It appears that someone found a way to 'make-do" with the wrong (shorter!) cable. In doing so, they messed up many important clearances, travels, tensions and adjustment abilities. There may also be other 'hidden' issues, such as worn or broken throwout arm/ bushings, clutch etc. Only dropping the engine for a good look will answer those questions properly. You may discover that there's more wrong there, than meets the eye. I concur with your first instincts; buy the right one for your car, install it by the book, then proceed to enjoy many miles of proper, reliable operation.
Mike B. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Timothy Osburn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "VW1" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "VW2" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, August 18, 2008 8:18 PM Subject: [vintagvw] clutch cable I wondered if anyone (Bill May?) can clarify for me that VW changed the length of the Beetle clutch cable in 1960? I have a '56 with 36hp motor. I've driven it about 200 miles since the engine was supposedly rebuilt. But my clutch chatters in first when I take off, getting worse as things warm up. To make a long story short, I began ti investigate and found that the Bowden tube had no dip to it, as is required for proper operation. Further close looking indicated that the clutch lever (on the side of the tranny) was not exactly in the vertical position called for by my Bentley manual. Coupling this with the fact that the clutch opedal had always been waaay back toward my feet, not even with the brake pedal, made me think the cable in there is too short. Especially after I disconnected it to install a new Bowden tube, then could not get the threaded end to reach the lever arm. methinks the PO pulled the lever arm forward enough to attach the adjusting nut. Wrong idea. Anyway, after looking at WW & BFY sites, looks like the correct cable for a '56 would be 2268 mm long. '60 and newer the cable is 2260 mm, 8 mm shorter and probably enough to make the difference in my setup. what think ye all? Tim Osburn, Head Mechanic, Ralph Spoilsport Motors. Home of Fine, Old Volkswagens and... Grand Canyon Nut. The Blues Notions website- www.bluesnotions.com _______________________________________________ vintagvw site list [email protected] http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw _______________________________________________ vintagvw site list [email protected] http://lists.sjsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/vintagvw
