1800: Gear selection

[142 Guy]

Originally Posted by VolvoRoyS

It is a cable clutch. There is very little free play at the fork end so would have thought increasing it to 3-4 mm wouldn't help. Got my wife to operate the clutch from within the car while I watched underneath. Lever moved; didn't seem to be broken. I had backed the car out of the garage last week without this problem. Inside, the clutch feels normal. So what else could have broken?

Roy

The 3-4 mm specification applies to the early hydraulic clutch. The later cable operated clutch is adjusted by measuring the travel of the clutch pedal. It is described on page 4-5 of this document

https://volvo1800pictures.com/docume...0_140_1800.pdf

The specification for the 1800 is 5.5" of pedal travel. If the pedal travel is more than 5.5" that indicates too much free play in the cable which results in the clutch failing to get complete release. It can also be the result of a clutch cable 'issue'.

The design of the attachment of the clutch cable to the pedal mechanism on the 1800 and 140 is exceedingly poor and subjects the inner strands of the clutch cable to a lot of bending where they exit the outer jacket at the pedal end of the cable. This results in fraying of the strands and early failure of what should otherwise be a very robust cable. If you can, squeeze under the dash and try and get a look at the cable attachment point to the top of the clutch pedal. Check for broken inner strands close to the cable attachment point. This may require that you use a pedal jack or a suitable length of wood to hold the clutch pedal in the full down position so that you can fully check the inner cable.

If the pedal travel is correct then it is not a cable adjustment or cable wear issue. The issue I mentioned earlier with the broken clutch fork occurs on the part of the fork where it contacts the release bearing. From the outside, the clutch fork movement will appear normal; however, the release bearing will not move or will move less than required to get complete clutch release because the 'inside' part of the fork is actually flexing. However, if this is occurring the pedal travel will definitely not feel normal. It will be lighter than normal.

I would also note that if the release bearing or the clutch diaphragm spring have failed the clutch pedal travel will definitely not feel normal. With the engine off and the driver's side door open, press the clutch pedal over its full range of operation. If the diaphragm spring or the release bearing has failed you should get bad noises.