I'm finally getting around to working on the 90 Tracker I picked up last June. I need to get it 100% running and driving before I sell it.
A refresher: it's a 1990 Geo Tracker 2dr, 8v, 5spd. The previous owner replaced the clutch and all was well. He decided to replace the cable, and as soon as he did that, the pedal was stiff and he could not drive it. He stomped on the pedal and ended up breaking it.
Currently: I've put a good used pedal in it. Disconnected the clutch cable from the transmission/clutch arm and pressed on the pedal, got full range of motion and the cable slides freely. I connected the cable back to the trans and got, once again, a stiff pedal and no motion on the end of the clutch cable. Thinking maybe something got messed up inside the bell housing (I was thinking maybe the throwout bearing was stuck/seized on the input shaft), I disconnected the cable and put a cheater bar on the clutch arm and I was able to move it just fine, felt like a normal clutch pedal.
I'm at a loss for understanding this. So I took the clutch cable off the 1995 parts car I had, which had a large rubber grommet mount on it, but the length was different. I put it on and somewhat secured the rubber cable end to the bracket (just wedged it in place) and the clutch felt NORMAL. I can't find a way to actually use this cable, but now I really don't know what is going on...because the first cable looks like it has plenty of slack to be able to pull the clutch arm, but it doesn't move a bit.
I was reading this article last month
http://www.zukiworld.com/forum/technical-discussion-beginner-repair/resetting-clutch-pedal-arm/ when I found this article on Kick-Fix
http://www.kick-fix.com/tranny/clutch/clutch-on-kick.html and found that sometimes the auto parts store sells a one-size fits all cable that actually doesn't properly fit the 89-90 vehicles???
The previous owner bought it at a local auto parts store. He doesn't have the old cable to compare it to. I'm too lazy to pull the "good" one off my same-year 90 Tracker because I don't want to take parts off it and not be able to drive it.
I was thinking of buying a new OEM one from Hawk or another dealer that is 100% made for the 1990 model year, and installing it on my "good" Tracker and using my old cable on the other 1990 that I'm just going to sell, but I don't want to spend money on something that may not end up working anyways.
Am I wasting my time with this cable? What's the story? Is it true that the genuine Geo OEM cable is the only one that will properly fit?
