Help - Search - Members - Calendar
Full Version: Clutch Pedal Goes to the Floor
914World.com > The 914 Forums > 914World Garage
7TPorsh
Been spending a some time here and there over a couple of weeks to get my "always in need of adjustment" clutch cable set.

Kept loosening and tube and cable look good. Realized this weekend that a retainer was missing at the pulley end so the cable and its covering were slipping.

I got that all fixed up and used a shorter barrel washer.

I was driving the car in the hills and go for second gear and POP pedal go to the floor. Coasted downhill 2 miles home...love living in the hills.

So I check under the car and there is still full tension on the cable. Pedal just flops.

Next step I need to do I guess is pull the carpet again and take a look.

I thought when the cable goes it would be loose...if the spring goes, the same. Pedal just flops.

Any ideas?
McMark
roll pin
xperu
QUOTE(McMark @ May 13 2013, 03:47 PM) *

roll pin

Yep!

7TPorsh
spring or the rod from the pedal to the cable...
VaccaRabite
Yep. You sheared the roll pin.
7TPorsh
So expensive part; easy to fix?
or
cheap part; hard to fix
r_towle
it may have just fallen out.
Pull out the carpet, pull out the pedal board.
Cable is on the ground, front of the tunnel, hard to see.
Spring is on the pedal assembly.

both are cheap,
Rich
Elliot Cannon
You can check with bdstone and see what he wants for a rebuilt pedal assembly or you can rebuild it yourself. http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/M...dal_cluster.htm
partwerks
Make sure the cable is coming out straight from out of the firewall and not fraying the cable like mine did, thus snapping 2 clutch shafts till it was found out.
Haudiosolutions
Gotta parrot the others and say roll pin. Had the same thing happen to me but with a very unhappy while getting sunburnt wife because we were supposed to be shopping for a car for her.... My pin was a BI*CH to get out but I don't have a press and I kept the cluster in the car. Drilled out the old one and hammer and punched in the new one. all has been well *with that* since then. I did replace the cable at the same time.
7TPorsh
I open the carpet and the board. and find blink.gif

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment
7TPorsh
Still have to pull the cluster I suppose. Just when you think you're somewhat caught up.

Click to view attachment
7TPorsh
I hate to ask but how is it supposed to look?
dlee6204
Click to view attachment
dlee6204
You'll probably want to invest in a new clutch pedal. That hole looks pretty ovaled.
brant
nice!

sometimes I wonder what people are thinking
recently I came across PO work on the rear brake connection to the parking brake cable

one side had a nail in it.. the other a bolt and nut
nice
7TPorsh
Does the pedal slide off or do I need to dismantle the cluster?

This sux
7TPorsh
Probably need to take it all apart and see what other handywork is there.
dlee6204
The pedal should just rotate off now that the "pin" is broken.
brant
yes pull the whole cluster and rebuild it.
it looks like it needs it
put the bushing kit into the rebuild of the cluster.

when my roll pin sheared 20 years ago, it too ovaled the hole in that pedal shaft. you can drill the hole bigger but at the risk of weaking the shaft... but you have to do something to address the ovaled hole or the pedal will have slop in it. I replaced mine when it happend to me, but you won't know if you have to until you pull the cluster apart and examine.
Drums66
....The fun & learning....never ends idea.gif (ya 914's)
bye1.gif
VaccaRabite
That right there is some classic bubba work.
BK911
You guys are awesome!
My clutch pedal went to the floor, and I was just about to order a new cable when I saw this post.
Checked last night and found a sheared roll pin.
Everything else seems tight so no pedal cluster rebuild needed, but I cant find the roll pin at AA or PP.
Any idea where to get the right one, so I dont have to use a screw or nail? biggrin.gif

Click to view attachment
7TPorsh
This seems to be a common failure point.

Also the metal piece that that connects the gas pedal rod and the cable; mine bent awhile ago and had to have it welded.

It's like the metal turns to Play-Doh
StratPlayer
I recently had the same problem,,, instead of a roll pin I used a solid pin. It won't break again....
toolguy
after you get it out of the car and disassembled, look and see if the hole can be salvaged by redrilling to a slightly larger roll pin. .
looks like the PO tried to use a bolt. . . the pin needs to press in firmly with no wiggle or slop. . . the bolt was probably loose and part of your clutch adjusting adventure.

If you can redrill, do it with the arm on the shaft. this will ensure the hole is perfectly aligned all the way through.
eyesright
I bought a roll pin today...any hardware store/Lowe's etc will have a drawer of them in standard sizes...for my flywheel/crankshaft. It was $0.30. A roll pin...or tension pin as it was listed at the store...is designed to compress as it is pressed or hammered in in order to remain in place. A solid dowel pin will be stronger but won't have any tension holding it in place and you will need to jam it in there.

I've rebuilt only a couple of these pedal assemblies, but the first thing I did was punch out the roll pin in order to disassemble things, then clean and paint. reassemble with a new roll pin.

Much better than Bubba's approach and I bet you are glad you were uphill from home.

Good luck.
Dave_Darling
The roll pins that do not make a complete circle (e.g., the most common ones you get, including at one point the ones in the Weltmesiter bushing kit!) are not up to the task. There are "spiral pins" that are more or less a spiral of metal and have several thicknesses of metal holding the pin's shape rather than just one. Those are much stronger, but they may be harder to find.

(Think of an "@" instead of a "C".)

