72 CJ5 - Clutch Question HELP

1972 clutch cable has broken - Do I have the only 72 left that has a clutch cable. It has a 304 engine. I can't find one anywhere. What is a easy fix?

 

The easiest fix is to take the clutch pedal, linkage and bell cfrank from a '73-75 CJ, and install it in place of your pedal and cable.

I presuem you know that in the day, the warranty repair for the clutch cable was a bellcrank kit? The cable was a good idea, but very problematic in service. With some luck, you might be able to take the parts from another '72 that has been converted, and that way keep your clutch pedal. IIRC the '72 and '73-75 clutch pedals are different, so I think you'll need to stick with one setup or the other.

If you have the sheath, you may be able to find a shop that will build a new cable for you. However, one mode of failure is for the cable to freeze in the sheath... repairing that problem will be more difficult than if the cable is broken.

Check with the Jeepster guys - they have a similar cable and may have some kind of a work-around. If I wanted to try and have my cable repaired, I would look through the Hemmings Motor News and search online for a shop that specializes in fabricating cables for old cars.

You could also convert to a hydraulic clutch. Certainly that would be superior to anything Jeep offered in the era.

 

I had thew same problem on my dads 72. snapped the original cable, a good friend was able to track down the correct-ish cable installed it worked great for a month.... it kept backing off or something. anyway i decided to do a quick hydraulic conversion. cj7 slave and master. the slave bolted to the bellhousing lined up with the fork like it was supposed to be that way, cut a hole in the firewall, there was already a hole in the top of the existing pedal that lined up with the master. bolted it up all ghetto like and after i fixed the leaks its been working since. i posted pictures of said setup a while ago if you want them. note that i did it quickly in a vehicle that will never be "right". If i were to do it again i would spend the extra 2 hours getting the correct bolts tight and marking holes neat and pretty. but when i did it quickly it took maybe 2 hours total.