Drivetrain Adjustable clutch cable?

sav22rem22

Active Member
Feb 6, 2020
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North Carolina
Hello all. I’ve been having some problems with my clutch ever since I got the car. I’ve been focusing on getting the car running right before I ever messed with that. So now that it’s running ok it’s time to address the clutch. To start off with it’s a very heavy clutch. I’ve been told that it’s a centerforce by the guy who sold it to me but who knows. It also has absolutely no slack in the pedal whatsoever and It doesn’t seem to engage/disengage all the way. When I let off the pedal entirely and floor the car I get a bad clutch smell and when I slam it to the floor it seems just barely enough to even shift.

My question is is do you all know if the cable I have (at the firewall)is adjustable or not? Here’s a picture for reference
5C17F6F7-9C9C-4F8E-8017-2966F9AA6732.jpeg

The metal ring in the picture spins. Anyone have any ideas on what could be the issue with my clutch?
 
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I say no adjustable on the firewall...You are going to have to safely get under, and adjust. Make sure you have jackstands, or something big and strong under it. Sounds to me like you need a new clutch, but give adjustment a try
 
That is a firewall adjuster.. If you turn it clockwise you will loosen the cable more. If you turn it counter clockwise your tightening up the cable. In your case it sounds like your cable is out of adjustment and way too tight. I would screw the adjuster in a few turns (clockwise) put car in gear and slowly let up the clutch and see if it is any better with disengaging.. Then do it some more and try again until you get it where you want it.
 
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To make it easier to adjust you can get a pry bar and stick it in the bellhousing behind the clutch fork. I used to push the clutch fork forward and tie a piece of rope around it to hold it there. Make sure you put pressure on the pry bar before loosening the rope or it will fly back and try to take your face off. I also used to stick a rubber stopper in the clutch fork hole where the cable goes so it wouldn't pop out. A zip tie through the hole and around the end will also work to hold the cable end in there.

You may also be able to pull the cable out the firewall some just to take some pressure off the adjuster and turn it that way. There is a write up here about installing a needle bearing behind that white plastic on the cable and the adjuster. That's one of my future modifications.

I should've invented some rubber padded firewall adjuster pliers a long time ago.
 
That is a firewall adjuster.. If you turn it clockwise you will loosen the cable more. If you turn it counter clockwise your tightening up the cable. In your case it sounds like your cable is out of adjustment and way too tight. I would screw the adjuster in a few turns (clockwise) put car in gear and slowly let up the clutch and see if it is any better with disengaging.. Then do it some more and try again until you get it where you want it.
OK...I would like my clutch to engage a little higher off the firewall. Do I tighten (counterclockwise) or loosen (clockwise)?
 
Counter-clockwise stretches the cable within the housing (making it tighter) causing the throwout bearing to seat against the fingers of the pressure plate.

You will get some pedal height difference by adjusting it but that is not what the firewall adjuster is actually for.

One way to significantly change pedal height is with a multi-hook quadrant. The other way is with an adjustable cable but I don't recommend those in any way, shape, or form. They suck, particularly, if you have a pressure plate with any beef to it.
 
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That actually appears to be an adjuster at the firewall, can you spin it till it is against the wall? Look to see if there is an aftermarket quadrant.
is there a actually starting point if you were replacing a cable? what's the relationship between the firewall connection and quadrant on pedal assembly? and is it correct to say there is no adjustment at actuating lever at gearbox? thanks
 
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@jrichker - I can never find your [firewall adjuster bearing mod] thread when I think to look for it. I'll have to add it to the Index.
I did some googling on this and it seems SKF has hundreds of different sizes of these Needle Thrust washer bearings...... I found two dealers in my town so I will check out doing this when I " get to that point of resurrection".....
 
I found it, skip to post #24 I think it is.
 
I found it, skip to post #24 I think it is.
Glad you found that. I adjusted my cable but it didn’t really make a difference. I got someone to push in the clutch pedal and saw my firewall was flexing. It wasn’t much but it’s cause for concern