For a while, we had a rash of failures shortly after the brass bushing kit was installed. Not sure if that's still the case, though.

--DD
A&PGirl
The actual spiral like Dave mentioned appears to be NLA & no longer imported by general distributors in to this country in the right diameter x length.

Importing seems to be the only option. I found a factory in Germany, but I don't know if they'll export.
7TPorsh
Lovely. Why does everything on this car require a contortionist?? dry.gif

I can't tell if the f'd up hole was ground out by hand or happened over time. Classic.

Click to view attachment

Other side:
Click to view attachment
7TPorsh
The rest of the cluster looks ok. Did the factory use brass bushings?

How does it come apart?

Click to view attachment
Elliot Cannon
That pedal is toast. Get in touch with Bruce Stone and see what he wants for a pedal assembly. He might even have just a pedal to sell ya. I would guess, he also has a box full of roll pins. I've also found, it makes it a lot easier to do this job by taking out the seat and removing the steering wheel.
bdstone914
QUOTE(Elliot Cannon @ May 19 2013, 06:19 PM) *

That pedal is toast. Get in touch with Bruce Stone and see what he wants for a pedal assembly. He might even have just a pedal to sell ya. I would guess, he also has a box full of roll pins. I've also found, it makes it a lot easier to do this job by taking out the seat and removing the steering wheel.


Current price is $200 with a good core. I can build one from finished parts I have without you first sending yours to me. No charge for the lower clutch pedal but the hole in the shaft looks very questionable. Last time I checked the shafts were about $40.

edit: Seems the shafts are NLA. I have core pedal sets that I can pull one from.
Also note that the lever on the brake light switch is twisted like a pretzel. I have them too. I wonder if your brake lights were even working?



Bruce
bdstone914
QUOTE(A&PGirl @ May 16 2013, 03:27 PM) *

The actual spiral like Dave mentioned appears to be NLA & no longer imported by general distributors in to this country in the right diameter x length.

Importing seems to be the only option. I found a factory in Germany, but I don't know if they'll export.


The roll pins I get in the bronze bushings kits are the spiral type. I have not had a reported failure out of the more than 200 pedal sets I have rebuilt. I do grind down the edge and taper the end to insert them so they do not telescope.
I have been tempted to use hardened dowel pins in place of the roll pins.

Bruce
Cap'n Krusty
I think most of the reported pin failures can be traced to the pins used by the Weltmeister people in one time period. I also don't like the idea of a hardened steel pin because it doesn't allow for wear or variations in the size of the holes, puts a high level of stress on the material surrounding the hole (especially the casting), and has to be peened or otherwise secured in place. 356 differential locking pin failures are one good example of the problems associated with solid steel pins. Differential housing failures were rampant throughout production.

The Cap'n
BK911
I ended up drilling and tapping with 8x1.25 threads and installing ss nut and bolt. Por15'd floor and pedal assembly last night. I will see how everything fits tonight when I put it all back together.

7TPorsh
Be careful of the nut and bolt...

Look what I ended up with:
7TPorsh
bdstone: "Also note that the lever on the brake light switch is twisted like a pretzel. I have them too. I wonder if your brake lights were even working?"

Yup, brake lights were working...I fixed that awhile ago. that's my handywork from when I discovered PO had it bent and installed on the wrong side.
BK911
QUOTE(7TPorsh @ May 20 2013, 03:42 PM) *

Be careful of the nut and bolt...

Look what I ended up with:


Yea your picture concerned me a bit.
But it looks like your po installed a cheap bolt that would slide right in.
mine is a larger ss bolt threaded through. Should eliminate any slop.
But we will see, time will tell!
Good luck with your fix.
Stitch914
QUOTE(BK911 @ May 20 2013, 01:01 PM) *

QUOTE(7TPorsh @ May 20 2013, 03:42 PM) *

Be careful of the nut and bolt...

Look what I ended up with:


Yea your picture concerned me a bit.
But it looks like your po installed a cheap bolt that would slide right in.
mine is a larger ss bolt threaded through. Should eliminate any slop.
But we will see, time will tell!
Good luck with your fix.


BK911 - I did the same thing for my rebuilt pedal cluster; just used a metric SS nut & bolt, but I used a locknut and lockwasher on the bottom of the bolt to keep it from coming loose.

And, 7TPorsh, as long as you're that far into it, it's worth your while to rebuild the entire cluster with the bronze bushing kit.
Dave_Darling
QUOTE(7TPorsh @ May 19 2013, 06:11 PM) *

The rest of the cluster looks ok. Did the factory use brass bushings?

How does it come apart?


The factory used plastic bushings. Yours has been apart before.

That pedal arm is f***ed. Find another one.

The cluster comes apart when you push the shafts out of it.

I'd be looking around on the classifieds for a used cluster. I don't think I would trust yours.

--DD
McMark
I feel bolts are the wrong material/design for this application in pretty much any form. If the section of bolt that passes through the arm is threaded, those threads can deform and begin a wobble that will only get worse with time. The only setup that I would feel even remotely comfortable with would a bolt that has a shoulder that would carry the side loads, like the one below. A standard bolt isn't hard enough either. I would want a 12.9 bolt it I were going to even think about something like that.

IPB Image

The reason the roll pin was used was because it allows for an interference fit that won't come loose with heat or wear. It's also multiple layers of hardened spring steel, so it won't shear. That little piece of metal is taking a LOT of load.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.
Invision Power Board © 2001-2024 Invision Power Services, Inc.