As the disk wears the spring fingers move to a steeper and steeper angle, and I think that makes it harder for the throwout bearing to push them down. Some of that is the grease drying up on the linkage, but most of it is the pressure plate spring. Comparing my Tacoma to my sisters Civic for example, both are hydro clutches, but the pedal effort is very different! I will say that the older and more worn a clutch is, often the stiffer the pedal gets. Edited Januby 987687Ĭable vs hydro really doesn't compare well between different car designs, there's so much variability in the strength of the clutch pressure plate springs and the amount of mechanical leverage offered through the clutch linkages. If you get a long straw you can pull the clutch fork foreward and spray white lithium grease down the back side of the clutch fork, sometimes that can help lube a sticky or squeaking ball pivot. The cable clutch isn't your problem here, it's old and sticky grease, an old binding up clutch cable, or a clutch cable that was routed incorrectly. All the grease is dried up and sticky making it not work well. It's usually a crusty old master or slave cylinder combined with a poorly done clutch job or just an original clutch that's 20 years old and really tired. I was honestly completely shocked at how light the action was!!Īt the same time, I've seen hydraulic clutches that were really hard to use. I replaced the clutch cable because it was starting to fray at the clutch end, making sure to properly route it. I regreased them with a high quality synthetic wheelbearing grease. When I had to pull the engine to change the clutch I thoroughly cleaned the TOB snout area (where the TOB slides), splines and clutch fork pivot. I've driven brand new subarus with hydro clutches, and the cable clutch in my fiancee's legacy is still lighter. I've never seen a hydraulic clutch as light as a cable clutch. If your cable clutch is hard to push something is screwed up. You're in for a ridiculous amount of work when swapping the clutch cable is cheap and easy. I've never compared them side by side, but I've had both apart, swapped parts between them etc and never noticed a difference. You have to change the clutch fork pivot, the hole is already drilled and tapped in the hydraulic location, just clean the grime out of the threads and swap it over.Īs far as I know, the pivots aren't different depending on the final drive of the transmission. You need the hydraulic clutch fork, and you need to pull the engine or transmission. You need a pedal box, there should already be a plastic plug in the firewall where the clutch rod goes through. there's a bracket that holds the hose to the firewall. You need master, slave, and the hose that goes between them with the bracket. you can swap to a hydro clutch setup if you really want. Careful you route the cable properly or you'll break it again. Why? The cable clutch works fine, if your cable broke just replace it, they're about $50 from the dealer.