Break and Pedal Assembly Loosness

[BigRedWeather]

I have 1/16" loosness in my pedal assembly when I press the clutch in. The pedal assembly moves 1/32" or less, independent of the firewall, when I press the clutch. Is this enough to cause difficult shifting into 1st, 2nd and R? I have put a new clutch master cylinder bushing in and it did not help at all. I have no clutch reserve but I do have 7/16" travel in the clutch slave piston. Do I have to replace the entire pedal assembly? In such a tight spot, that looks difficult. Some instructions would be a real help.

See the attached photo. If you can't read the text zoom in or out on the picture.

Thanks,


BigRedWeather

 

[BigRedWeather]

I CAN MAKE THIS POST CLEARER...

I have 1/16" of play loosness in my pedal assembly when I press the clutch in. The pedal assembly moves 1/32" or less, independent of the firewall, when I press the clutch. Is this enough movement to cause difficult shifting into 1st, 2nd and R?

I have put a new clutch master cylinder BUSHING in and it did not help at all. I have no clutch reserve but I do have 7/16" travel in the clutch slave piston.

Am trying determine what needs my attention. When I back up sometimes the truck "hops" like the clutch may be a little warn. Could a warn clutch cause difficult shifting into 1st 2nd and R?

Some instructions on addressing the loosness in the pedal assembly would be a help.

See the attached photo. If you can't read the text zoom in or out on the picture.

Thanks,


BigRedWeather

 

[geonc]

The only known "real" cure...saved this from back when STD was "fun"...

Here are instructions for pedalbox bushing replacement:

1. Disconnect clutch master cylinder pushrod, wiring, 2-13mm nuts (outside firewall), and pull out into engine compartment.
2. Remove clip, bushings, and brakelight switch/wiring from brake pedal, pull pushrod away from pedal.
3. Remove 4-15mm nuts (inside firewall) that retain brake booster to firewall. Pull brake booster/master cylinder assembly into engine compartment, do not disconnect any lines (may have to remove airbox lid for clearance).
4. Remove the 13mm bolt on the upper steering u-joint, and separate it from the steering shaft, let it hang, while still connected to the firewall end.
5. Remove the two 10mm bolts that run vertically up into the dash.
6. The pedalbox should now come out with a lot of wiggling and cursing (the clutch master cylinder has studs that stick through the firewall and come out with the pedalbox).
7. With pedalbox on the bench, disengage the clutch spring (less tension with the pedal depressed) and remove the 18mm nut on the clutch pivot end of the shaft (opposite end from the clutch pedal).
8. Mark the splines on the shaft and the arm to identify exact same location when reinstalling (centre punch works well).
9. Reinstall 18mm nut hand tight, and strike with hammer to disengage the spline.
10. Remove the arm and withdraw the clutch shaft from the opposite end.
11. Replace the bushings one at a time using lots of grease while installing.
12. Reinstall the clutch shaft, and pivot and torque 18mm nut.
13. Install clutch pedal spring.
14. Reverse all steps to reinstall.

Pedal box bushing kit Ford part number F3TZ-2C342-A this does'nt come with the clutch pushrod bushing. Not a bad job, just need to be patient.

 

[BigRedWeather]

geonc, Thanks. That is exactly what I needed. I was afraid I would have to spend $400 for the entire pedal assembly. This kit is $15 at the dealer.

Do you think that 1/16" movement in the shaft on end opposite the clutch pedal could fix my hard shifting problem?

Do you ever do chat? A few minutes would be a great help for me. If so, when are you usually on?

I have to say that I can't figure what is going on in your Avatar photo. Can you explain?


Thanks again,


BigRedWeather

 

[BigRedWeather]

Thanks

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Join Date: Dec 2003
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[geonc]

You are more than welcome Weather , sharing info is why we are here

There is also a plastic bushing that wears..they cost about $5 at the stealership.....or clicky here for some info on installing a REAL pivot bushing

Do you think that 1/16" movement in the shaft on end opposite the clutch pedal could fix my hard shifting problem?

Those crappy plastic bushings are about 1/16" and they have a long history of causing shifting and starting issues......

You can just click on the "THANKS" icon at the bottom right of the posted reply...where you see the "edit" and "quote" icons.

