My first real mechanical issue while on the road - broken clutch cable

[Gumball]

It was bound to happen. I took the car out for a ride to move it from home over to my shop at the airport about ten miles away, but decided to go the long way. I made a stop in one of the nearby towns along the river (down in a valley) and wouldn't you know it - I started it up in front of an admiring crowd, put the clutch down to move it into reverse, heard a very slight "pop" and the clutch pedal flopped to the floor.

I should have known better, but I used the "heavy duty" clutch cable that came with my BBK aluminum quadrant instead of ordering an OEM Ford cable. I did that in part because I thought that the one they supplied would be a good alternative and I already had two others - both offshore aftermarket ones that I didn't want to use due to all the stories of those breaking. Oh well, guaranteed I'll go with the Ford part now - and I'll buy two and keep one in the trunk for road trips.

Back to the story, though...... to the dismay of those gathered around, I got out, pushed the car back out of the parking space, and started it as it rolled down the hill towards the exit. Once it was up to speed, I clicked it into first gear, then proceeded to drive nearly fifteen miles back to the hangar... without a clutch.... and up out of the aforementioned valley. I may have rolled a couple of stop signs, but otherwise a safe trip.

I figure I was lucky - I'll wait to be "saved" by my car buddies when 7074 is truly dead on the side of the road.

[carlewms]

Chris ... go hydraulic ... you will never go back!

[Jeff Kleiner]

Chris ... go hydraulic ... you will never go back!

Then again, the only time I've ever been left stuck by the side of the road was due to a hydraulic clutch failure. There's no sure bet---cables fail and so do clutch master & slave cylinders.

Jeff

[Gumball]

Sticking with the cable on the FFR, but the '65 Mustang racecar will have a hydraulic clutch instead of the original bellcrank set-up.

I just ordered two of the OEM-style cables from Maximum Motorsports - they're twice as expensive as the aftermarket cables (and the Ford Racing cables), but should be a better choice in the long run. With the holiday weekend coming up, I wanted to get this replaced ASAP, so I also ponied up for the 2-day air cost - sheesh.

Here's a pic from the MM website - the top cable is aftermarket and the bottom is OEM......

[Jester]

You may want to fully lubricate the clutch cable before installing. I recently removed my clutch cable and used lithium lube - definitely much easier clutch pedal pressure now.

good luck

[AC Bill]

Curious as to where the cable let go?

I've read many threads on the rubbing on the firewall tube, because of the cable angle leading to the clutch quadrant.
I know there are a few tricks as far as bending the tube, although this would be best done, before completing a car.
The other, was using an angled shim between the firewall and a firewall mounted cable adjuster. This changed the cables angle, to clear the firewall tube, and prevent the rubbing.

I just grease my cable at that point regularly, and so far there appears to be no fraying.

[Gumball]

Finally had time this weekend to get the car up on the lift and remove the snapped cable. I confirmed that this was the supposed "heavy duty" cable that came with the BBK quadrant kit, and instead of a fixed ferrule / boss on the clutch fork end, it had a short piece of threaded rod as the cable end with two nuts - one fits into the recess on the back side of the clutch fork and the other serves as a lock nut on the front side of the fork.

Well, when that small piece of rod is adjusted to where it needs to be and then tightened securely into the clutch fork, it moves in an arc that equals the radius of the clutch fork - stressing the cable where it is swagged into the threaded rod and eventually leading to failure at that point.

Unfortunately, I found that the Ford racing cable and the Maximum Motorsports (OEM-style) cable both cause too much pre-load on the throwout bearing (i.e., they're both just a little bit too short), so I had to come up with a different fix. I need the extra length that the threaded rod adjustable version offers, but once it's to the length I need, I can do the adjustment at the firewall. Summit Racing sells a Ford Performance cable with the threaded rod adjustable end, so I bought that and will use a turned-down nut (very similar to an open end acorn nut - but with the proper radius to match the fixed cable end ferrule) to act as my adjuster. This will also resolve the misalignment / flex issue, as I'll but the locknut on the same side as the acorn nut, allowing the rod to move slightly in the pocket as the clutch is operated.

Here's a pic of my first attempt at the acorn nut machining job - more pics to come when I get the new cable and install it on the car.

[adubbelde]

My first car was a 59 Chev Bubbletop. I had converted from a Powerglide to a manual transmission. One day driving home the ball stud in the block broke and I had no clutch. My solution was to pop it into neutral when I approaced a stop light or sign. I then put it into first gear and when the light changed I hit the starter. Not the smoothest of starts but once going I was able to shift without grinding the gears.