My runabout's (Ford 1.4 SEFi and iB5 box) cable clutch seems very imprecise and sort of .... well ... soggy. The pedal has a lot of free play and just feels as though you are stretching a rubber band rather than a clutch.

Looking at the operating arm (box end) it seems to be too long, making the cable deviate about an inch away from 'straight'.
Is this normal? are there different lengths of operating arm?

[Edited on 16-1-08 by RazMan]

That will be the self adjusting unit on the pedal. Very common failure on Escorts.

Available from ford for a few pounds.

If you have a bad back & a little bit tubby like me . They arre a pig to change

My son is as skinny as a rake & will change them in 5 mins.

Ronnie

But he is in Cornwall .... right?

Looks like I need to have a word with an emaciated spanner monkey that I know then.

Ta muchly Ronnie

Afraid so

If you want a temporary quick fix.

I have seen many an Escort that has had a few packing nuts on the gearbox end of the cable.
Normally a few nuts with a cut in them to take up the slack in the cable. !!

Ronnie

Aha, that's a top tip - I'll have a fiddle tomorrow and see what I can do.

A bit strange really because the guy I bought the car from mentioned that he'd just replaced the ratchet saying that 'they all do that'. Is there another way of making sure the mech takes up the slack or are packing nuts my best bet?

Update:

I discovered that there are two cable anchor points on the clutch housing and mine was mounted in the wrong one, causing the wrong angle I described. I also took your advice and slipped a couple of thick 1/2" washers under the cable to reduce the slack a little more. No need to slot them - just disengage the nipple and pull the cable through the anchor point, slip the washers on and reassemble.

The result is a normal clutch!

[Edited on 17-1-08 by RazMan]

Can you move the lever round on a spline at the clutch end or is it welded? My diesel Escort had a quadrant (which split) at the clutch pedal but it was not a self adjusting mechanism. The rod rusts inside the box and doesn't return smoothly sometimes as well.

[Edited on 17/1/08 by Peteff]