Clutch Pedal Assembly Bushing Replacement

[troutwest66]

I need to replace the bushings on the assembly and I need to know the best way to get the old bushings out and the new ones in. It looks like the assembly needs to come out by taking the two nuts loose for the clutch master cylinder, the four nuts that hold the brake booster on and two more nuts/ bolts that holds the assembly above. Disconnect the brake pedal from the rod to the brake M/C and the wiring connector from the clutch disconnect switch to allow the assembly to rotate out form under the dash and around the steering shaft. Am I missing anything? I understand that the arm from the assembly to the clutch M/C is splined? Mark that with a Sharpie to be sure I get it back together in the right position. Are the clutch and brake pedals splined to the shaft the bushings are on as well? I assume I'll need to drive that shaft one direction and then the other to get the bushings in and out. I need to call Ford in the morning to see if they even have the bushings in stock. I would hope they would. I'll get someone to make a copy of the service manual pages covering this as well. If any one has any photos they could e-mail me (in my profile) or pages from the '94 service manual. My Chilton's isn't very helpful. Thanks for any advice.

 

[troutwest66]

And that helps how...?

 

[TLBREWER]

You're over-complicating this. Once you get started it's pretty self explanatory...no need for a book. You're right, four nuts and two bolts. Just pop the clutch rod off the arm on the pedal assembly. This might be a good time to do the heim joint mod on the clutch linkage. Disconnect the brake rod and switch from the brake pedal. Once everything is loose, it takes some coaxing to get it out. Make sure you have beer on hand. The pedals rotate on a common shaft within a cage. Take the nuts off and slide it apart. Bushing kit from Ford is about $15. I lube mine with graphite when reassembling. Hardened steel shaft with plastic bushings. Not one of Ford's better ideas. If the bushings have been worn through for awhile, check the hole the shaft goes through on the right side of the pedal "cage". If the hole is worn or elongated (as mine was), build it up with weld and drill or ream it out to make it round again or your efforts will be wasted. This is a high stress point. At least on the '92 and later models the cage is made out of steel so it can be repaired. On my '91's it's cast aluminum and has to be replaced if worn...to the tune of $90 (had to do that too).

Oh yea, if you're not modifying the clutch rod to a heim joint, you'll need to get the snap bushing as well when you go order the shaft bushings. I believe that little POS cost as much or more than the shaft bushings.

Tom

 

[troutwest66]

Thanks, Tom. You confirmed what I was thinking. I over think these things sometimes because Murphy likes to show up and remind me of something I overlooked. I'm also not the greatest mechanic so I need to know what I'm getting into before I do it. I'll still get the copy from the service manual so I don't forget anything. I know the snap bushing is shot, too. It's part of the linkage problem. The heim joint mod will be a later fix since I don't have the time right now to round up the parts. I'll need to get a dremmel tool as well. Another reason to head to the tool store!!

 

[tonkadoctor]

The first problem is that you bought a ford...

All that from somebody with a broke @$$ wrecked Dodge that was totaled by a Volkswagon Jetta . Must have bumped their head hard.

 

[troutwest66]

Got R Done!

$20 and four hours of my time I got the clutch linkage in top shape again! Not real hard just a little time consuming by yourself. I wrestled the assembly out on my own. Changed out the bushings in ten minutes or less being careful to lube with dry graphite and be sure I put it back together correctly. I get the assembly back in except I can't feed the push rod for the brake booster through the opening in the assembly bracket. I call my dad and he came over so one could position the bracket and one feed the push rod through and bingo, bango, bongo... it's in! Button everything back up and the the truck never shifted so nice. I've had the truck four years and I'm sure it could have used the bushings when I bought it. Obviously it got worse the years I've had it. Like I've said before I'm no mechanic but it's nice knowing there's one more fix I'm able to do on my truck and I bet the newer Super Duties use the same system. If the clutch rod bushing gets bad again I'll probably do the heim joint mod. Didn't have time this go 'round.

On another positive note, when I was at Ford today another IDI owner was there with the same problem as I was having and he was about to buy the clutch MC. I asked him what truck he had , etc. (he has a '94 like me but N/A), and we got to talking about what I was doing and he didn't realize the bushings could be causing the problem. He has no fluid loss so we looked at the pedal assembly print out the parts guy printed for me (plus he knocked about $6 off the cost of my parts! ) and he's going to check that out first. He was also buying the T's and hose for the return lines. Since I've done that job I talked him through doing one side at a time, copying the existing assembly, putting the top O-ring on first and lubing them, being sure the caps snap down on the injectors, cracking injector lines to purge the air and all that good stuff. Of course I told him about OB.Net and I gave him my name and number and wrote the website down for him. So hopefully we'll get another IDI owner on here. He has 257K on his truck and all he's had to do is a starter, two batteries, GPs and now the bushings and return lines. He said the truck is getting a bit tired so I told him if he gets the pump and injectors done it will wake the truck back up. We also talked turbos. It was nice getting to help a fellow IDIer out and be the source of information for a change. Sorry for the rambling. Been gone all day or fixing the truck and had all these thoughts bouncing in my skull!

 

[TLBREWER]

Glad to hear you had a productive day. Hope the advise you got here helped you out. It feels good to pass on information that you've learned from experience or these forums on to others doesn't it.

Tom

 

[tonkadoctor]

It feels good to pass on information that you've learned from experience or these forums on to others doesn't it.

You forgot to mention the sense of pride to be able to do it yourself and save $65 an hour.

Kudos to you for passing on the info, teaching and trying to lead another down a good path

 

[troutwest66]

Glad to hear you had a productive day. Hope the advise you got here helped you out. It feels good to pass on information that you've learned from experience or these forums on to others doesn't it.

Tom

There's always good info here, Tom. I was sure to use the graphite as you suggested. Like you said it was really fairly straight forward. Thanks again for your help.

$65 an hour on labor?? I thought the shops were charging closer to $80 an hour. I did save some coin.

Helping someone else is always a good feeling. I'm a high school P.E. teacher so I guess this fit right in with who I am anyway. A teacher is a teacher whether it's the three R's, fly fishing or diesels.