So, about 2 months after the car went back on the road, the original clutch cable in my '73 142GL broke about 4-5 inches away from the pedal attachment end, so I replaced it with a new Volvo OE cable.

About an hour ago (2 months from replacement), that broke right at the crimp between the cable and the yoke end that attaches to the pedal arm tip.

So what conclusion do I draw?

I think, maybe (?) I did two things wrong- I didn't grease it internally, and I had to give it about a 70-90 degree twist to get it to align. I actually felt that was 'wrong', but it took relatively little force (strong thumb pressure from my forearm at an awkard angle), but I attempted to redo it, and the cable had a 'bend' warped into it from being coiled in the bag, preventing it from sitting in such as way as to be properly lined up for my going under the dash to connect it and tiighten it. Might have helped to have two people...

I *thought* the nylon lining meant you didn't have to grease it... was that completely incorrect?

The cable was *remarkably* cheap... I didn't note where it was made. It had much much coarser threads on the adjustment than the original. Are the cables of that much reduced quality??

FWIW, the cable looks like a 240 but according to Volvo does not quite interchange. (So experience with a 240 should apply here...)

Clutch is stock. Pedal is heavy for a stock clutch, IMO, but not at all freakishly so...

The nylon pretty much means no grease and maintenance free. There should be no bends or kinks, but it sounds like the cable might have broken due to a worn clutch pedal? Depending on how worn the yoke in the pedal arm is, it can put some twisting force into the cable, and if the holes in the pedal are worn, they're probably sharp.

Having said that, I've broken a few cheapie cables in my day. Not on a Volvo - they just get retardedly stiff if they're cheap. I'm not sure the difference between 140 and 240 cables, but I can't see them being THAT much different. One might be a bit longer than the other, and the firewall end might be different... Go grab one from Carbashers & see how close they are? I haven't bought a new cable in years - just go grab one from the JY, and they tend to be pretty reliable.

check your body grounds and your coolant voltage,we have seen as much as 4 volts in a system.
Plastic is not a Barrier it can become a conductor.

That's an excellent point, Paul, and poor engine grounds have been blamed for all sorts of funny things like rusting cooling systems and melting clutch cables.

Well finally in last night -26, started in at after 9PM, finished by welding in the kitchen sink and working at the curb, where the car has sat for about 6 to 8 weeks collecting snow while Volvo got a cable to Edmonton, then didn't call me for 10days.

Main issues seemed to be:
Routing wasn't ideal, though appeared factory. Fixed to some extent.
Notch in the tip of the pedal where the yoke of the cable fit was deeply but narrowly worn. I think it gave the cable a dramatic mime's handshake everytime you depressed the pedal, because the yoke was sort of wedged into the worn slot. i think this was the number one problem, and the one I spent the most time on. I fill welded with my cheap fluxcore, then ground the perfect polished big radius groove with benchgrinder, carbides and sandpaper wheels. I don't think anyone could have done better with what I had. Though getting the top of the pedal straw coloured while welding means it's a matter of time before it snaps, I suspect.
Another issue is that the clutch seems to either set up with preload at the right height, or near the floor with freeplay. Either is slightly hard on the cable. Implies a worn clutch but this one is near new. I do wonder about the release bearing length being wrong.
There was a washer where it passed through the firewall that I apparently lost on the snow the first time, so I found a rock hard 3/4 Gr8/AN washer with the right OD and opened up the ID to fit- used all my cylinder head porting bits to get a nice result.

I have not checked for voltage. Probably should.

Worked today, though battery was weak, and the cable needs adjustment.
The first cable stretched bit by bit from the time I first put my foot on it, so this one I set up with a bit of preload. (jack was too cold to lift car, so I reached under with a rachet strap to the crossmember to put some preload on it to ease the putting of the rubber block over the ball by feel, and apparently didn't let it all off?). BTW, the one nut you have to remove was too small in OD at the threads to pass over the ball. Maybe .035", but enough the cable could not be used without cutting off the nut and replacing it with the ever so slightly looser fitting nut off the old one. I figured the looser nut would wiggle on the threads, but it was perfect. The supplied, erroneously "captive" nut was a near interference fit on the threads. No one was reading blueprints or understanding what they were making that day. If I hadn't have had a bench of metal working equipment a couple steps away, the cable would have been all but useless. Not Cool.