Any views on the best clutch cable make?

Speaking of it.. Mine broke today!!!! Grrrr...!!! Right in the woods where I was enjoying an early walk with my dogs!
Well, original Volvo-cable ordered!! And my 1796 245 van was towed back home..

Have a nice weekend! You'll ALL know, what I'll be doing as soon as the mail arrives tomorrow!

/Soren

IPD sells two different clutch cables. I went with the Sachs cable. They also have a ScanTech cable which I avoided like the plague. I have had NO trouble with mine (know on wood) in the past 8 months. I hope to have no trouble any more.

I hope I got the correct cable.

Todd :-)
--
1990 245 Wagon - 187000 miles; 1988 244 Sedan - 123000 miles

Soren's post has me wondering how many crappy parts I may have installed on my car.
Now I don't claim to know for sure but the cable by Gemo (top pic) resembles what I have come to think of as the proper clutch cable for the 240. I say that only because of the uncoated metal jacket. But maybe I have that impression because that's what I have always found installed on the 240's that I have bought. Someone please tell us who made Volvo OEM cables.
Is this one (Gemo) a knock off?



made by Gemo





made by Sachs
--
'80 DL 2 dr

I did some research:

Gemo was and IS a Volvo sub-deliver (?)
Sachs is fully the same quality and from time to time can be the only avaible source.

Italian or cables from ScanTech (most often from Italy) is NOT where you should place your money.

You should be equaly safe with Gemo or Sachs.

/Soren

The one you show as a Gemo LOOKs exactly like the original cable that came on my 1991 wagon. I thought it was bad and ordered a new one from Autohaus, but the problem turned out to be rust on the splined shaft. I lubricated the original cable and put it back on, and it now has 210,000 miles on it and works fine.

The reason I put the original back on is that it self-adjusts, and the Sachs has to be manually adjusted. I should qualify that self-adjusting part - if it is clean and rust-free and the clutch return spring is properly installed (a problem on 1991s) it will self-adjust.

Since you have a '91 240 then it must have an M47 5-speed manual trans.
Just wanted to ellaborate on my earlier post for the difference between the Sachs (IPD supplied) cable and the Volvo one that is specifically for the M47.
The M47 never came equipped from the factory with a clutch return spring. If you car has one, it must have been added afterwards. The M47 yoke mounting for the end of the cable includes a large cast iron counterweight and rubber vibration damper. Because of this, the matching cable is about 1/2-1" longer than the ones that fit directly onto the yoke hole with the ball type end of the Sachs cable. The generic Sachs cable is meant to fit all the M45/M46 early 240 manual trans, and is NOT a direct fit for the M47, but should be OK for them.
Having put the Sachs cable on my M47, I can't have the nice counterweight that allows smooth effortless clutching becasue it's too short to fit the weight and damper on it. I have also put a return spring on the yoke to assist the sluggish cable from hanging up on it's way back, something that was not needed with the old cable. I just don't want to spend more $$'s at this point, but it shifts like a truck.
--
'89 245 Sportwagon, '04 V70 2.5T Sportwagon

I'll see what I can do - haven't an answer right here, but could surely find out..
(I learn towards the Sachs! -why? due to the coated metal jacket!) :-)

/Soren

The first picture looks like the genuine Volvo cable I just put on my wagon.

The second one looks just like that piece of crap I got from IPD that I had to replace.
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"

I got a good reason as to why you should NOT use aftermarket cables.

Here's a picture of what happened to the aftermarket clutch cable that I bought from IPD:



That's in under a year and a half of use. Complete crap.

The cable felt pretty good for a couple of weeks. Then it started getting heavier. And heavier. It got so heavy, it caused the damn cable to pull through the fire wall! I ended up having to weld washers on to my car to regain support!



I'll bet you anything this would have never happened if I had just bought a genuine Volvo clutch cable in the first place. The aftermarket one got so gummed up, that it was putting tons of extra pressure on the firewall.

I finally was forced to replace the cable when it broke last week (see one of my recent threads). I went to Volvo, and paid the $100 for the Genuine clutch cable.

After installing it, the car shifts like a dream. I couldn't believe the difference. It's truly amazing. Worth every cent in my opinion. It's a lot easier to adjust and install as well.

Learn from my mistake folks, don't go cheap when buying a clutch cable. It ended up costing me more in the long run...


This post isn't a knock on IPD at all. I'm quite sure they didn't know how shitty the cable they sell really is. I'll probably ask them about it next time I'm up there.
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"

I couldn't agree more.

On my '83 245 (now departed) I had to fabricate a steel plate which mounted on the three studs poking through the firewall because the clutch sheath pushed the opening hard and tore the metal. My plate is an alternative to the welded washers which HTTW describes.

On the other end of the cable sheath, aftermarket cables have a nylon washer molded into the sheath end which is to provide resistance at the adjustment cylinder on the bellhousing. I had one shear off which stranded me in the middle of nowhere.

Go with genuine Volvo. George at TVK will probably provide a good price.

Rob Kuhlman

Use OEM. Last longer and feels better.
--
and the bricks keep on rolling....

It depends on what year and transmission. Fichel & Sachs is the best (and OEM)for early m45/m46 OD. If you have an M47 5-speed, get one from Volvo, because the F& S doesn't fit without modification and it will shift like a truck. Worth the extra $12 imo.
--
'89 245 Sportwagon, '04 V70 2.5T Sportwagon

I happened to see this thread and I'm in the middle of the same repair -

the Volvo dealer could not say who made their cable, just that "it says Volvo on it" - I thought Sachs might be the OEM so I bought one for 37.00 somewhere else - then I see it's made in italy - previous posts have warned against aftermarket cables, such as those made in Italy. Previous post also said the threaded plastic section is aftermarket but my cable in the car now has plastic section and it came from a dealer for $90.00 on a shop job. Go figure.

Having a hard time comparing apples to apples.....


Andrew
mpls

Apples are not always apples...

When parts are original from Volvo - they meet the very specifications from Volvo.

For instance:
Brake pads -"Volvo brakepads" are made by Girling. But then how come a Girling brakepad made exactly the same, at same factory OFTEN does NOT function (often "screams" and so)
-simply because Volvo specifies exact hardness of brakepad and Girling when NOT hitting the correct specification - sell them as "unoriginals".
Same with all Italien copy-products. -rubber on tie-rods and so, does not meet the quality Volvo specifies - therefore, rubber weares down (often only within a year) and causes the metalparts to wear down.
So on with cables like the clutchcable, bushings and bearings..

How come some Volvo's drive for 40 years and then all of a sudden, has to have same parts exchanged every second year?

I'm sorry, but as you can see, I swear to original parts! And for me there IS a reason - quality due to specifications down to rawmaterials.

/Soren

The confusion i see when saying "aftermarket" is that there is a wide variety of them - there were other brands of clutch cable from Bumper to Bumper that I steered clear of. Just like with rotors - yes Brembo is aftermarket technically but compared to China-made it's very close to orignal quality....

So how close is the Italian Sachs i got to the "volvo" version? is it really worth trading for the dealer version as so many posts in the archive have said?


andrew
mpls

The Italian cable is that piece of crap that I got from IPD if I understand it correctly.

Avoid it at all costs.

I didn't think that it would make much of a difference my self, until after I had to buy the dealer cable. It really is amazing.

I would love to find a cheaper way to get the dealer "brand" cable, but I don't know of another source unfortunately.
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"

Was this IPD italian job from "Sachs" or another make?

Andrew
mpls

You know, I can't remember.

I'll ask them the next time I'm there.
--
If you listen to the radio in Portland, OR, you may know me as "Portland's Favorite Soul Brother!"