Clutch pedal hard to depress when hot

amishhacker · 05-24-2006

Ihave a '70 GT with a 1.9 l and have a strange problem with my clutch. When the engine is cold, the clutch works fine. However, as the car (engine) warms up it becomes more and more difficult to depress the clutch pedal. I have replaced the throw-out bearing, as well as the guide tube that the throw-out bearing slides on. Although the problem does not seem quite as bad, the clutch still gets harder to depress when the engine is hot.

I have noticed that the clutch cable is at a relatively significant angle between where it attaches to the clutch release lever (that comes through the bellhousing) and the point where the jacket of the cable is held by a bracket attached to the body of the car (at the front of the transmission tunnel). It almost seems as though the clutch release lever is longer than it should be. Is this steep angle of the clutch cable normal? Could this be causing the clutch to be hard to depress? Were there different length release levers and a PO installed a longer one than was original?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help.

timemachine · 05-24-2006

Since the problem seems heat-related, a pilot bearing would be the first likely suspect. A wrong-length clutch lever would exascerbate the problem. If you've had the car a long time, that problem would have presented itself pretty quickly.

If the problem wasn't obviously related to heat, I'd suggest that the clutch cable is the culprit. I've seen cases where both ends look fine and a split braid inside the jacket causes real friction problems. Don't know if some heat factor could affect this. So, without doubting your diagnosis, I'd try a spare cable if you have one. There is a cheap cable on ebay in the buy-it-now section, new aftermarket for as low a $6.50.

oldopelguy · 05-24-2006

Originally Posted by amishhacker

and the point where the jacket of the cable is held by a bracket attached to the body of the car (at the front of the transmission tunnel).

The cable housing is supposed to be attached to the bell housing on the bottom end, not the body of the car. I suspect if yours really is attached to the body somehow, it's a sure sign of several things not quite right that you should be looking into, gifts from some PO.

namba209 · 05-24-2006

Stephen (oldopelguy) has it right on. There is a large hole in the bellhousing the cable slides through and the cable housing end is larger than the outlet of the hole so it only goes in the hole about half way with the rest of the cable and the boot coming out of the hole and hooking to the clutch throw out arm. It is a fairly straight shot, well kinda, from the firewall where the cable exits and curves down and into the bellhousing. There is a clamp on the cable that attaches to the engine subframe where it goes through the subframe. HTH.

amishhacker · 05-25-2006

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

Stephen and Ron are correct, and I was wrong. The clutch cable housing does insert in a hole in the bell housing (I got back under the car this evening and had a better look) as it is supposed to. The cable takes probably a 15 degree angle from that point to the release lever, rather than being a straight shot, however. But, after the suggestion from timemachine regarding cables fraying, I also took a closer look at the end of the cable at the release lever end. It looks as though a plastic (or maybe teflon?) sleeve (tube) that is inside the cable housing has pulled out of the housing and part of it has wadded up at that end of the cable. I will pull the entire clutch cable and housing out this weekend and take a closer look. Maybe it is also time to take his other suggestion and buy another cable, although this one looks almost like new (except for the wadded up tubing).

I will post what I find.

Thanks again.

amishhacker · 06-03-2006

I pulled the clutch cable and sure enough, there is a small plastic tube that runs through the cable housing that the cable runs through. This plastic tube had slid through the housing and jammed up at the clutch release lever end. Because the part of plastic tube that slid through the housing was damaged, I cut that portion of the plastic tube off. The clutch seems to work much better now, however, it is still a bit stiff when everything is hot. I think that I will remove it again, and pack the upper portion with grease, because I am guessing that the cable is now sliding over the inside of the cable housing near the firewall, since there is no plastic tube in that region now, and it is dragging a bit.

The problem is not completely solved, but is significantly better. Thanks for the advice.

namba209 · 06-04-2006

Could be time to get a new repo clutch cable from OGTS if yours is still hanging up.

