Vehicles have two different designs to activate the clutch pedal. One design uses a hydraulic clutch, and the other uses a manual clutch cable. The clutch cable consists of a length of heavy-strength, multi-strand wires housed inside a cable shell connected to the clutch pedal and the shifting fork inside the transmission. Cables can wear, stretch or snap from repeated use. When they wear excessively or break, the transmission cannot shift into any of its gears. Replacing a clutch cable can be performed by the do-it-yourself repair person, with a few simple tools and some basic steps.
Shift the vehicle into park or neutral and set the emergency brake. Raise the hood. Use a floor jack to raise the front part of the vehicle and place two jack stands under the frame near each wheel. Raise the rear of the vehicle with the floor jack and place two jack stands under the rear part of the frame near each wheel. Slide under the vehicle next to the transmission and hold a shop light up to the side case.
Locate the dust cover on the side case of the transmission. Loosen the one or two bolts that hold the dust cover onto the transmission and pull the cover off. Use a pry bar to wedge the clutch fork in the closed position, relieving tension on the cable end. Pull the cable free from its notch and release the tension on the pry bar. Follow the cable to the bell housing mount. Use a flat head screwdriver or needle-nose pliers to remove the retainer clip on the cable bell housing mount and push the cable through the bell housing hole.
Look for any hanger (mount) that holds the Bowden tube (cable housing) to the frame or the underside of the firewall. Use a socket and wrench to remove the bolt or use a screwdriver if the hanger has a Phillips head screw. Move to the inside engine compartment and look for any hanger. Remove the mounting bolt with the socket and wrench or the Phillips head screwdriver. Pull the cable up from underneath the engine.
Use a socket and wrench to loosen and remove the small bolts that hold the cable support and grommet to the firewall. Move inside the cabin compartment and hold a shop light up to the back of the clutch pedal. A bare section of cable hooks to a slot in the clutch pedal quadrant (the large plastic piece with gears on the end). Slip the cable end off the notch on the quadrant. Push the cable back through the firewall and into the engine compartment. Move to the outside of the vehicle and remove the freed cable completely from the vehicle.
Take the new cable (Bowden tube with interior cable) and push the threaded end of the cable down toward the transmission from the engine compartment side -- the same route you removed it. Make sure the Bowden tube rests next to the original hanger locations. Push the cable support and grommet back into the firewall hole. Move to the inside of the cabin and place the cable end back into the quadrant notch.
Climb under the vehicle. Push the cable end support back into the bell housing and replace the retaining clip with the needle-nose pliers or flat head screwdriver. Use the pry bar to wedge the clutch closed while you slip the cable end back into its notch on the fork. Release the pry bar. Bolt the dust cover back onto the transmission case with the socket and wrench.
Align the Bowden tube to the lower hangers, placing the tube in its support mounts. Tighten the hanger bolts with the socket and wrench or Phillips head screwdriver, depending on the mount design. Move to the engine compartment and align the upper hanger mount with the Bowden tube. Tighten the hanger mount bolts (or screws) with the socket or screwdriver.
Move to the vehicle cabin. Work the clutch pedal and note its operation. You should feel a heavy resistance with the clutch pedal depressed. If you feel too much free play in the pedal, refer to a repair manual specific to your vehicle's model-year for the correct adjustment on the clutch cable. You will need to remove the dust cover and make the adjustment with two end wrenches on the two cable nuts.
Lift the vehicle with the floor jack and remove the jack stands. Test-drive the vehicle for proper shifting and clutch engagement.
