Clutch Cable Stuck in the middle After Bowden Tube

Hi, I was driving my bug then the clutch pedal hit the floor, so i thought the cable broke, so i bought a new cable, I took out the pedal assembly then it turned out the clutch shaft Hook thing broke, So I Jacket up the car, took out the wing nut on the back, and I decided to change the clutch cable while I was at it. Then I went to the front of the car and started pulling the cable as it said on a manual, It started to get harder and harder so i thought it got stuck in the bowden tube, I went to the back of the car disconnected the tube, but the cable had already passed it. I have been trying various ways to pull/push this stupidly placed cable , with pliers, with vice grips and hammer, with a hook but the cable only gets more damaged as I try and pull/push it out more.

Im stuck here, any suggestions/ideas or should i take it to an expensive vw mechanic?

Thanks guys Camus

Reply to
Camus
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If the cable was broken then you wouldn't have had to remove the wing nut. You should have been able to pull the cable out in 2 pieces. One from the front, one from the rear. You sure the cable even broke? Could be that a weld broke on the tube inside the tunnel that holds the cable into place. I'm sorry. I realize that doesn't answer your question but the reason I ask is that if a weld broke and not the cable then you may need to take it in to a mechanic if you can't weld it back yourself.

It

Reply to
Shag

I wonder if some rubber part of the Bowden or the seal went along with the cable end to get stuck. I don't see any other option but brute force, unless you can cut an access panel in the tunnel.

Speedy Jim

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Reply to
Speedy Jim

He said the cable did not brake, but wanted to change it anyway.. Enough of that...

It seems you got a serious problem, the thing you did not mention trying, was to twist/turn the cable. Make sure you twist it the right way, not to "Unwind" it, I would try manually with a wisegrip first, if you get it loosened up I would cut the cable and chuck it hard to a power drill, again watch for correct rotation. When/if it starts to rotate you can manipulate it back and forth..

J.

Reply to
P.J. Berg

My fault. I read it as the hook thingie breaking off as he was removing the pedal assembly and stuff and that he decided to go ahead and replace the cable while the car was still jacked up. In that case, I guess he just needs to employ the Strength Of Kong (tm) to remove the cable.

Reply to
Shag

The last time this happened to me I unbolted my bench vise, clamped it on the protruding end of the cable and swung it so it acted like a big slide hammer. A couple of swing did the trick. The culprit was greasy sludge in the tube; way too hard to pull through by hand, but no match for 20 pounds of momentum.

-- Russell

Reply to
Russell Barr

Im gonna try twisting the cable in the morning but i dont know how to do this using a power drill , so I am going to do this with vicegrips, Do you guys think the cable got stuck causing the hook shaft on the clutch pedal to break in the first place?

Another thing i was trying was inserting the threaded side of the new clutch cable from under the car where the bowden tube connects, in hopes of pushing the stuck cable towards the front of the car, but still it wouldnt move.

Im running out of ideas and hopes :(

Camus

Shag wrote:

decided to

correct

Reply to
Camus

Get a steel rod at BigBox, the size of the tube (maybe 1/4") and drive it in from the back.

Speedy Jim

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Reply to
Speedy Jim

I know that if you try to pull the cable out the front w/o unseating the Bowden tube, the threaded end will not make the bend/sag. and it will jam in the tube. is that it?

g adds. MONEY , what a concept

Reply to
BananaRepublican

I like that idea. Maybe it would work if you'd tied the protruding end of the cable to a strap and then wrapped the strap around the bench vise while it was still bolted to the bench and then pushed the car away from it to jerk on the cable. That should be *plenty* of momentum. The cable would come out then, one way or another. Might take the tube with it... or rip the vice off of the bench. :-)

Reply to
Shag

This is about to get interesting!! :-O

J.

Reply to
P.J. Berg

Damned if this doesn't sound familiar,............something about a choke cable though.....not a clutch...............

Remove "YOURPANTIES" to reply

MUADIB®

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one small step for man,..... One giant leap for attorneys.

Reply to
MUADIB®

On Tue, 05 Apr 2005 02:16:20 GMT, MUADIB® scribbled this interesting note:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't need any of your guff! And it works better if you tie it off to another car and just drive off! (Not that I would know how to remove a rusted in place choke cable!:~)

-- John Willis (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

Reply to
John Willis

Success!

Ok here is how I did it, I went to home depot and bought a 1/4" in diameter metal rod, went to the back of the car and inserted it where the bowden tube connects, I then pushed the rod until it got stuck , then i got a hammer and started hitting the metal rod on the other end, and finally the cable got forced to the front of the car by the rod!!

after examining the cable it was covered with dirt, grease, and crap i have never seen in my life and i dont know what else it had.

after 4 days of trying various things it finally works, connecting the pedal assembly was easy.

So try the rod trick if anyone else gets a cable stuck!

Camus

Thanks speedy jim for the rod suggestion

John Willis wrote:

Might

Reply to
Camus

Yeah. but dont forget to put the "parking" brake on ! unless it is an "emergency"

:-)

Unless its on a slope ... Iv'e heard you can't use it then.

;-)

Rich

John Willis wrote:

Reply to
tricky

Are you making a snow man and calling him names or something? Blah blah! Where is my medication!?!? Trying to pick a fight or something, boy!?!?!? *attempts to puff out chest* Are drunk you?!?! *retarded look on face* :-)

"Stupid people are funny." - me

Reply to
Shag

Oh no it appears my VW has a curse!!

I finished installing the clutch cable and everything up today, but the car wont start! No sounds heard except that of the ignition switch, Is it possible I disconnected a cable from the starter while I was down there? Or is it possible the starter died while I was fixing up the clutch cable? The Radio turns on when I turn the key, so I dont think it is the battery, this starter was replaced about 2 months ago , the mechanic said oil was getting into the starter from somewhere, so he wanted to take out the engine (I denied because i did not have that much money) to fix the cause of the previous starter dying. Or maybe oil got into the starter while i was fixing the car which took me about a week.

I push started the car in second gear to bring it home finally, any suggestions for this cursed VW?

oh my! this vw wants to be trown off a mountain.

tricky wrote:

note:

protruding

better

Reply to
Camus

Hee Hee !!! couldn't resist !

Rich.

Shag wrote:

Reply to
tricky

Park it on a hill so you can roll-start it? With the parking brake on. ;-) Just kiddin'. Speedy response coming up in three... two... one...

"Stupid people are funny." - me

Reply to
Shag

Yes, you might have pulled the Red wire off the push-on connector. Check that first.

You can also do a very easy check of the starter by jumping like this:

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the starter cranks the engine, you know it is OK.(Make sure shift is in Neutral and WEAR glasses when you do this.) Speedy Jim
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Reply to
Speedy Jim

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