05-24-2006	#1 (permalink)
amishhacker Opeler Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9	Unanswered: Clutch pedal hard to depress when hot Ihave a '70 GT with a 1.9 l and have a strange problem with my clutch. When the engine is cold, the clutch works fine. However, as the car (engine) warms up it becomes more and more difficult to depress the clutch pedal. I have replaced the throw-out bearing, as well as the guide tube that the throw-out bearing slides on. Although the problem does not seem quite as bad, the clutch still gets harder to depress when the engine is hot. I have noticed that the clutch cable is at a relatively significant angle between where it attaches to the clutch release lever (that comes through the bellhousing) and the point where the jacket of the cable is held by a bracket attached to the body of the car (at the front of the transmission tunnel). It almost seems as though the clutch release lever is longer than it should be. Is this steep angle of the clutch cable normal? Could this be causing the clutch to be hard to depress? Were there different length release levers and a PO installed a longer one than was original? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.

05-24-2006	#2 (permalink)
timemachine Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Swarthmore, PA Posts: 871 Real Name: Jim Provided Answers: 7	Since the problem seems heat-related, a pilot bearing would be the first likely suspect. A wrong-length clutch lever would exascerbate the problem. If you've had the car a long time, that problem would have presented itself pretty quickly. If the problem wasn't obviously related to heat, I'd suggest that the clutch cable is the culprit. I've seen cases where both ends look fine and a split braid inside the jacket causes real friction problems. Don't know if some heat factor could affect this. So, without doubting your diagnosis, I'd try a spare cable if you have one. There is a cheap cable on ebay in the buy-it-now section, new aftermarket for as low a $6.50. __________________ '74 Manta ("Sig") '75 Sportwagon (project) '72 GT (whenever I get to it) Sold or wrecked: '72 Manta Rallye '73 Manta '74 Luxus

05-24-2006	#4 (permalink)
namba209 6,000 Post Club Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Imperial Beach, CA South of San Diego Posts: 6,054 Provided Answers: 6	Stephen (oldopelguy) has it right on. There is a large hole in the bellhousing the cable slides through and the cable housing end is larger than the outlet of the hole so it only goes in the hole about half way with the rest of the cable and the boot coming out of the hole and hooking to the clutch throw out arm. It is a fairly straight shot, well kinda, from the firewall where the cable exits and curves down and into the bellhousing. There is a clamp on the cable that attaches to the engine subframe where it goes through the subframe. HTH. __________________ Ron 72 GT 3.4L V-6/T-5/ZF posi - almost done - Just need AC installed. 75 Chevy monza 5.7L/TH350/Auburn 3.08 posi - Next

06-04-2006	#7 (permalink)
namba209 6,000 Post Club Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Imperial Beach, CA South of San Diego Posts: 6,054 Provided Answers: 6	Could be time to get a new repo clutch cable from OGTS if yours is still hanging up. __________________ Ron 72 GT 3.4L V-6/T-5/ZF posi - almost done - Just need AC installed. 75 Chevy monza 5.7L/TH350/Auburn 3.08 posi - Next

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05-25-2006	#5 (permalink)
amishhacker Opeler Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9	Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Stephen and Ron are correct, and I was wrong. The clutch cable housing does insert in a hole in the bell housing (I got back under the car this evening and had a better look) as it is supposed to. The cable takes probably a 15 degree angle from that point to the release lever, rather than being a straight shot, however. But, after the suggestion from timemachine regarding cables fraying, I also took a closer look at the end of the cable at the release lever end. It looks as though a plastic (or maybe teflon?) sleeve (tube) that is inside the cable housing has pulled out of the housing and part of it has wadded up at that end of the cable. I will pull the entire clutch cable and housing out this weekend and take a closer look. Maybe it is also time to take his other suggestion and buy another cable, although this one looks almost like new (except for the wadded up tubing). I will post what I find. Thanks again.

06-03-2006	#6 (permalink)
amishhacker Opeler Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Tennessee Posts: 9	I pulled the clutch cable and sure enough, there is a small plastic tube that runs through the cable housing that the cable runs through. This plastic tube had slid through the housing and jammed up at the clutch release lever end. Because the part of plastic tube that slid through the housing was damaged, I cut that portion of the plastic tube off. The clutch seems to work much better now, however, it is still a bit stiff when everything is hot. I think that I will remove it again, and pack the upper portion with grease, because I am guessing that the cable is now sliding over the inside of the cable housing near the firewall, since there is no plastic tube in that region now, and it is dragging a bit. The problem is not completely solved, but is significantly better. Thanks for the advice.

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