Broken Clutch Cable or Pivot Pin?

[Jandrews]

Hello,

I have a 73' RS spec 911 with a 901 trans. Yesterday when I was pulling out onto a side street, I heard and felt a snap/clunk in the clutch pedal which immediately went to the floor and stayed there. I pulled over and rolled to a stop.

After sitting and thinking for a minute, I pulled the shifter into neutral and cranked it up. It started immediately, but had some rough rubbing noise coming from the motor/clutch area. I shut it down quickly and called for a flatbed.

I immediately assumed it was the clutch fork pivot pin as I know they are suspect in the 901 trans. Somehow, it also just felt like it was a pivot point snapping.

But after a little more thinking, I was wondering if it was just the clutch cable. I went out today and worked the pedal and could hear the cable hitting the tunnel. It felt like it still had a little tension, but it was hard to tell since the pedal was down on the floor.

Anyway, my question is what is the quickest way to diagnose a broken clutch cable. I was thinking of having someone work the cable while I was underneath to see if the release fork was trying to move. Trouble is, with a broken pivot pin, it seems it would behave similarly.

Any quick thought would be appreciated.


Thanks,

JA

[Early_S_Man]

John,

If you loosen the 11 mm retaining nut at the fixed transaxle end, and unthread the cable sheath from the actuating pulley arrangement ... then pull on the cable end after cable and sheath are straight, if a foot or three of unattached cable comes out ... that's your answer!

Be sure to clean everything that moves with brake spray cleaner/degreaser and lubricate the new cable with a good EP moly grease like Swepco 101 or Valvoline SynPower Synthetic grease #986! It doesn't hurt to have a new front cable clevis and retaining clip/pin on hand ... just in case the ond ones are stubborn and break!

[Jandrews]

Perfect, encyclopedic answer!

Thanks,

JA