clutch pedal has no tension till halfway to the floor....

[csclassics]

so I have a 66 beetle...stock. i pulled out the pedal assembly a few weeks ago to replace the floor pan. Finished the floor pan and reinstalled the pedal assembly....readjusted the clutch cable and all. the clutch still engages at the same place, but theres no tension at all on the pedal until it is pressed halfway to the floor.....any ideas?

[old DKP driver]

How far did you thread the wing nut/adjusting nut down on the cable?

And how was the hoo on the pedal when you had it out.
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V.W.owner since 1967

[Cusser]

OK, could be:

1. clutch needs adjusting

2. clutch cable has stretched/breaking

3. clutch cable hook

4. clutch tube mounts inside the tunnel

5. clutch pedal itself cracked/bending

6. bowden tube

On my own VWs (and I live in low-rust Arizona), I've experienced 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

I had 4 and 5 happen on both my VWs.
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2004 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[csclassics]

I loosened up the adjustment on the cable so I could pull it forward to reattach it to the pedal assemblyand the hook looked good, as well as the cable, etc... then i retightened the adjustment on the pedal to where it was previously.....only the cable seems loose on the pedal end but tight at the adjustment end....not sure how that could be. I'm sure the cable is probably pretty old as the cars been off the road for many years, but i dont think it couldve stretched that much... how can i check if the tube broke free?

[KTPhil]

Sounds like the wrong cable. Some have a longer cast portion at the front "eye" where it hooks to the pedal, and this contacts the tube inside the tunnel. This happened on an old Bug of mine years ago. Made for a pedal that had too much play, yet didn't fully release so it would grind on downshifts.

[csclassics]

....But it worked perfectly before i tool the pedal assembly out ktphil, so i don't think thats it..... i think i may order a new cable though incase this one is breaking.

[Busted Knuckles]

You may simply not have tightened the wing nut far enough. As you tighten the nut you will eventually begin to pull against the tension of the clutch arm return spring. I have had to grab the arm with a Vise Grip under the car to get the leverage to pull the arm forward to relieve that tension so I could turn the wing nut in more easily. As the adjustment gets close to being right it can be darned hard to turn. I've also clamped a small Vise Grip gently to the cable end where it meets the cable to keep from twisting the cable as I turned the wing nut.

There's a screwdriver slot in the end of the cable that is supposed to be used to keep the cable from turning as you adjust it; good luck with that.

If I remember, the adjustment is right if the end of the clutch arm moves about 1/2" when you pull on the exposed section of the cable.

[csclassics]

ok, I'll keep on cranking that wingnut down...

[drscope]

How much free play do you have at the pedal? That is the important thing.
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