Or maybe it did.

Doing a Throwout bearing job, and it is time to change the cable. Found this under the carpet. 44K miles on this cable.

As tuff as it was to get the cable pin out, I am gonna guess this repair is going to be OUT OF THE CAR.

With the VW bus taking up bay 1 and 4 jack stands and the 914 using 3 at the moment. I guess I need to borrow a couple in order to get to the master cylinder and get this pedal cluster out.

I know I can weld up this and drill a new hole and add a new bushing. Is this piece available? @bdstone914

Is this typical? I suppose this is part of my clutch adjustment woes. Don't remember where I got the bushing set. AA probably.

Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

Bruce actually has a ball bearing that fits now

Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment
[/quote]

Yes the clutch clevis pin in available. What does the bushing and shaft look like ? If the clevis pun is worn that bad I bet the bushing in the shaft is gone or badly worn. They often wear thru the bushing and into the arm. Can wear all the way thru. You should be able to see the ho lm e from the drivers side.

Edit:
The hole is worn you can mill it round 13mm and install the bearing.
I have three shafts that I am fitting with bearings.
Have to ream to hole to final size.

@malcolm2

Look at how its worn thru the bushing and into the arm.
Needs to be fixed. A new bushing will break. You can put in a new bushing and fill the gap with JB Weld

not a fan of JB weld. So the bearing replacement is not an improvement? Only cause the hole gets drilled out bigger.

I was hoping for an upgrade.

How about a replacement shaft you got any of those?

New reproduction shafts are now available.

I saw that. About $80 and the connection point looks to be thicker. Not that it has to stay in there, but the bushing in the picture below looks like thin plastic. That would not be an improvement over the brass one I just ate thru.


I will post a WTB and see what's out there on the used market.

Click to view attachment

Weld yours up and redrill

I had the same problem on the shaft I took out of my vehicle.

I then bought another pedal assembly thinking it might be better and didn't specifically request photo of the clutch shaft. Mistake; Same problem.

I decided it would be quicker and easier to buy new vs. the time to weld and re-drill.

If you end up not being able to find a good used part, let me know I'll weld and redrill one for you if you're not looking for perfection.

My original vehicle mileage is unknown to me but has similar wear. ODO is 60K ish but I have no reason to believe ODO is correct.

I'm curious about how many miles on your car and/or how long it took for this wear to occur if you know.

The original bushings were plastic and wore out.
The brass (or bronze) bushing wear out too.
Often the original plastic bush gets worn out and a brass bushing is installed without fixing the damage to the arm which accelerates the failure of the new bushing.
Weld it up and drill it out or buy a replacement and and I always lube the new bushing and clevis pin with moly grease at installation.

Regardless of what you do it will wear out again but do it right and you will get the most life out if it. If you inspect periodically you can replace the bushing and pin before it wears into the arm.

Jim

^X2. This ought to work just as well as welding and redrilling, but is a lot easier. There wouldn't be any shaft movement directly on the JB Weld, it's just supporting the side of the bushing and JB Weld is extremely strong in compression. Sure, the bushing will wear out again eventually (it also would with welding and drilling), but it can be replaced again with another fillet of JB Weld.

I like the bearing idea that Chi-Town mentioned.

@Chi-Town

I could spend time looking though bearing catalogs to find the right combination of ID, OD, and thickness . . . . but I'm basically a lazy bastard.

Any idea who "Bruce" is and/or if he sells these bearings?

I have two worn out shafts for experimentation.

@bdstone914 is Bruce

I started driving in 2013 after replacing pretty much everything mechanical on the car. Rolled the ODO back to 000. So it now has 44K on the odo. And this bushing has 44k miles.

He replied last night. Said he was making several. Did not know if they were for someone or for inventory for him to sell. I would like to try one too. Now that I know this last clutch gave me 44k on the pedal shaft.

Interesting. I figured with that kind of wear, my vehicle had to be well beyond 60k but there are other hints too (rebuilt engine, worn CV's, etc.) but this another clue to consider.

The new pivot shaft I bought came with a simple little plastic bushing. I didn't have any confidence in that and had planned to replace with a bronze sleeve. The more I think about the bearing the more I like it. Especially if you got this much wear in 44k.

If it’s clean and lubed it shouldn’t wear much at all. The plastic swells and falls apart when the mc leaks into the pedal box. These cars were very susceptible to weather and even low mileage cars wear quickly from the rust and corrosion that builds up.

well, i certainly never lubed it. Don't remember doing it at install either.

So poor maintenance on my part. I will try to remember to lift the carpet on my oil changes. With this much wear, I could tell the pin was not centered as soon as I lifted the carpet. Won't be able to see much once i start checking, but I can use a dab of grease or Sili-Kroil or WD easy enough. I have some garage door white lithium grease that sprays.

I am with you tho, If I can get one, I would prefer to go ahead and buy one with a bearing for this install. I can fix this one as time allows.

Some sort of dry lube that doesn’t attract dirt. No extra. It’s the dirt and corrosion that wears away the plastic and brass. I’m not saying it’s your fault. These cars weren’t designed to last. I think Bruce’s mod is probably a good upgrade.

buy the new pin and install a PLASTIC bushing with grease. We ALWAYS INSTALL THE TWO WHEN WE replace the clutch cable.

did mine it wasn't a big job,I think many forget to check this or don't see it ,with the hole torn out the new clevis won't last very long.

Bore it out to 13mm. Add a bearing. 5mm thick x 13mm OD x 6mm ID.
The bearing is 1mm narrower than the arm.

Thanks Bruce. I will give that a try. However, you mentioned you were making some arms with bearings. Are they for sale?

https://www.fasteddybearings.com/6x13x5-met...bearing-686-zz/

Fast Eddy has them. Or did i get the nomenclature switched around? what is standard? ID x OD x Thk???

..... I also wonder about the quality. Looks like it could be Hobby Quality.

For applications with only a small amount of rotation and drag isn't an issue, a greased bushing can actually be a better choice than a bearing. A bushing has a much greater load bearing area compared to the tiny contact points between ball bearings and the races. Of course bearings are much harder material, but they have to be. The downside to using a bearing in an application with only a small amount of rotation is inconsistent wear, which makes the bearing feel "notchy" as it moves across worn and unworn points in the races.

Not saying that a bearing isn't a good choice here, just pointing out that bearings aren't always better.

Agree completely on your points with respect to bearing loads and partial rotation.

I’ll try the bearing on one of my “junk” shafts - nothing to loose.