24/10/08 - Clutch Cable

Another common problem with Jimnys is a sticking/rough clutch cable. The clutch pedal becomes very heavy to press and there is a roughness you can feel under your foot. In fact this is such a common problem with off-road driven vehicles that I would check the clutch cable first rather than change the clutch.

The problem is that the cable seems to pull mud and dirt back into the cable sheath and gradually the cable liner wears through. So to changing the clutch cable.....

Climb under the vehicle and pull off the cover from the clutch mechanism and prise out the end of the cable from the clutch arm.

Still underneath the car pull the clutch cable back out through the bellhousing, there may be a clip on the outside that needs unclipping.

Now go inside the car and reach up the side of the clutch pedal nearest the transmission tunnel. At the top of the clutch pedal the metal forms a hook shape which you should just be able to feel. Hooked around this is a small metal frame with a bar which is through the hook. This is the end of the cable, simply lift it forwards and upwards off the hooked end. This is easier to do than explain and even though you are doing this blind it is very straight forward.

Now feed the cable back through the bulkhead, this is easier if someone is pulling it from the outside whilst you feed the cable end back through the hole.

Re-assembly consists of simply feeding the cable back through the bulkhead and hooking the end on the pedal and then feeding the other end through the bellhousing and attaching it back onto the clutch arm. There is then a black plastic knob on the bellhousing end of the cable you can use to adjust the cable tension/action.

The picture below shows the old cable and the new cable at the clutch end of the cable. Note that the cable end is different, the new cable has a rubber cushion to smooth the action of the cable. The old one just has a bell shaped end.

The cable is part number 23710-81AAV (Note the manual says 23710-81AA0) and costs about £28