5 GTT clutch cable!......Not very technical, I know, but a real pain in the bum

[Nick13]

As per the thread title, not really technical, but causing me some bother nevertheless!
Can ayone help me with this please?
I've got a1990 G plate 5GTT phase 2 and ordered a clutch cable from my local garage.
It would seem there are two different types, and of course, Nick the plonker ordered the wrong one!........it's a good 6 inches too long (I've always wanted to hear those words, but not about a clutch cable!).
O.K. I thought, no problem, order the other one..........which is unobtainable!

Basically I need to know where I can get one of these shorter cables.....pretty quickly actually.

My pedal is the one with a large black adjuster ratchet and a small white one.......

Thanks in advance

[The new Bill J]

The clue's in the name of the car

[JRP]

could you maybe route it in a different mannor?

[James5]

Sounds like you need to do some pmt style bodge like I did chris's with a large spacer to take up alot of the slack

[Nick13]

Ta chaps, It's all good....................but why are these things unobtainable?......anyone shed any light on it?

[Ian S]

https://www.rtoc.org/boards/showthread.php?t=4732

Maybe some info here that might help a bit.

[Blick]

i had that problem..... mine was 2 long!!! got some spacers on the case.

[Nick13]

Bit of an update..................We have now decided that the reason the cable is too long is that there may (help me out here 5 experts please!) be some form of bracketry missing from the gearbox!
Never had a 5 before and got nothing to compare it to, but I reckon the rubber bung thingy should seat into a bracket.
Theres no sign of anything being broken off, but that doesn't mean to say it hasn't, and hey, it might not even be the right gearbox thats fitted to my heap.
Anyone shed any light on this please?

[raj]

the clutch cable should route from the clutch arm,
from there it runs along and is push clipped to the side of the chassis leg,
it then runs behind the std airbox and downpipe (im sure its clipped in around here too?),
it then runs up through the ANNOYING FCKUING LITTLE HOLE and ends up in the drivers foot well.



while on this subject, does anyone happen to know where i can get hold of the clips that fit to the side of the chassis legs? as mine have snapped and ive got nothing to secure the clutch cable in place!

[Nick13]

Aha!....................Now that might well help mate, thanks for that

[Ian S]

In or out out of the clips has little or no bearing on the cable's fitted length.

Have you done the below:

Releasing the Quadrant so the self adjusting mechanism can re-set

Often the clutch pedal self adjusting mechanism jams it's teeth in the position it's been in preventing it from self adjusting and making fitting a clutch cable difficult and often making the pedal too low in it's clutch biting point.

If you are trying to fit a cable and it's tight or slack, release the quadrant / self adjusting mechanism first.

The job of the quadrant is to feed out and take up clutch cable to allow easy fitting and allow for different cable lengths and for cable stretching and clutch face wear.

The quadrant can to be pulled forward to release the self adjusting mechanism which will, upon releasing the quadrant, settle to the correct position, see photo for which part to take hold of and pull, circled, and the direction.

You have to leave the pedal alone to free the quadrant. If you push the pedal it pushes the teeth together and they won't separate. Simply take hold of of the plastic pivot and pull it firmly towards the floor and drivers seat at the same time. Once it frees then it'll move towards you a couple of inches or so. Let it go and let it self adjust.

Once done, the teeth in the black quadrant and the white part are normally slightly apart and only engauge with the first few mm of clutch pedal travel and then release again when the pedal is released, every time.

It's very easy to do once you've worked out how.

Refitting the clutch cable

You can just connect the cable to the pedal, if it was disconnected, then, in the engine bay, pull the cable end over and onto the clutch release lever. It's easy.

Free the self adjuster before you fit the cable. Then when you pull the cable in the engine bay the quadrant simply rotates around freely to give you slack. That what it's there for. If it doesn't, then the teeth are jamed again.

[raj]

i must be doing something wrong

ive released the clutch cable from the clutch fork in the engine bay
ive then proceeded to pull the self adjusting quadrant forward toward the drivers seat then let go of it
but now i cannot get the cable back over the clutch fork ive tried pulling it over with mole grips but it wont go over!

what am i doing wrong

[Ian S]

The quadrant teeth have possibly engaged and stuck, preventing the cable from pulling freely at the gearbox end.

The Quadrant should turn freely when the cable is pulled at the gearbox end, and the teeth only engage when the pedal is pushed, but he teeth do have a tendency to latch and jam.

[raj]

The quadrant teeth have possibly engaged and stuck, preventing the cable from pulling freely at the gearbox end.

The Quadrant should turn freely when the cable is pulled at the gearbox end, and the teeth only engage when the pedal is pushed, but he teeth do have a tendency to latch and jam.

the only way i can get the cable back over the fork is if i push the quadrant towards the engine and pull the cable of the fork at the same time! seems like abit of a 2 man job

[Scoff]

maybe there is some quick way, but its always been a 2 man job for me, someone to release the ratchet on the pedal while someone else hooks it onto the gearbox.

[raj]

maybe there is some quick way, but its always been a 2 man job for me, someone to release the ratchet on the pedal while someone else hooks it onto the gearbox.

yep thought so,

ive just done it this way but the clutch pedal has still got this POP feeling to it. when i try moving the car ie, moving off i cannot find the biting point until the pedal gets to the POP bit where it literally springs back up far to quick, i have no control over it.
never experianced the clutch doing this before

[Scoff]

sounds like a volvo valeo with standard short arm. I think they all do that, you just have to get used to it. or fit the long arm, which improves things 100%.