 

[geonc]

I'm not much for chat

 

[geonc]

I have to say that I can't figure what is going on in your Avatar photo. Can you explain?

Heeheehee I like to ride 4 wheelers in the mudd, ponds etc and have modified mine quite heavily...some on here {most actually} think I really need a jet ski

Here's a short vid ---- playing in a pond

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[BigRedWeather]

Bad Clutch?

A friend who has done a lot of work on cars says a clutch friction disk wearing thin can make a transmission harder and harder to shift, until you can't shift at all. Could my transmission being at the hard and hard to shift stage be caused by my clutch wearing out?


BigRedWeather

 

[geonc]

To your best knowledge, is that the orig clutch?
With the mileage you have in your sig I would be suspect if it is original...

 

[BigRedWeather]

To your best knowledge, is that the orig clutch?
With the mileage you have in your sig I would be suspect if it is original...

That REAL bushing for the pedal box looks like the "last time you'll ever do it" solution. Maybe I'll do the the next time...

I do know that in the last 100,000 miles (of 233,000 total) it has not had a new clutch. I think you're right, that it probably had a new clutch before I got it.

Occasionally when I back up it hops- which I have interpreted as a sign of needing a new clutch. But it isn't so bad that it would say "it has to be replaced now."

Could an almost warn out clutch give me 0 Clutch Reserve and hard shifting into 1st 2nd and R?


BigRedWeather

 

[milner351]

Maybe - but pull the pedal box out and replace all the bushings in there - according to the directions from the "old" site - I miss that place - I digress.

I did that with mine (I think I still have the original clutch at 147k) and it made a world of difference even though there didn't FEEL like there was much play in it to start with.

 

[BigRigTech]

I have this same issue on my 92, I have another complete pedal assembly here from a 96 so I was going to rebuild it and put it in my truck....Funny thing is the pedals I put in my 91 when I changed it over are tight as a ducks ****....But they are a little different in the way they mount.

 

[BigRedWeather]

Hard Shifting Problem Fixed

Now that this is fixed, I think there is a thing or two that could help someone else.

My original problem was that at 230,000 miles my truck was getting harder and harder to shift into 1st, 2nd and reverse. This was because I had no clutch reserve (the distance the clutch pedal travels between the floor and when the engine's power is first sent to the transmission. That was 0" for me.)

FIXES I TRIED:

-Play in the firewall: none

-I looked at the subject of this thread- the loosness at the top of the brake and clutch pedals. Ford sells some plastic parts that can remove this looseness. I decided that 1/16" of an inch wasn't enough to help with my problem. Knowing what I know now, I'll bet this would have helped me solve my problem.

-I had 7/16" travel in the clutch slave cylinder piston. 7/16" is the minimum spec. I put in a new clutch master and slave and the travel in the clutch slave cylinder piston didn't increase a bit, and hence my clutch reserve and shifting problems didn't change a bit.

-With the smaller jobs out of the way I opted for a new clutch kit and a change from the Dual Mass Flywheel to a Single Mass Flywheel. I didn't think was going to effect my problem, but I was running out of options. My Clutch Fork looked like it had lost 1/32 to 1/16 of metal where it contacts the throw out bearing, so I decided this couldn't be enough to effect my problem. Besides, getting a new one would have cost me another 1 hour trip to the auto parts store. I put the old fork back in. The new clutch and SMF had no effect on my hard shifting, but they had another huge effect...

-they shook my teeth out. After some persuading, the vendor who sold the clutch and SMF to me, shipped me another one at their expense, thinking the first one was out of balance. When I put this clutch and SMF in, I also put in a new Fork. On my test drive, I had about 1 1/2" of clutch reserve! That's the specked amount. Shifting was easy in the three troublesome gears!

From this, I think I have almost definitive evidence that the slightly worn fork was significant in making my gears shift more easily. I am in the process of putting together some photos and instructions for installing a new fork while the transmission is on the truck. I think these instructions could have saved me a lot of time. (In this process I replaced a near end of life DMF with a new SMF, replaced the clutch parts etc. so I did get a lot of good out of those repairs.) But I have to get those instructions together and will do so if here of a need for them from readers.


BigRedWeather