Advice on replacing a clutch cable?

Hi

Does anybody have any instructions/advice on how to replace the clutch cable on a Seat Ibiza MK3 1.4 (2001) - I have not changed one before

regards

miklos said:

Hi

Does anybody have any instructions/advice on how to replace the clutch cable on a Seat Ibiza MK3 1.4 (2001) - I have not changed one before

regards

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Im in the same boat as you fella can anyone give us some advice beofre i trash my peddle box lol

myki said:

The cables are adjustable on the 1.4 models so you can have it as soft or as stiff as you like. The adjuster is on top of the gearbox where the cable joins on

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Are you sure mate? Ive used the search tool and your the 1st to mention this...i think lol.

I REALLY hope its not the clutch itself because the engine has only done 18k miles and i think this would be enough to sour my taste for Seats and ill be selling up because its becoming expensive lol

myki said:

Yes i am 110% sure mate i did it myself on mine when i owned it, there was pretty much nothing i didnt do to mine lol even chaged engine lol

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haha top man!! Ill have a looksy tomorow when its light. I have had a little poke around and i greased up the are that goes into the engine. I assume the adjust part is near the return spring on the pivot arm that joins the engine?

GottaIbizaMk3 said:

My clutch is as still as hell, got good muscles on my left thigh though... please can we see some pix and see how to make the clutch lighter?

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I know what ya mean mate lol ive got a strong leg myself however with all this talk of snapped clutch pedles and knackered peddle boxes i dont want to be that bastid thats broken down blocking a lane in rush hour haha

myki said:

Yep right by it. If you cant see/find it the post up a pic an il point it out to you. You can see how to adjust it easily mate once your looking at it tho. If you need anymore help just give us a shout

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Hey mate well i had a poke around and i really can see how the clutch cable can be adjusted to be smoother etc. The only way i can see how to make the clutch less stiff is to somehow replace the return spring with something a bit less tight. There are 2 nuts on the end of the cable near the rubbers but id imagine thats just to adjust if the clutch has worn and needs the bite point moved?? Heres a pic anyway after i greased the pivot point up a bit

ah right ill give this a bash tomorow. So im assuming the tighter i get the cable between them 2 points... the easyer the clutch will become?

GottaIbizaMk3 said:

Did you get the cable sorted 'tother night or was it not successful?

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Was pishing down and blowing a gale so not got round to it yet but i did lash it with wd40 so loosen the locknuts up a bit so should be straight forward tomorow....if wind dont snap bonnet clean of haha

Right then so ive had a bash now...

I was right all along lol as i first suspected all the locknuts really do is take up the slack of the cable and i can imagine aid in replacing the cable.

1st thing i tried was to slacken the nuts a little which in essence ment the cable was less taught. At first the clutch feels super light ...however as common sense kicks in you realise all you are doing is taking up the slack and only engaging the the clutch a part of the way so i dont think that would benifit the clutch but only aid in slipping it. However i do wonder if your bite point is quiet high then it may give your leg a easyer time because you are using the clutch peddle to take up the slack and only the neccesery clutch point needed. Im not sure? My point is about midway and when i engage the clutch peddle i push it all the way in just seems easyer then hovering your leg etc

2nd attempt i tightened up the locknuts just to the point where the pivot arm is engaging the clutch arm. I think this is a winner. Although its not actually made the clutch any easyer...it has made it feel smoother. I think the clicks people are experiencing is the cable 1st taking up the slack..and then engaging the clutch which i can imagine gives 2 types of resistance...and being a pain lol

Other tips i can add are to make sure the path of the clutch cable are free. Mine had a hose fouling the cable path a little and also there are bracket like cable guides holding the cable. One of mine was slightly bent because of access to the coolent bottle so i straightened it up and made sure visually it was in a nice straight line (path of less resistance etc) oh and might aswell lube it up hilst your there.


Also whilst i was fettling i did that cheapo Tape/Ipod mod which involved removing cover etc by a user called Ibiza125 cheers ....

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=140079&highlight=tape+adaptor

It really does only take a few mins and you will prob spend more time cleaning oily marks from the facia if you did it AFTER fettling the engine bay like i did haha. Just a tip if you are not keen on the white tape device and lead etc i got a Maplins unit which was black and i thought looked better blended in with the black etc


oh yea and i realise ive just wrote a bloody essay haha

Not many people mention or think about trying this with the problem of stiff clutches on seats but why not try changing the clutch slave cylinder if thats leaking it will not work right and the clutch will be heavy also move in biting points.

just a suggestion i see so many saying theyve replace clutch and cable but always forget that.