clutch cable snapped

You never ran an E36 BMW 3-series, then. In a humble 318i, I reckon each cylinder pair lasted maybe 40K miles. (And if you skimped and replaced one, the odds were its mate would go within 2 months anyway.) The slave dumped fluid outside the car, the master leaked it all over the driver's footwell.

And the clutch was as heavy as hell.

No, but I currently own an e30 325i.

I've replaced both on mine, and they were both a doddle to do. Not very expensive either.

Big girl! No one said anything about hydraulic clutches being lighter - they are *smoother*. The reason it's heavy is because it has a great big diaphragm spring.

Funnily enough, I don't give a monkey's how easy they are to replace (and two mechanics at opposite ends of the country told me they were a bit of a bastard to bleed). 40K is a ridiculously short life for the hydraulics operating a clutch in a 105bhp car.

Okay, it was smooth. But if you didn't have developed calf muscles that was negated by the excessively heavy spring. (Ask a member of the fairer sex.)

Still wasn't worth the expense. They'd have better spent the money on power steering.

The Volvo 340 had a 1.7l engine which was made by Renault. I imagine it's the same block in the R5 Turbo.

Not really. I sold them quite soon after I'd got them

Unless the setup is significantly different from an e30, which I don't think it is, I'd say you have a habbit of picking incompetent mechanics.

Or indeed for any car. Mine failed at 100k (14 years). Pretty good going.

I'd say you had a major fault with your hydraulic system. Look at any quality make and you'll find they use hydraulic clutches. Why? Because it's a superior setup, giving much better pedal feel.

Fair comment, but I don't think it's by any means the only reason.

hmmmm - my 75 did that, footwell full of fluid, pedal fell to floor. Drove it the last 120 miles home without a clutch, then to the garage next morning (20 miles). Only had to push it to get it in and out of the space in front of the house.

It might be simpler until you factor in self adjusting which comes for free with a hydraulic one.

I've had brake cylinders leak too - although I'd say it's because the fluid hasn't been changed regularly.

BTW, does your love of cables extend to brakes? ;-)

Did a simmilar thing, made a get me home botch kit with a inside brass bit from a chocolate block type terminal block, and nipped to a bicycle shop and puchased a length of cut to size high tensile cable type stuff...

got me home 200miles and did me a few days till i could get a propper one!

ooh, ooh, what a jolly good idea, especially as I tend to have spare bike cables with me. (unfortunately the cable broke when my wife was driving, so it was off to the dealer for a fix. I braced myself for the bill (about 100sq), but was very pleased by fixed price repairs - apparently it took them about 4 times as long as their book said it should! This reinforced my opinion that dealers don't have a clue about their older models).

cheers, clive

Im not saying it would last long, just long enough to drive round town for a couple of days and drive from doncaster to bolton,

ohh i forgot i had to put a couple of washers on the chock block thing to stop it pulling through the plate that the pedal is made of.

I might be rough..... but im dead slow too!

TOM

Volvo 440/480 have Renault engines, so Renault gearboxes, but weigh a lot more, so have stronger clutches. It is possible to fit Volvo's longer release fork though, for a softer pedal feel. But it tends to foul on the intercooler unless you move it forward a little.

:)

Rich.

Find an AA patrol and ask him,they carry clutch cable repair kits,cable and ends........

Steve

You've never owned an original mini have you?

:-)

Certainly have (3x) - but they're a special case. Everything on a Mini breaks in 1/2 the mileage it would on any other car. Don't get me wrong, I love Minis. I'm just stating fact.

In the days when I had cars where the hydraulics were likely to fail, re-con kits were the thing. Not that they always worked, but everyone tried them first.

Did you change the clutch at the same time as the box ?

Grunff most certainly did not write that! (PJML did).

Grunff would never do something as foolish as convert a hudraulic clutch to cable.