Beauty and the Beast

[Jo Anna]

Its 5 minutes to the time I am to start work this morning and the clutch pedal pushes in all the way to the floor while I am making a left turn in traffic. No clutch. It felt like it "broke". Flashers on, door open, I hail a passing pickup truck. Guy wheels around, and helps me push the beauty thru the traffic to a parking lot and lets me make a call.
It has now been towed and sits at an unfamiliar garage/auto place. (I don't know ANY mechanics here where I live--been three years and had no need for one...areliable 2.5 RS to depend on...) No repair till Monday. My son calls long distance to warn not to let mechanic tell me there is more wrong with the beauty than there really is. Suspect linkage. Any advice here? (What am I saying, "any advice?".....
Jo Anna
PS--the whole thing scared me half to death. What if I had been on a hill or worse? Being in traffic making a left turn was bad enough. Now I"m afraid to drive the beast. (Beauty is now Beast.)

[nobody]

Let's see, popped a clutch cable clip at the firewall, clutch cable broke or came off the bellhousing or clutch pedal end. All are easy stuff to fix. Patience

[weatherman]

Once shes fixed you shouldn't be afraid of her. I was in a dirt bike accident that could have decapitated me. I went and got some help and I jumped right back on that bike and took off again. You shouldn't be afraid, stuff happens, it will be alright in the end. It sounds like the linkage did break. No big deal thats an easy fix.

Toby

[gtjames]

It sounds like what happened to my long time ex-girlfriend's gt about ten years ago. I would put money that the clip that mounts the clutch cable to the firewall broke. If the clip breaks it wont hold the clutch cable casing stationary while the cable actuates the clutch assembly. The result is "no clutch". If that is indeed the case it should be a minor repair. Its easy to get to as well. I hope it works out for you. Also... some mechanics have earned a bad name, but there are still a few good, honest mechanics out there. I hope you get one.

James.

[Al Olmo]

My best guest would be that you have a broken clutch cable, and if that's all it is, its not so bad. Good luck.

[Jo Anna]

Originally Posted by nobody Let's see, popped a clutch cable clip at the firewall, clutch cable broke or came off the bellhousing or clutch pedal end. All are easy stuff to fix. Patience

Any idea what is a fair price to pay for such repairs?
Jo Anna

[nobody]

I've had two cables fail in Mantas never in a GT the cable is around 40 bucks and my daughter could put one in. The clip is at most a dollar and if it just popped off one end or the other then that's even easier. Total time to fix for an amatuer is about an hour, so if you insist on a shop to do it 100 bucks would be my limit to fix and replace it all.

Hint here, carry a few spare parts and get to know your 30+ year old car a bit and save the money for worth while things. Most common problems my 7 year old daughter can handle with a wee bit of advice. This is truly an easy one.

[weatherman]

boy is that true! So simple.

[Jo Anna]

It a scary thing to know a clip can pop off. How do I prevent it from doing so again? Wonder if the mechanic would let me stand by while he works so I can learn how to do whatever needs doing. Then again, I'm not set up to raise the car so I can get under it. How do YOU do it?
This time my son is too far away to fix this for me and teach me.
Jo Anna

[namba209]

Jo Anna, Dave is real close to being right on. I just checked OGTS handy dandy on line catalog, the clutch cable is $38.00. The cable on the throw out arm end is really easy, it goes through a hole in the bellhousing and the throw out arm is slotted for the cable go into it. The pedal is even easier, there's a hook on the end of the pedal for the end to hook on to. The easiest of all is the clip on the fire wall, there is a series of grooves on the metal piece the cable housing sildes in to, put the clip into the groove that will give you 3/4" to 1 1/4" free pedal travel. That's all there is to it. As Dave suggests, 5-10 minutes for the clip and if the cable is disconected at either end, maybe 20 minutes to get it on a lift and check. To replace the cable, a lot less than an hour. In a pinch, members have put vice-grips on the metal sleeve in place of an e-clip until they could get one, or a hose clamp. Anything to keep the cable from coming through the metal bushing at the firewall. HTH.

You have to remember the car is fairly old and there's no telling how many times the clutch pedal has been actuated, the continual on-off pressure on the e-clip will eventually weaken it. Similar to bending a coke can back and forth, eventually it too will break. Getting under the GT to replace the cable? Set the E-brake so it won't roll, put jack stands under the front jack points, but that's only if you have to reconnect or replace the cable at the throw-out arm.

[nobody]

My Gt is lowered and I can replace the cable without jacking it up. Honestly this is easy stuff.

[Jo Anna]

Alrighty then. You give me courage.
Make's me want to go there now and see if it is just the pedal which as I read what Ron was describing, something fell into place in my brain and I could almost "see" what he is saying and my hands itch to feel around up there. I'd love to forstall any mechanic charges, but think I'm in too deep now that it is sitting on ttheir lot. I'll just have to live and learn. besides, I have to be back to work at 6 to midnite. another scary thought: hope no one touches my car as it sits on their lot. It is totally visible to the US 41 traffic. And that tragic story posted the other day baout the stolen Opel broke my heart.
Jo Anna
Youse guys are the best!
I'll just have to have faith.

