Check this out!

[FLUFFYBUNNY]

Found out why my clutch wouldn't disengage...





The weld is the only thing holding it together. Anyone else seen this happen?
Moreover, does anyone have a spare clutch lever they are willing to separate with or know a good place to find one? My trusty rockauto has failed me!
If not I'll just try welding it back together, but the spline teeth have been stripped taking it off, so I'd have to weld it on permanently. Does anyone foresee a problem with doing this?

[j-boogie253]

It probably broke due to excessive force needed to open the clutch. There is something probably wrong with the release bearing/guide sleeve/release arm. I found this out the hard way on my way to work when I blew second gear because the clutch didn't open

I would definitely take the transmission out and check everything

[the brit]

If not I'll just try welding it back together, but the spline teeth have been stripped taking it off, so I'd have to weld it on permanently. Does anyone foresee a problem with doing this?

Yeah, I think used will be the only way to go unfortunately. It could be from a Fox, Dasher or Quantum though, so maybe that'll help widen your search?

Welding the clamp down section could be difficult, depending on what the different metals are..

[voxwagen88]

Have you tried a dealer?
I bought one from my local last summer.
I think it was like $13.

[ziddey]

How much effort did it take to clutch in before it broke? That's not usually an item that breaks, so it may not be the best idea to throw a new arm on without replacing the guide tube. Unfortunately, that requires taking the tranny out.

[FLUFFYBUNNY]

I ended up welding it back together and then welding it to the shaft, because all the spline teeth were stripped. Unfortunately I wasn't the one driving it when it broke, so I don't know how it felt as it did. But you can just barely make out on those first pictures that the break was at two different angles. Well one was rusty, which leads me to assume that the arm was already broken halfway and we just completed the break. The guy who sold me the car was dishonest about pretty much everything, so I'm just assuming that the underlying problem is something from his era. I seriously don't have the heart to take the transmission apart and I definitely don't have the funds to fix it if something is bad. It runs....for now!