Springs, shock absorbers and clutch pedal bushes

[vauxhallbitz]

Yes I think that is what happened to the driver's side, believe me they are well greased now.

I was really pleased with myself after doing that job so went for a spin yesterday just to settle the springs in, no more knocking from the exhaust so the old ones must have been weak.

Buoyed by my success I decided to take the car to work today for the first time this year. Travelled a couple of miles stopped at traffic lights then disaster, when I put my foot on the clutch there was a a twang and the pedal went right down to the floor, luckily I got it into gear and limped my way home, slightly embarrassed.

Going out tonight to see what has happened...........

[1972nail]

I would suggest clutch cable has either broken the inner cable or burst the outer. Bursting the outer is usually due to old age whereas breaking the inner is usually caused by rust weakening the cable or a bent pedal causing the cable to fray on the top fixing.

When replacing the cable check that the connection at top of the pedal is not bent and causing the cable to pull at an angle therefore fraying the inner cable. The best way to fix it is to slip out the pedal box, straighten the pedal and and seam weld everything in sight plus add a strenghening plate to box in the pedal.

[vauxhallbitz]

Thanks for that, how easy is it to get the pedal box out?

[1972nail]

Maybe it's not clear from my reply, but you can replace the cable without taking out the pedal box, but if the top of the pedal is bent the pedal box really needs to be out. You can slip out the pivot bar and just drop the pedal out but it is fiddly.

You need to unbolt the 3 or 4 bolts of the servo mounting brackets, and take the clevis pin out of the brake pedal, there is also a bolt on top of the bulkhead beside the fuse box..... It's not that hard but getting the brake clevis pin back in is a bit fiddly.

Also, check that that the cable mounting hole on the box isn't cracked. Welding the crack and then fitting the clutch cable with a big washer on the bulkhead solves that problem.

[droopsnoot]

If you do end up taking the pedal box out, good idea to check the state of the pedal bushes while it's out.

[vauxhallbitz]

No, you were crystal clear as always with your instructions.

I had a look and yes the cable is broken the pedal, I didn't realise that you had to be a contortionist to get anywhere near the pedal box!!! I ended up lying on my back with my feet out the door and my head under the dash, I am getting too old for this!!

I think I will take out the driver's seat to get better access as I found it difficult getting to the nut to undo it.

I did notice a fair bit of side movement in the pedal is that normal??

[droopsnoot]

That will either be that the bushes have worn, or the shaft has worn as a result of the bushes being worn. I've got a pedal box shaft that has something like a 3mm groove in it where a clutch pedal has worn into it. In theory if all is good, there should be little movement.

The other place the pedal box goes is the circular hole where the shaft passes through it and pivots. That hole can elongate and allow the shaft to move around. You should just about be able to see the end of the shaft, and if you grab hold of one of the pedals and pull up and down, see if the end of the shaft moves about a lot.

I've strengthened both of mine in that area, with a piece of thick steel with a suitable hole drilled in it, welded to the side of the box. Obviously the box has to come out to do that. You can see in the picture the hole I'm referring to - I've beaten the lip back into a circle (against an old pedal shaft) and the bit of metal sitting on the mole grips is the strengthener to stop it happening again.

You can also see the "ear" where the clutch cable comes through, someone has already welded this up in the past.

I had originally thought it was only the heavy clutch on the HPF that causes issues like this.

[1972nail]

It sounds like the pedal might be bent at the cable fixing, causing the cable to be drawn sideways and getting frayed.

It might also help to remove the plastic shroud around the steering column and the plastic panel and storage box on either side. They may not give much better access but you might see what your are doing a bit better. I've never had to remove the seat but can see it being a bit more comfortable.

I forgot that your E Coupe may have a top hinged throttle pedal mounted on the pedal box, if your's is that type you'll have to remove the throttle cable as well to remove the pedal box.

Another thing to note is that the bushes on the clutch pedal are a different material to the ones on the brake pedal, one set being black and the other white.

[vauxhallbitz]

Superb advice as always guys, next question is are the bushes still available or can others be modified to suit?

My pedal box has always felt a bit strange when applying brake and clutch as if it was pivoting on something, I think it best to remove it and try to recondition it once out.

[1972nail]

I've seen white bushes on ebay a few weeks ago but they were expensive.... I bought a set of white ones a number of years ago for my car and haven't used them yet, sorry they're not for sale. Mike may have modified some on his projects.