Hi all,

I have a Favorit and the clutch works well (doesnt slip etc..), but the pedal is a bit stiff when pressing, and when lifting off, you dont really feel the pedal pushing against the bottom of your foot so its hard to judge if its rising at the same rate as my foot..

Is this a common thing? Is there something i can do to improve it? i was thinking pump some oil into the clutch cable?

Thanks

Courior

Sounds as how my Felicia behaved: stiff, squeaky and very difficult to shift gear without a bit of jerk. New clutch cable made all the difference in the world £17.99 at Jorily (but see the thread speking of delivery delays...)

In theory a few drops of oil should improve situation, but I would guess that it's difficult to get the whole lenght of cable lubricated.

The cable looks pretty new, the last owner said its only a year old and i think its a genuine statement. but here in Malta its very hot and dry so i presume it dried up a bit.. There is a local mechanic who also has any spare u can ever want for a skoda!! and he is cheaper than jorily so i will go to him if i need a new one

in the meantime though, I will try lubing the whole cable in the usual way.. I put an old rag on the drivers carpet, then unclip the gearbox end of the cable and find an old drink bottle. Chop the drink bottle so u got about an inch from the top (its the top part we want). Then put the end of the cable through the bottle top so its "inside" the bottle about 1cm and gaffa tape everything in position.. then fill up the bottle top with gearbox oil and hold it up high to get a helping hand from gravity and get a mate to pump the pedal slowly. u should find that slowly the oil goes down the cable and eventually will drip onto your mates foot or the rag on the floor and hey presto, a fully lubed cable

I'd suggest using a lighter oil than an EP75 (through 90) gear oil; whatever you fill the engine with is more suitable.

in the meantime though, I will try lubing the whole cable in the usual way.. I put an old rag on the drivers carpet, then unclip the gearbox end of the cable and find an old drink bottle. Chop the drink bottle so u got about an inch from the top (its the top part we want). Then put the end of the cable through the bottle top so its "inside" the bottle about 1cm and gaffa tape everything in position.. then fill up the bottle top with gearbox oil and hold it up high to get a helping hand from gravity and get a mate to pump the pedal slowly. u should find that slowly the oil goes down the cable and eventually will drip onto your mates foot or the rag on the floor and hey presto, a fully lubed cable

Ingenious

I agree with Ken that plain engine oil is preferable (only drawback I can think of is that you may get a few extra drops of surplus oil on the carpet)

Ingenious

I agree with Ken that plain engine oil is preferable (only drawback I can think of is that you may get a few extra drops of surplus oil on the carpet)

I used gear oil last time round (different car) cause it seems thicker and would last longer, engine oil, as you rightly say, is much thinner so i presumed it leak out as easy as i got it in.. So although the gear oil is admittedly harder to get in, it in theory should be less likely to get out, leaving cable lubed up much longer. Or is my theory on oil thickness completely stupid? :S hehe

The reasoning is that very thick oil actually causes more drag against the cable.

My back of envelope calculations suggest that you only need about 20cc of oil to fill the void in the Bowden cable, and maybe half that to lubricate it. Unless it normally slopes "downhill" from gearbox to pedal, all the oil won't run out if you only have enough to lubricate the cable.

The reasoning is that very thick oil actually causes more drag against the cable.

My back of envelope calculations suggest that you only need about 20cc of oil to fill the void in the Bowden cable, and maybe half that to lubricate it. Unless it normally slopes "downhill" from gearbox to pedal, all the oil won't run out if you only have enough to lubricate the cable.

hmm i see your point, so use the thinner oil and drain the excess, and whats left should be the perfect amount to keep it lubed but not cause drag! Cheers for the reasoning, ill go with motor oil then! should be friday i give this a go, will report back here on ease of job/results.

Cheers!