Replace clutch bypass switch or get rid of.

[1989 406]

My clutch by pass switch is bad and I found one for $275.00. Apparently they are hard to find and to install from what I have read. So looking at about $400.00 installed.

Would any of you pay for it or jump it so it just does not work any longer and the car starts without having to engage the clutch?

 

[hotmtrsports]

Forget ONE time to engage the clutch and run over a child. You'll wish you had installed it. Chuck M

 

[Curious George]

I can't believe it cost that much, but I have not looked either. I would not bypass it, it is a safety feature.

CG

 

[2VettesMike]

That price seems high, try finding a used one. I have changed them. Worse part is dropping the knee bolster, panels, etc.

I agree on not bypassing it. I have seen cars from the 60's before these were added lurge unexpectedly when the starter was bumped or the key hit accidentally.

Good luck,

Mike

 

[1989 406]

Thanks guys. I will find one for less.

 

[ßill]

Ayn one dumb enough not to depress the clutch when starting a car shouldn't be driving anyway. Jump it!

 

[G Winter]

as generic as GM likes to be I can't believe some other switch doesn't fit.
Take the switch out, google every number on it. Bet something comes up.

Glenn

 

[tmkassin]

Google OE Parts HQ The switch is about $27

 

[Midlifevet]

Don't do it....

I bought an '88 4+3 last year as a small project. I was told The switch was jumpered out because of the neutral safety being bad and back in the fall I hit the key with out the clutch in (force of habit).... the car learched forward, I was just lucky enough not to hit anything. Over the winter we found the jumper and removed it. The only thing wrong with it was the previous owner was too short to push the clutch in far enough to engage it. I'm sure you can find one cheaper than you had stated. The hardest part will be getting in up to it to replace.....it's at the top of the clutch pedal

 

[aklim]

Ayn one dumb enough not to depress the clutch when starting a car shouldn't be driving anyway. Jump it!

Nobody is that good that they will not someday have a brain fart and do something we know should not be done. By the laws of nature, something expensive will be in front of you at that point and you will hit it. That will make you wish you had not bypassed it.

Also, what if the wife had to move the car and screwed up? How many "Honey, I'm sooooo sorry but....." would make the car better?

In my Firebird, it was a PITA to have the Hurst shifter and the Neutral Safety Switch but I went thru it because I didn't want an "Oops" moment.

 

[aklim]

That price seems high, try finding a used one. I have changed them. Worse part is dropping the knee bolster, panels, etc.

I agree on not bypassing it. I have seen cars from the 60's before these were added lurge unexpectedly when the starter was bumped or the key hit accidentally.

Good luck,

Mike

I don't know how difficult this is to install but if the OP thinks it is a PITA, why get a used unit? You might have to go back into it in a few days. I'd get a good OE unit even if it costs more just to avoid the "One More Time, Baby" routine.

 

[ßill]

Just proves my point. How did we ever survive before the auto manufacturers started to dumb down cars for the masses?

 

[aklim]

Just proves my point. How did we ever survive before the auto manufacturers started to dumb down cars for the masses?

We can survive without this or any thing else. So how far back do you want to go? All the way to the outhouse or even further back? How did our ancestors survive without any of the conveniences that we take for granted? Well, they didn't have juries that give megabucks to anyone with a sob story. When you ran over your kid, you simply sucked it up, get the wife knocked up again and have another one. If you are willing to deal with that, knock yourself out.

 

[1989 406]

Wow, I thought I had my mind made up to find a cheaper one but if it is a common problem of going bad, I do not want to get stranded. I am the only one who drives the car. Now I am having second thoughts on where to go on this one.

 

[aklim]

Wow, I thought I had my mind made up to find a cheaper one but if it is a common problem of going bad, I do not want to get stranded. I am the only one who drives the car. Now I am having second thoughts on where to go on this one.

I have always felt that when you do a job, do it right so you don't have to do it again. Sure, it costs more to do it right the first time than to slop something in and do the "hope and pray" thing. OTOH, if the "Hope and Pray" doesn't work, it will cost more to do it the right way the 2nd time than to do it right the first time. So, you have to ask yourself a question. Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

 

[Dad]

My god I didn't know how bad it is to have a car that has no safety switches at all. I need to get to work on all three of those cars before they wreck the whole world.

Might need to get rid of my cell phone to, I hear those cause lots of accidents.

Then again maybe I just need to think about driving while driving.

 

[aklim]

It's fine until an accident happens. Actually, it isn't really an accident since it is really deliberate much like drunk driving. If it didn't have a safety and you did something silly, it is one thing. OTOH, if there is a safety and you are too stupid and/or cheap to fix it and something does happen, well, I for one have absolutely no sympathy and will be the first one to tell you that you deserve it.

Take that idiot that left his son in the car with the engine running. Son drove it when he engaged the gear into a cyclist and almost killed the kid. What was his excuse? "I didn't think.....". Sucks to the the kid on the bike but I just told the father "You deserve what you got and if that was my kid, you'd be chatting with my lawyer".

 

[Dad]

Take that idiot that left his son in the car with the engine running. Son drove it when he engaged the gear into a cyclist and almost killed the kid. What was his excuse? "I didn't think.....". Sucks to the the kid on the bike but I just told the father "You deserve what you got and if that was my kid, you'd be chatting with my lawyer".

I have no idea what this has to do with a safety switch, would most likely require people to think. Carry on...........

 

[aklim]

I have no idea what this has to do with a safety switch, would most likely require people to think. Carry on...........

Principle is the same. Take shortcuts or the cheap way, pay more in the long run. Imagine this. If that guy had made sure the kid could not engage the car and it rolled the cyclist, it would have been more trouble. Just like fixing the safety switch right instead of bypassing it. If the father had either taken the kid out of the car or shut it down completely, it would be hard for the kid to have his little drive and the cyclist would not be hit by the moving car. Yes it would have been more bother. Yes, it might be more inconvenient for Dad to have to keep the kid with him and shut down the car but I imagine it would have been less painful for the cyclist too.

If there is no safety feature, well, you can't help that. But if there is, why not utilize it? Why risk a possible problem? We can all make mistakes no matter how good a person is. What is the point of taking the chances when there is a way to make sure that you or the person in the car will not make the mistake? Why rely on "I'm sorry" when you can prevent it? Sure, in the old days, they didn't have them but so what? Why live in the past? As I asked, if your wife or someone who sits in the seat makes a mistake and hits something, isn't that more aggravating than to fix it when you had the chance?

You sound just like my Dad. "How did we survive without Mapquest or a GPS? We read a map. Sure, you can but which is more convenient and easier? We also survived without vaccines but tell that to your kid who is blind or deaf because you didn't give the vaccines. The PRINCIPLE is pretty similar. Stop living based on past standards. If there is something that can stop you making a mess and it isn't way too expensive, it might not be a bad idea to have it.

 

[Dad]

The principle is not the same, poor conclusion. If that were true I would expect that there would be a safety switch to keep people from leaving their kids in a closed car out in the sun all day while they are at work. You still need to think when you are doing anything, sleeping doesn't count.

The only reason I can think of that would make you think I might be living in the past is because it's so hard to remember the future. Had a cell phone hard wired in my '92 and have used DeLorme almost as long.

By the way I never advocated not fixing or using the safety equipment that is available. The number one item on that list should be your head, understand what you're doing and read what was said.