squeaky clutch fix

[kensmith]

Every time I push the clutch pedal in it squeaks. Must be rubbing where the pedal arm mounts? What do you do to quiet it? Spray silicone or some kind of lube? Probably no Zerk fitting for grease? Thanks

[velozi]

Had the same problem and fixed it with grease. Found the spring hook rubbing agains the pedal base. Gear grease all around while pushing the pedal in and noise gone.

[kensmith]

Had the same problem and fixed it with grease. Found the spring hook rubbing agains the pedal base. Gear grease all around while pushing the pedal in and noise gone.

Thanks, I'll try that!

[kensmith]

I don't see any way to get the rod/bolt that the pedal rotates on where I can get any grease in between. Might be able to get some silicone spray in there or WD40 spray. I also don't see any spring other than the brake pedal return spring. My car is a 78 so maybe different? Unless the spring is way above the bolt that both the brake and clutch are attached to? I couldn't see that far up under the dash, too much stuff in the way.

[fiasco]

On both of my cars, the squeak (actually more of a creaking sound than a squeaking sound) that accompanied every push of the clutch pedal went away when I replaced the clutch cable. When you put the new one in, lubricate it with some graphite spray or other dry lubricant. A wet lubricant will attract lots of dirt and other abrasive gunk that you don't want in there.

-- se

[kensmith]

On both of my cars, the squeak (actually more of a creaking sound than a squeaking sound) that accompanied every push of the clutch pedal went away when I replaced the clutch cable. When you put the new one in, lubricate it with some graphite spray or other dry lubricant. A wet lubricant will attract lots of dirt and other abrasive gunk that you don't want in there.

-- se

You may be right. It is a kind of creaking noise like an old door that creaks. I have hear of guys that remove one end of the cable and hole it up high, then spray WD40 down the cable to clean it. Might be worth a shot!

[fiasco]

I'd consider that a temporary solution though. The wet-lube is going to attract dust which will become a problem inside the sheath over the long run. The cautionary note is that if the cable is creaking, it's because something is creating extra friction, which is making it more difficult for the cable to move in the sheath, which is causing the sheath to put extra pressure on the sheet metal where it comes through to the passenger cabin. That sheet metal is a frequent fail point, and hard to fix after the fact.

Replacing the clutch cable is pretty cheap, not too difficult, and not too time-consuming. Doing this little bit of preventative maintenance could save you from a lot of trouble in the future. Plus it'll be easier to push down the clutch pedal, and it won't creak anymore. Win!

-- se

[kensmith]

I'd consider that a temporary solution though. The wet-lube is going to attract dust which will become a problem inside the sheath over the long run. The cautionary note is that if the cable is creaking, it's because something is creating extra friction, which is making it more difficult for the cable to move in the sheath, which is causing the sheath to put extra pressure on the sheet metal where it comes through to the passenger cabin. That sheet metal is a frequent fail point, and hard to fix after the fact.

Replacing the clutch cable is pretty cheap, not too difficult, and not too time-consuming. Doing this little bit of preventative maintenance could save you from a lot of trouble in the future. Plus it'll be easier to push down the clutch pedal, and it won't creak anymore. Win!

-- se

How easy is pretty easy?

[majicwrench]

If the clutch feels fine I would just lube things and see if noise goes away. I have no problem with WD 40 down the cable. I know for a fact you can cut little red tube in half, connect piece of tiny vacuum hose to the little red tube, than the other piece to the end of the hose. Then insert down into cable at firewall, piss away. PIss around pedal linkage and pivot points. Pissing as you are making the thing squeek is an effective way of finding just what was squeeking. Some squeeks can be from things that are damaged, like the firewall. Others are just from old age.
If indeed it is clutch cable, make sure engine & battery grounds are OK, cable can become the ground path if other grounds are not good.
Find the squeek, then ponder changing clutch cable, if it is indeed the squeek.
Keith

[Exit98]

Drove me crazy. Bathed the clutch petal area with WD40 and the squeak was back in a couple days.

So I got some PB Blaster Garage Door Lubricant (some kind of spray oil) at Home Depot. Sprayed that all around up there and squeak is gone for now. Been a few weeks.

Point being, WD40 isn't much of a lubricant. The other stuff is.

[fiasco]

All due respect to Keith, it is very likely that your "creaky" clutch is just an old cable. Most of the replacement job is extremely easy. The only difficult part is getting the pedal end of the cable to seat correctly in the fork at the top of the clutch pedal. This is difficult because you have to lie on your back in the driver's footwell and reach up into an area that no finger or tools will fit into.

This is the first job I ever did on my first Fiat. I had no clue what I was doing, and I figured it out. Took me about an hour to do the whole thing, and 20 min of that was trying to get the cable end to seat in the pedal fork.

-- se

[wikkid]

This stuff is really handy to have on hand, and is useful especially for two-wheeled modes of transport, both motorized and not. I would think it would be just as effective on clutch, throttle and even emergency brake cables. In any case, since I have some, along with the cable lube tool also shown in that link, it's what I'm going to use.

[htchevyii]

I still had a squeak after changing my cable, tried to lube the pedal with white lithium spray with no improvement. Finally I put silicone grease in a syringe and injected into the pedal pivot. No more noise!

[kensmith]

I still had a squeak after changing my cable, tried to lube the pedal with white lithium spray with no improvement. Finally I put silicone grease in a syringe and injected into the pedal pivot. No more noise!

Not sure how you did that. I don't see any place at the pivot point with any room to stick a needle in. There are bushings/washers in the way. Unless you loosened the bolt and partially removed it, spray it and push it back in?

[SLOSpider]

White lithium spray lube works well as it tends to tack up once sprayed out. Its likely the contact on the spring points that make the noise. I never heard of an easy clutch cable replacement on a spider. Its at least a 40 cuss word and hour + event for me.