Manual 5-spd. clutch cable adjustment

['84toyvan]

Greetings,

I've had my '84 stick-shift van for about 2 yrs., and have replaced a bunch of the usual things. It has performed very well, usually. Soon after replacing the H2O pump (which started leaking at the gasket recently), w/ an OEM unit from the local dealership, the clutch seemed somewhat mis-adjusted comp. to usual. When the pedal was pressed to the floor, for the first time I started having resistance getting into 1st gear- after a stop, for instance. It felt like the clutch cable might need tightening. I planned to have it examined by a pro mechanic, but couldn't get it into 1st gear at the grocery store parking lot- forced it, and snapped my R. shift control cable (as described in recent posts). Is there a tutorial on manual shift clutch adjustment anywhere- don't see much that would be useful for a not-very-knowledgable DIYer.

Thank You

[Burntboot]

The water pump is at the opposite end of the motor and I cannot think of any way that it could impact clutch operation, more likely just coincidence.
As a side note, there is no "clutch cable", the clutch in your van is operated hydraulically and there is NO adjustment.

Generally speaking, when a clutch (disc) wears out, the friction point will move closer to the top of the pedal stroke

From your description, it sounds like the clutch is not fully disengaging, which would usually indicate an issue with the hydraulic system.
Maybe start with bleeding the system and see if that makes any difference to the function and diagnose from there.

While there is a threaded rod at the pedal connection, it was preset at the factory.
Making "adjustments" to that setting will cause untold grief and premature clutch wear.

Cheers
BB

['84toyvan]

Thank you for your helpful comments, BB- much appreciated. The mechanic who examined my van only confirmed what I already knew- that the R. shift control cable snapped. When I turned over the van out at the curb (to idle and keep the battery charged), the van lurched rearward- left in reverse gear, when it was prev'ly in neutral w/ wheels curbed (in anticipation of being towed by a friend with a strap). Mechanic said he'd driven it onto the lift, and then put it in reverse to return to street in front of business, which surprised me- I thought they'd have to push it. When I inquired how, he showed me the trans levers he manipulated underneath the van, but not much more- stating that the small lever behind the larger vertical one was the lever he used to accomplish this. Instead of troubling my friend for a tow, I thought I'd put the vehicle in 1st gear, drive to a downward hill, curb wheels, then turn off, manually shift to 2nd underneath, then take off w/ a rolling start late at night, and cruise home w/ flashers on. When I got underneath to attempt this, the small lever behind the larger vertical one only travelled fwd and aft: 2-positions (he never instructed me about the larger, vertical lever). I then noticed a small hose line w/ mount coming from a cylinder (clutch main, maybe), which was disconnected and hanging free in the immed. vicinity of that smaller lever. He never mentioned disconnecting this line (in order to facilitate manual shifting from beneath the vehicle?), or that it would have to be reconnected. Could this have become detached by itself, causing the shifting trouble- and why would the guy not see it and inform me? Is there a schematic diagram anywhere with labels showing what's what in this area, so I can learn the mechanics of my vehicle? If the small lever operates the clutch, should I reconnect and be able to shift from underneath with the hose line connected, or does the detached config. allow for the manual manipulation nec. for shifting? Which position disengages the clutch, if that's the smaller lever's function, as it seems, and how does one select gears specifically- w/ the larger lever, which appears to travel fore-aft also, not any sort of H-pattern? In the a.m tomorrow I'll know if the mechanic removed the hose line, but it's difficult to get any real instructions out of this guy. I found a single suitable donor vehicle at an obscure wrecking yard by asking for possible referrals from yards that are listed online but had no suitable stock. The guy talked a-mile-a-minute in a thick foreign accent, and I could barely understand a word. Next day I called, and he said that the 2 cables would cost $250, and shipping "$60 or $70, because they tried to box the cables but they're too long". He assured me profusely that the parts were in top cond., and coming from a vehicle w/ only 55k miles on the odometer. I understood then (not making this up). Tomorrow I will purchase a longer s.s. actuator rod from a local metals business (the cable broke right in the guide tube area, just behind the stick-shift, so I'll need to mechanically splice the cable a bit further back, after cutting back the containment hose), and will just have one end of the rplcmt rod threaded to couple w/ the shifter ball mount, where it conveniently screws in. Problem solved, and if / when I find a reasonable set of back-up cables I'll just purchase the L. cable + the entire R. cable assembly, incl. surrounding hose-within-a-hose, to return to stock config. Sheesh!- just a broken 40-yr-old cable, and maybe a new clutch cylinder, which appears to be affordable. There's a lot to like about these vans, but I'll need to improve my mechanical knowledge a fair bit to keep things ship-shape.

w/ Best Regards