1966 cj5 Broken Clutch Rod? New Jeep, New Member

[elijah]

Hey there,

I hope you're doing well. My name is Elijah and my wife and I recently bought a 1966 CJ5 that I'm fixing up to be my daily driver. We live up a mtn in western NC and our mail box is 6 miles round trip on dirt roads. So, I put a new battery in it, swapped a broken brake line out, gave it some fresh gas and it's running pretty great. I'll be cleaning out the carb next. I think the idle jet is a bit grossed as it sometimes stalls at a standstill.

Today while driving around the mountains my clutch suddenly lost most all resistance and hit the floor. It still returned with my foot in the same way your brakes might when a line ruptures. (that was last mail trip!) I popped it into neutral and pulled over and it stalled.

The jeep felt like it was in gear...wouldn't roll on a mountain. When I restarted the jeep I obviously couldn't force it into 1st. I wiggled the jeep into 1st while off, bucked it to life and limped home. I'll post a pic of what I found underneath. It looks like the clutch linkage broke? Perhaps this part is called a clutch rod not the linkage? I also read while searching through this forum that sometimes they can "pop out"?

I thought I sheered it, but when I look at this photo of the part I believe it is, it looks like it may be whole:
Omix-Ada Part 16920.15 - Clutch Rod

I'd love advice on what part this is. Is this something I can fix myself? I'd like to order the part and get everything together for a carb cleaning, new brake lines all around, cleaning out the air filter and killing what little rust it has.

Thanks so much in advance for any help!!

Have a wonderful day,
-elijah

 

[Torxhead]

I would suggest that you go ahead and order it. Have a look underneath the vehicle and see what all is involved to replace it and become familiar with how the linkage works. Look for related clutch linkage parts for wear that should also be replaced at this time. Check the pedal freeplay and see if it needs adjustment after the system is repaired.

 

[hagar]

fix it forever.
trip to the hardware store.
buy a couple of threaded clevis forks and clevis pins.
measure and cut your old rod.
thread both ends of the rod.
install jam nuts and threaded clevis ends.
re-install, adjust as needed, never worry about that rod again.
the design is such that all the strain is on the 90* bends.
with clevis ends, it's now just a straight pull, no 90* bend to break.
simple.

 

[ChuckD]

Elijah,

I just finished a rebuild on a 59 CJ5 and parts I couldn’t find anywhere else I found at Jungle Jim’s Willys Jeep Parts (HOMEPAGE).

By the way, what part of Weastern NC? My wife is from Shelton Laurel.

 

[elijah]

Hey all,

Thanks so much for the tips! I think I will try to make the part myself out of some steel or brass rod I have around. If it doesn't work I can always order the 7$ part.

We live in Union Mills, NC. It's in Rutherford County...We just moved here from Asheville. I'm not sure where Shelton Laurel is.

Thanks!
-elijah