924Board.org

[924guy]

The following refers only to the early cars with non hydraulic clutches :

The clutch cable ends on the early 924 are made of a plastic material, delrin maybe. as a result over time they will wear out through fatigue, loss of material through rubbing, or theyll just plain crack. when this happens, you simply loose your ability to engage the clutch. the ends or infamous "threaded eye" are small cylindrical pieces that have a drilled threaded hole on one end, and the other end looks like the eye of a sewing needle.




you can see the uneven wear in the images above (hopefully)

This part is no longer available (NLA), when is was available, is was less than $3, if it breaks, it will render your 924 un-drivable.

Fortunately, its cheap and easy to make your own.

Materials: hardware store turnbuckle, small, without a center stop. the one that worked for me was 4 3/4" (120mm) "Brainerd" brand aluminum model. $1.18 usd at my local Loews hardware.
two long shank pop rivets.

tools required:
hack saw or cutting blade for metal
pop rivet gun
rotary tool with grinding blades
drill and small drill bits.
tap tool to rethread it to same as clutch cable ends.

step 1: cut the turnbuckle in half


step 2: drill hole through cut ends large enough for long shank pop rivet



step 3: brace inside of turnbuckle before securing pop rivet so the end wont compress inwards or create stress cracks.


step 4: grind and round ends to make it easier to install.



step 5: tap existing hole to fit clutch cable threaded rods

you should end up with something that looks like this:




step 6: install end on interior first, use existing lock nut on cable end to lock in place as per original cable end. this can be challenging, not allot of room to work in, but you figured that out when you took the old bad ends out right...

bad pic, but you get the idea:



step 7: raise clutch lever from bellhousing, and slide end over after installing on the engine side of the clutch cable. this part can be tricky. i have a rather stiff clutch in my car and i had to use a bottle jack and a piece of steel rod from under the car to raise the lever high enough to install the new cable end.



step 8: adjust cable at cable mounting bracket. the center point at the bottom of the lever where the end slips on should be about 138 mm +/- 2mm from the bottom of the cable mounting bracket. the lever ends up roughly horizontal.

If all goes well, you should end up with two aluminum "threaded eyes" that are stronger than factory. if you dont like the pop rivets, you can use a bushing or some other method, but considering the originals were plastic and lasted a long, long time, i see no issues with the rivet shanks. if they break, well, it was $1.18, and an hour or so of work, i can afford to loose that investment if need be, but i doubt i will for some time...
_________________
Eric
78 924
82 931 SE "smokey"
99' VehiCross
Y2K Honda Insight
http://www.cardomain.com/id/924Guy
Performance by Pasha

[ideola]

Nice writeup! I love it...one turnbuckle provides the bits for both ends. Nicely done!
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erstwhile owner of just about every 924 variant ever made

[924guy]

Thanks Dan. Im now one step closer to completing the reinvention of my 78. A few brake lines joiners, a new battery, and it should be drivable (but not done , the list is still long.)

After i finished, clutch "action" feels perfect.

I think this issue will become more common soon, as allot of the soft parts are way past the end of their service life, and NLA. Figured while i was at it, might as document it , hopefully itll come in handy for others.
_________________
Eric
78 924
82 931 SE "smokey"
99' VehiCross
Y2K Honda Insight
http://www.cardomain.com/id/924Guy
Performance by Pasha

[Scorpio]

This is the sort of how to i like nicely done..great pics
_________________
1979 NA
MS1..EFI..
GARRETT T25 TURBO
BILSTEIN SHOCKS
GT BASED CUSTOM BODYKIT

Brisbane , Australia
Think mean think fast
all youll see is
my Porsches Arse!!!

[pocketscience]

That's gold - nicely done!
_________________
Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot about Porsche!
81 924 N/A, GTS lights, Saratoga, interior, headers, Integral cam, EFI (sold)
95 993
69 911

[Rich H]

Nice work.

Commercial versions are available:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/M6-Thread-Long-8mm-Clevis-and-Clip-Motorsport-Bike-x-5-/150420224093
_________________
1994 Lotus Esprit S4 - Work in progress...
1980 Porsche 924 S2 DITC Turbo - Original spec
1978 Homo-Sapiens - Tired spec
1953 Landrover S1 - Pensioner Spec

[!tom]

FYI, I was a little skeptical about the long-term durability of an aluminum pin on these home-made cable ends.

I have a set of the above-linked-to commercial versions, and used aluminum pop rivits as suggested in the How-To.

Well, it lasted around 4 months on the pedal end.

I suspect the pedal end sees more wear as the lever arm is shorter, so there is more of a rotation when the cable is pulled.

I went back to my one remaining plastic end in the mean time.

I'll be coming up with an alternate approach soon.
_________________
78 924 NA
5-lug