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Wear and tear on the clutch cable

The car's clutch cable is a steel braided cable surrounded by a plastic sheath. The cable connects the clutch pedal inside the driver's cab to the gearbox in the engine compartment. When activating the clutch pedal (depressing it), the clutch cable pulls on the clutch bracket to release the clutch. When this happens, what is called a smooth transmission can be made.
Each time the clutch is depressed to change gears, a load is imposed on the clutch cable. And although the cable is made of steel, the constant load means that the cable is worn over time.
When the clutch cable wears out, a number of symptoms may occur to warn you that something is wrong. You may find that the car jumps out of gear while driving, and the cable may get stuck, making the pedal difficult (hard) to depress.
Finally, the clutch pedal may sink. The reason for this may be that the cable is worn, or that the pull-back spring of the pedal needs replacing. The spring is what gets the pedal back to its original position once it has been activated, so to speak.

How is the clutch cable replaced?

If the clutch cable fails beyond what can be fixed with an adjustment or minor repair, the cable must be replaced.
Replacing the car's clutch cable is not a difficult task, but of course you need to know exactly how to do it in order for the new cable to be fitted correctly.

• Start by dismantling the cable from the gearbox. There is typically a type of adjusting device that can be slacked.
• The cable is then removed from inside the clutch pedal itself.
• The cable is pulled out of the car. It must be pulled out through the engine compartment.
• Now the new cable can be installed. It is important that the cable is placed correctly in the rubber sleeve leading to the cabin. If the cable is not installed correctly and so the connection between the engine and the cabin is not completely tight, noise and dirt from the engine compartment will enter the cabin.
• Start by installing the cable at the pedal. Some car models have a little clip where the cable is mounted. The clip may also be worn, so replace the clip at the same time as the cable.
• Finally, the cable is mounted on the release arm. If the cable has an adjustment device, the clutch is adjusted so that the biting point is approximately in the middle of the pedal's travel.

On newer cars, however, there are no adjusting options, as the cable is self-adjusting. In this case, there will be a small "box" on the middle of the cable which contains the self-adjustment mechanism.