Blew clutch cable clean off, cause?

[spoulson]

My setup is a newish BBK cable with 4k miles on it, alum quadrant (unknown make), and FRPP clutch.

Since I installed it back in August, the car's been driving and shifting great. While driving today, the cable snapped without warning and the pedal went straight to the floor. I had it towed home and pulled out the cable. It snapped about 2" from the quadrant end without any fraying or indication of pinching, bending, or scraping. WTF?

I do see the grommet got squished on one side, which might've caused misalignment, but like I said, no indication of scraping. Fortunately, Summit is sending me a warranty replacement. I have no idea if this one will last any longer.

Ideas on what caused this?

 

[RatStang]

The problem is the BBK cable (most likely). I cannot count the number of times I've seen folks with "issues" using aftermarket cables. Believe it or not, the OEM cable is the way to go. Check out Maximum Motorsports website. They have an article in there that discusses why most after market cables suck.


Edit:

Found the article for ya:

http://www.maximummotorsports.com/content/tech_info/drivetrn_clutch/quadrant_cable_tech.php

 

[srtthis]

reason

aftermarket cables blow donkey ****

 

[Tanus]

bbk sucks....thats why

 

[spoulson]

Thanks. I'll check out the MM cable.

There've been plenty of threads here about aftermarket cables snapping, so I'm not completely surprised it happened to me. I just thought I'd at least get some warning, like fraying and stretching before it gave way.

 

[RatStang]

Send your old cable and the towing bill to BBK.

 

[spoulson]

I just installed the MM cable, quadrant, and FW adjuster last night and gave it a quick test drive. First off, pedal effort is GREATLY reduced. It actually feels like a typical sports car, not a leg press machine.

What was previously installed was an Anderson quadrant, but with no supporting washers on the pedal assembly. The geometry is slightly different from the MM quadrant. Radius is the same, but hook point on the Anderson quadrant is a greater angle. Not sure if the angle matters, but clearly something must have been binding. That would explain the cable breaking.

I'm convinced! The MM clutch cable kit is the way to go.

 

[RatStang]

From everything I've seen... it pretty difficult to find fault with the things that MM produces.

 

[GDTrumbo]

From what I understand, the MM cable is simply an OEM cable modified to fit properly into virtually any aftermarket firewall adjuster.

GT

 

[RatStang]

From what I understand, the MM cable is simply an OEM cable modified to fit properly into virtually any aftermarket firewall adjuster.

GT

Correct... see link above.

 

[yogibear357]

I just installed the MM cable, quadrant, and FW adjuster last night and gave it a quick test drive. First off, pedal effort is GREATLY reduced. It actually feels like a typical sports car, not a leg press machine.

What was previously installed was an Anderson quadrant, but with no supporting washers on the pedal assembly. The geometry is slightly different from the MM quadrant. Radius is the same, but hook point on the Anderson quadrant is a greater angle. Not sure if the angle matters, but clearly something must have been binding. That would explain the cable breaking.

I'm convinced! The MM clutch cable kit is the way to go.

The washers are the key