ArgonSaid Posted January 5 Report Share Posted January 5 Good morning, The Clutch Pedal of my 1.7 sdi VW Lupo is very soft and only works in the last 1/3 of the path. Anyone knows if I can adjust the pedal cable or should I change it? And, if I have to change it, anybody has any tutorial? Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2 Posted January 5 Report Share Posted January 5 The gearbox end of the clutch cable might just need adjusting? Read the long pedal box and gearbox threads... Sounds like your pedal box may have broken. Once you have fixed/replaced it, you must flush the gearbox. The oil will be full of metal bits. Do it when the engine is hot AND while the engine is running, ideally with both wheels off the ground and in 5th gear. You want the metal bits to float in the oil, which only happens when everything is mixing. Once the gears stop, the metal just stays at the bottom and doesn't come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArgonSaid Posted January 8 Author Report Share Posted January 8 On 5/1/2026 at 18:00, mk2 said: ¿Quizás el extremo del cable del embrague de la caja de cambios simplemente necesite un ajuste? Lee los hilos largos sobre la caja de pedales y la caja de cambios... Parece que tu caja de pedales se ha roto. Una vez reparada o reemplazada, debes purgar la caja de cambios. El aceite estará lleno de partículas metálicas. Hazlo con el motor caliente y en marcha, idealmente con ambas ruedas en el aire y en quinta. Quieres que las partículas metálicas floten en el aceite, lo cual solo ocurre cuando todo se mezcla. Una vez que los engranajes se detienen, el metal se queda en el fondo y no sale. I will try it, thank you very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigcraft Posted January 9 Report Share Posted January 9 My TDI pedal box was torn and felt the same way till I welded the split in it. Now I get a full pedal 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lupo 1.7sdi Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 On 1/5/2026 at 2:19 PM, ArgonSaid said: Good morning, The Clutch Pedal of my 1.7 sdi VW Lupo is very soft and only works in the last 1/3 of the path. Anyone knows if I can adjust the pedal cable or should I change it? And, if I have to change it, anybody has any tutorial? Thank you. Is it left-hand drive or right-hand drive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArgonSaid Posted January 10 Author Report Share Posted January 10 8 hours ago, lupo 1.7sdi said: Is it left-hand drive or right-hand drive? Left-hand. It is a spanish car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lupo 1.7sdi Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 Ok, mine also has quite a few components made in Spain so I can say that mine is a Spanish car too. First of all, you should know that this model does not have a manually adjustable clutch cable but an automatically adjustable cable (this is if it has not been replaced with a manually adjustable one). So there is nothing to adjust, but you can check if the self-adjusting mechanism is still working within parameters according to the procedure below. In short, press the clutch pedal all the way down 7-8 times then pull the clutch cable as shown in the picture. It should move about 1cm away from the fork then release it and it should stay stuck to the fork (I don't remember if it was from the first maneuver or if you have to repeat it a few times). After that, it can no longer move away from the fork, but if you press the clutch pedal 7-8 times it should be able to move away from the fork again. If this check is ok then there's not much you can do about it, that's how it works, it may be holding higher due to clutch disc wear. From what I remember, it was like that with me from when I bought the car at around 190k km until I changed the clutch at around 410k km. Now it seems to hold a little lower at around half the stroke. Regarding clutch wear, you will notice at some point that it will slip during a more sudden acceleration, usually in the upper gears (you will notice that the rpm increases without the car increasing its speed). This will be the sign that the clutch kit needs to be changed. From this sign until I changed the clutch, I drove for about a month, during which I drove more carefully. So don't let it get in your way. In conclusion, if the cable works ok, I say leave it alone, if it doesn't work, write here and we'll see what to do. And remember one thing: never remove the end of the cable from the fork without blocking the auto-adjuster (there's a special plastic strip for that) because it will be harder to put it back in (it's described in the last picture in the procedure below) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mk2 Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 My Lupos are all the same, but have different cables to what the drawing shows. I have a slack takeup spring just behind the locknut. I adjust it so it's "just" loose, so the clutch release bearing doesn't get worn out too early. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lupo 1.7sdi Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 Right-hand drive Lupo are equipped from the factory with a cable without self-adjusting, and left-hand drive ones with a cable with self-adjusting. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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