Clutch pedal Stuck Options

[TonyVan]

New to the 914 world. Appreciate all the help I received on my distributor problem.
Now to my new dilemma. After working on the distributor, I took the car for a Run. Drive fine. Came home and parked it in the car port and covered it up. Next day, I decide to go for another drive and the clutch pedal is hard as a rock and won’t budge. I jacked up the car and see that the cable runs under the headers. It seems to be wrapped in some heat proof tape but wondering if it’s possible for the rubber sheath to have melted and fused to the cable? Would be grateful for any testing procedures.
Thanks,
Tony

[76-914]

remove the 2 11mm nuts that secure the cable at the clutch fork. If you can't push the clutch pedal or move the cable to & fro then you need to look at the the clutch pedal arm to see if you have free movement. If the pedal moves freely w/o the cable attached I would suspect the cable itself is frozen. Heat proof tape isn't what I'd use. Look at getting some fire sleeve for that area. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/pnpages/05-01839.php

[GregAmy]

Looks at subject line, compares to body, wonders if sex/pron spam is to soon follow...?

[fiacra]

Not saying this is it, but be sure to check your grounds. If your transmission to body ground has failed the clutch cable becomes the ground. It can then heat up and fail. I haven't heard of it fusing, but I suppose that is possible. A well known problem. You'll find lots of threads on this.

Good luck!

[TonyVan]

Sorry folks. Started posting about how a trunk lid that didn't fit and spaced out.
Yes. Clutch pedal is stuck. Will start a new thread about the lid.
Thanks for the suggestions so far. May just set up the lift so I don't have to squeeze my 74 yo body under the car!
Edited title.....

[TonyVan]

Here's what I've done so far today.
Put the car up on the lift. (nice to sit and work on the car). found that the coil overs were out of whack (industry term). The springs weren't seated in either of the end plates. One spring was rubbing against the shock. Took both apart and adjusted. Car has headers, so I removed the ones that were in the way of the clutch fork and got distracted again. Fiddled with the muffler until I felt like messing with the clutch cable. Removed the cable from the fork and removed the plastic wheel and pulled on the cable.... Nothing. Put the car on the ground and pedal was still stuck solid. Removed the floorboard and everything in there looks good. Now it's the cable. But how? is there another access point, in the car to look at? The 911/912 have an access panel between the seats that lets you get to the coupler. Is there something similar on the 914, Maybe under that center armrest tray? Hate taking more things apart than I have to. I'd mentioned some tape on the clutch cable where it almost rests on the header but it's actually more like header wrap.
Been a long day and I'm already looking for a glass on cold white wine.
Thanks for your patience and support.
Tony

[emerygt350]

There are easy access panels under the carpet, and all of the seats etc can be removed with little issues. However the cable is solid from the pedal to the rear so if it still won't move when you disconnected it it must be really messed up. Welded as others have mentioned?

You say you pulled the wood up from the pedal console? Can you see if anything has fallen in there and blocked its travel?

[bdstone914]

@TonyVan

If the clutch is stuck in the up position it should go down when you disconnected it at the trans..
It could be the cable is siezed inside the sheath.
There is an access panel in the front of the tunnel under the carpet that gets access to the clutch cable connection at the pedals. It may be very hard to remove the clutch clevis pin if there is tension on it.
They also tend to wear a groove that makes them even harder to remove. Look in the tunnel and make sure nothing is restricting the cltuch shaft movement.
If you removed the the pedal board check that nothing is restricting the pedal.
Worst case is you have to pull the pedal set to get the the clutch cable clevis to remove the assembly.
I think i would order a new Gemo clutch cable now. If you do not need it now it is good to have a spare.

[bkrantz]

Here's what I've done so far today.
Put the car up on the lift. (nice to sit and work on the car). found that the coil overs were out of whack (industry term). The springs weren't seated in either of the end plates. One spring was rubbing against the shock. Took both apart and adjusted. Car has headers, so I removed the ones that were in the way of the clutch fork and got distracted again. Fiddled with the muffler until I felt like messing with the clutch cable. Removed the cable from the fork and removed the plastic wheel and pulled on the cable.... Nothing. Put the car on the ground and pedal was still stuck solid. Removed the floorboard and everything in there looks good. Now it's the cable. But how? is there another access point, in the car to look at? The 911/912 have an access panel between the seats that lets you get to the coupler. Is there something similar on the 914, Maybe under that center armrest tray? Hate taking more things apart than I have to. I'd mentioned some tape on the clutch cable where it almost rests on the header but it's actually more like header wrap.
Been a long day and I'm already looking for a glass on cold white wine.
Thanks for your patience and support.
Tony

Are your springs shorter than the space between end plates when unloaded? If so, you might want to wire one or both ends to stay in place.

[davep]

A couple of quick checks: is the brake fluid reservoir low? was the pedal cluster base wet? does the brake pedal work? is the brake pedal stiff to operate? All of these could suggest a seized pedal shaft.
As fiacra says, check the ground strap from the transmission to the stud under the rear trunk floor is intact; if it is really cruddy, then clean or replace.

[rhodyguy]

Bruce offers rebuilt pedal assems. Why fight stuff? I would take out the seats, the center console, back pad and carpeting. It’s not that much more time removing a few more parts than the minimum. Way easier. You get to know your car. Project creep….renew any old bushings you come across.

[TonyVan]

I sent a long reply to all that offered hints. When I hit post, it gave a data base error and I lost the whole thing.
Abbreviation of post:
No fluid in the pedal area and fluid level is good.
Pedal box doesn’t look like it needs attention but I’ve rebuilt many.
Ground strap removed, cleaned and tightened. But it was fine.
Will check out the access front tunnel.
Springs were shorter than the position of the end cap. Corrected and wired to hold.
Thanks all!

[TonyVan]

Installed a new clutch cable. Really wasn't as difficult as I'd imagined.
I cut the old cable just beyond the firewall. The section from that point to the fork was frozen. I was able to pull the old cable out, from the pedal area and slide in the new one. The retainer, for the cable was a bit bitchy but it came off. The rear most section of the old cable was frozen solid. Put one end in the vise and a set of vise grips on the other and couldn't get it to budge. May have been the heat from the Headers but there was no deformation of the sheathing. I'm going to wrap the headers in heat wrap and double up where the cable crosses. Also bought some heat shielding to wrap around the cable. Should cure any heat related issues. Thanks for the tips. There will be more cries for assistance
Toughest part is reassembling the interior!
Tony

[bdstone914]

Installed a new clutch cable. Really wasn't as difficult as I'd imagined.
I cut the old cable just beyond the firewall. The section from that point to the fork was frozen. I was able to pull the old cable out, from the pedal area and slide in the new one. The retainer, for the cable was a bit bitchy but it came off. The rear most section of the old cable was frozen solid. Put one end in the vise and a set of vise grips on the other and couldn't get it to budge. May have been the heat from the Headers but there was no deformation of the sheathing. I'm going to wrap the headers in heat wrap and double up where the cable crosses. Also bought some heat shielding to wrap around the cable. Should cure any heat related issues. Thanks for the tips. There will be more cries for assistance
Toughest part is reassembling the interior!
Tony

Glad you fixed it. It sounded like a struck cable. I would wrap the cables but not the header. That can make the pipes tun hotter and crystalize metal.