed around the cable. It raised the pedal just enough to be the same as before.

  Those close up shots sure make the rust stand out, don't they?

  At the bottom the rubber bellows had its' tip cut off, greased inside and reinstalled before assembly. The length was perfect. This cable should last a long time.

We'll see.

  On the first drive I stalled it several times. The clutch release was quicker with a good cable. I had been thinking that the clutch was going bad, but it was the old snarled up cable.

	Here's the top end of the cable. Mine has the swivel connector swaged onto the cable, while the later model has the top hat pin. The firewall connection also has a plate to screw it onto the firewall, while the earlier version just plugs in.
The bottom is different too. The bellhousing plug is the same size, but the end has a ball swaged on instead of an adjustment rod. I went back to look for mine but it had disappeared. The cable has a rubber bellows over it because it is exposed to the weather. The four cyl. uses a bellcrank with the cable pulling forward at the bottom, which pulls the clutch fork backwards at the top. That idea could be adapted for a V8 if you wanted to swap in a conventional type bellhousing.
	The ball swaged onto the cable is too small for the V8 clutch fork hole. Looking around, some ball bearings from a front spindle were found. At first the drill wouldn't even scratch it, but after a propane torch was used to heat it until it went black, and it cooled, a drill would slowly cut it. The top was made from tubing tack welded to washers. After the top hat was cut off a standard hardware store wire crimp was used to hold it together. Before final assembly the cable was pulled out, greased up several times, and run through the sheath. Grease was also pumped into the sheath before assembly.
At the top there was a surprise. The end of the sheath was too big for the hole in the firewall. This is why the motorsport cable can't be used. After an air grinder was used to hog out the hole the end was lightly crimped with pliers and slipped over the clutch lever. The cable length was adjusted a few times before this final choice was made, and then greased.
	The problem was it wasn't exactly right. The pedal was too low and a few gears ground during shifting. There are kits to install firewall adjusters. So I made one with a fat washer. After sides were ground down to fit the firewall, and a slot was cut in bottom, it was installed around the cable. It raised the pedal just enough to be the same as before. Those close up shots sure make the rust stand out, don't they?
At the bottom the rubber bellows had its' tip cut off, greased inside and reinstalled before assembly. The length was perfect. This cable should last a long time. We'll see. On the first drive I stalled it several times. The clutch release was quicker with a good cable. I had been thinking that the clutch was going bad, but it was the old snarled up cable.