[Nick13]

Hmmmmm...........An engine that nearly lasted an hour, Faulty guages, and a clutch cable that won't fit............Bought my car over 5 weeks ago and done about 3 miles trouble free in it!...............

I'm sat looking at my Zippo lighter with evil thoughts running through my head......................Should get it back tomorrow with it's new lump fitted (providing the clutch can somehow be lashed up!)...........

I thought RS Turbo owning was a bit of a money pit, but the GTT is certainly out doing the Fords in the cost department so far.

Maybe I've just had a bad start and all will be roses from now on!

[raj]

sounds like a volvo valeo with standard short arm. I think they all do that, you just have to get used to it. or fit the long arm, which improves things 100%.

it cant be! i fitted valeo clutches to my last two 5s and they didnt have this feel about them

its really hard to describe

also i noticed that the clutch pedal has some movement in it when its in the stationary position, almost like theres 4/5mm of slack.

[markg]

Nick13 - In my experience get a proper Renault cable, messing around with spacers and such to alter an overly long cable is just a pain, its one of those bodges you dont need to do. There should be a bracket/outer cable stop on the gearbox, its part of the casing. That holds the outer cable a few inches from the clutch fork. Take a look at the cable and you will see what I mean, there should be a big round plastic part that fits in this hole if you have a genuine cable. Then follow the instructions Ian_S gave for adjusting the pedal. I believe the Renault part number for the cable is 77 00 779 924 but best to check with the dealer, IIRC its around £20 - £25.

Good Luck

[Ian S]

According to my article it used to be: Renault clutch cable for 'white' pedal; 6006003790 about £16 + VAT.

Has it changed? That price was in 2005 so that will have.

For me, the quadrant always moved freely, never a 2 man job. Once released, it should stay released.

Does the pedal mech just need a good clean and lube?

Should be a couple of mm of free movement before the teeth engage. I don't recall how many, 5mm seems a tad far but could be correct I guess.

In correct use, the quadrant stays free and the teeth engage every time the pedal is pushed. This is how this self adjusting mechanism self adjusts. If the teeth are jammed it can't self adjust.

This should be an easy job requiring no more than a pair or pliers, to get the old one out of the bulk head hole, and about 45 minutes. I've done it several times and it always has been.

[raj]

the clutch cable im using isnt genuine oe, maybe this is contributiing to my problem?!

is there any place other than renault where i could buy an OE clutch cable online as i live quite far from the dealers

[Ian S]

I always used the OE cable.

[markg]

the clutch cable im using isnt genuine oe, maybe this is contributiing to my problem?!

is there any place other than renault where i could buy an OE clutch cable online as i live quite far from the dealers

Raj - Just measured an OE cable. Total length is about 70 inches and the outer cable is about 58 inches of that. Should you take your cable out then definately worth measuring. When I fitted an over long cable in the past the bitting point was very slightly off the floor so was a bitch to drive. Not knowing any better the main dealer told me I needed a new clutch and I was 500 quid lighter for the mistake.

Also Ian_S was correct on the part number - It is 6006003790, I had it in a bag with some side skirt trims and looked at the wrong number.

I guess if you want to mail order a cable someone like Ktec should supply the correct one.

[raj]

When I fitted an over long cable in the past the bitting point was very slightly off the floor so was a bitch to drive

the thing is, my biting point isnt right at the floor, it more top end if anything.

ill try to describe what mines doing abit better...

when i press the clutch pedal,ill get about half way and then the pedal will loose the tension feeling and go straight to the floor very quick.

when bringing the pedal back up its vice versa, the pedal feels soft when at the floor but when i get to about half way back up it flings itself up really quick! ive almost got no control of the biting point,im forever stalling!

[Scoff]

raj, that feeling has nothing to do with cables or quadrants, it's the springs in the pressure plate you're feeling. lots of them do it. if you think it's bad, you should try my clutch pedal. you get used to it after a while. if not, then you'll want the long arm fitting, or weld/bolt something to the end of the existing arm like I did once because I was too lazy to pull the gearbox.

[raj]

raj, that feeling has nothing to do with cables or quadrants, it's the springs in the pressure plate you're feeling. lots of them do it. if you think it's bad, you should try my clutch pedal. you get used to it after a while. if not, then you'll want the long arm fitting, or weld/bolt something to the end of the existing arm like I did once because I was too lazy to pull the gearbox.

sounds like a plan how much longer can you extend the fork by? i dont think i want to take the box off again. how much longer is the volvo fork over the renault version?

[Scoff]

at a guess it's about 2" longer. You could use the volvo bracket to bring the cable out further, then you only need to make something to extend the current release fork. I cut an old fork up and welded it to the end of the existing one. that was a long time ago, it ran like that for years.

[soapymech]

have the 2 parts needed for the soft pedal conversion here make me an offer if interested

[raj]

have the 2 parts needed for the soft pedal conversion here make me an offer if interested

pm 4u

[markey b]

raj ya big girl, mine has that 'pop' i know exactly what your on about, its been the same with every volvo clutch i've had and it doesn't take long to get used to it, hardest bit is getting back in my raider that has a std clutch and it feels too light!