[Dan-MI]

The trick with the hose clamp is a good one. Put one one right where the E clip goes. If the clip pops off, the clamp should hold on and allow you to drive it home again. However, I hope your experience is better than mine. My son had the GT out and it just started revving like crazy so he shut it off. I went to check it out when I got home and the clutch just went to the floor. The PO had had the clutch replaced shortly before I bought it, and the mechanic must not have known what he was doing. He must have put on plain old bolts when he put the flywheel on. The over revving was caused by the Solex secondary sticking wide open (a whole other story). But over-revving it caused the bolts that hold the fly wheel on to sheer right off. You could push the clutch all you wanted and it didn't really connect with much. I doubt you have a similar problem. It probably is a linkage issue.

[BDD]

When properly installed I don't think that the clip that adjusts the clutch cable effective length can just pop off. The cable can fray then break though after years of use. That's a maintenance item. Nothing lasts forever especially when constantly stressed when driving. Imagine how many times the clutch gets used in a manual drive car.

[RallyBob]

The clips don't pop off as much as they just break in half. Happens all the time, I used to sell hundreds of them per year when I was selling Opel parts. I always install three clips on my cars. If the first clip breaks, you have two backup clips already in place (although one notch looser on the cable adjustment).

Bob

[neuropel]

Back when I drove my GT as a daily driver, I used to keep a little plastic compartment box (like you use in a tackle box) in the glove box that had E clips, straight pins (for the carb linkage), fuses and short jumper wires and other assorted little items like hose clamps that can make the difference between getting you back on the road and leaving you stranded. Also throw in a $0.99 disposable flashlight. Do yourself a favor and put together a little Opel "Care Package"...remember the cars are 30+ years old and stuff will break. If you have a pertronix, keep a fresh set of points and a condenser in there as well...JUST in case.

Todd K.

[Rose]

You poor thing. Everyone can tell by your posts that you love that car. I am thinking the mices are sabotaging your car because they want it for themselves.

[namba209]

Jo Anna, here's a drawing of the clutch mechanism I scanned from my Clymer's Opel manual. HTH.

[Dmcbrass]

I broke a clutch cable about a year ago on my GT. It gave me all kinds of warnings that I ignored. Rough pedal, etc. By the way you can easily drive the GT home without the clutch. Start the car with it in 1st gear. An Opel is easy to speed shift. when you get ready to shift to the next gear, move it first into neutral and then rev the engine up to the cooresponding RPM for that gear and speed and carefully make the shift. Just remember to put the car in neutral before coming to a stop sign or light. You'll have to turn the car off before putting it back in 1st gear. The lack of heavy traffic around Houghton/Hancock should make this a fairly easy adventure.

[GTJIM]

Jo Anna

The "E" clip is one of the few Opel parts that is just a standard item. A new one canbe sourced from any ball bearing supplier or even a well stocked engineering supply house. Often they are supplied in boxes of assorted sizes so you should be able to find a few of the ones you need.
Here is a drawing of what they look like - they are stamped out of thin, flat spring steel and are usually coloured a shiny blue ( just like a gun barrel!)

Just get a few spares and put a couple in the grooves behind the first one as Bob says.

BTW: If the mechanic wants to pull stuff apart make sure he checks that it is not just he E-clip that is broken first! If you have any problems with the mechanic just let him know that his name will be "pooh poohs" internationally!

[guyopel]

These are all good ideas , I use two clutch cable e-clips & a heater for
clamp around the cable in front of the clips , This has worked for 18 +
years. HTH
John

[Jo Anna]

Well, thats it. I have to meet ALL of you! Who could ask for more help in this dilemna???? You Opel fans are the best.
Tell you what--I'm printing out each response and taking it to the mechanic tomorrow so there is no doubt what needs tending to. He'll also see that with your support, he needs to keep his wits about himself and be guided by your advice. I'm betting a million dollars he has never touched an Opel GT.
Thank you so much, and Rose, you are right--nothing makes me feel the way I do when I drive that car. Just looking at it sends waves of pleasure thru my brain (that would be dopamine). Its a permanent smile pasted on my face--God bless Adam Opel. And all of you.
Jo Anna

[Thom71GT]

Originally Posted by Jo Anna Any idea what is a fair price to pay for such repairs? Jo Anna

I keep c clips in my ash tray for just such an incedent. 50 cents maybe plus the 1 minute it takes to put it on.

[BDD]

With the additional clips behind you automatically know where the replacement one should go for proper clutch action with that cable. Otherwise there's a little trial and error when positioning it.

[Jo Anna]

IT WAS A CLIP! IT WAS A CLIP! YEAH! Now if the mechanic would just show me how to put one one--I asked him to pick me up some extras to have on hand.....
I get the car back today after I just called and told him I have only 2.5 weeks left to drive it before it goes to sleep for the winter....
Thank you everyone--I printed out your info and handed it to him yesterday. You are all my knights in shining armor!
Jo Anna