clutch pedal arm lateral movement

[mlenk64]

hey folks, been reading stuff here for a while, this is my first post...

I did a search on my issue but couldn't find anything so I'll try and describe what's going on...

I have a 1995 Explorer sport 5spd, has about 150K on the odo...
Yesterday I had an issue with the clutch pedal not going all the way down, it felt like it was hitting something solid. Rather disconcerting on a busy highway at rush hour... I noticed I could move the pedal side-to-side some, and by moving it inwards, was able to push it in all the way and shift normally. When I got home, I got under the dash and as best I could tell, the issue is with either the axle that has the brake and clutch pedal arms on it, the aluminum bracket supporting it that's bolted to the firewall, or maybe disintegrated bushings. I couldn't see well, but it appears the clutch pedal arm is still attached (welded?) to the pedal axle. I can't see a lot but I can see some movement on the axle when I wiggle the pedal laterally. I tried moving the axle sideways out of the housing to see if it had broken, but nothing moved. I don't get the feeling it's going to fall off while I'm driving. It appears that the pedal arm was hitting a raised portion of the aluminum bracket when it moved sideways, which prevented it from going in all the way. The raised portion is around a cylindrical switch(?) which I think may be the clutch/starter interlock... anyway, it's around a piece attached to the pedal.
Lateral play is significant at the pedal end, maybe up to 2"...

So, has anyone experienced this? Has anyone removed the brake/clutch pedal assembly from under the dash? I'm thinking of taking a hack at it this weekend, see what I can do with things... any advice, insight, tips, tricks or voodoo appreciated...

Thanks!!!!
Mike

 

[RangerX]

The bushings are thin plastic. They can wear, but it doesn't seem like that would allow lateral movement.
I've had the bracket plate that the pedals swing from crack and allow movement. It's just cast aluminum, so it's not that strong.
Best bet is to stick your head under there with a strong flashlight, and check it out. Let us know what you find.

 

[mlenk64]

fixed for now...

Spent the better part of Saturday taking the dash apart and taking the brake/clutch pedal bracket out... tried getting it out without taking the dash apart, but there wasn't enough room to move things around. Undoing the pinch bolt on the steering column and removing the column also helped with space a lot. Once I had the bracket out and could inspect it, it seems the problem with the lateral movement stemmed from a cracked weld between the clutch pedal arm and the pedal axle. About 1/3-1/2 the weld was cracked, allowing the rest of the weld to flex enough that the pedal would move an inch or two to the outside... Since I don't own a welder (yet) and don't know anyone who does, and any shop with one that could repair it would be closed (was about 5PM Saturday), I had to get creative.... I noticed the axle was hollow so I got my taps out, selected an 8mm x 1.25 tap and after grinding the weld flat and rounding out the hole, ran about 1-1/2" of thread into the axle... took a little while, the axle is hard steel... I took a bolt of same threading out of my spare bolt kit, put a couple fairly wide diameter washers under it to spread the load, and cranked it down... reassembled the bracket, now it's nice and firm, no flex... I'll probably have to get it welded eventually, but for now, it's back together and nice and tight.
Biggest PITA was re-connecting all the electrical connectors in and around the dash... forgot to do the main one up by the firewall, and couldn't get my windows up last night... took it all apart again, reconnected, cranked the bolt down, and everything worked fine....
So everything's back together, clutch works great, and there were no screws left over!

 

[RangerX]

Nice! That's using yer noggin!

 

[mlenk64]

desperately in need of a clutch pedal arm/axle

OK my temporary fix has exceeded its life expectancy and the weld has completely broken thru. The pedal arm is now loose on the axle. The previously installed bolt is all that's holding it on, and I'm back to having 1-2" lateral movement, making for some interesting shifts...
Anybody have one of these they can sell me? I wanted to post in the Parts Wanted section but I don't have 50 posts and am not an "elite" member.

 

[RangerX]

Contact vendor kbibiak on this forum, he sells used parts.
Or you can get a new one: http://www.fordpartsgiant.com/parts/ford-pedal-asy-brake_6l5z-2455-bb.html.
There's a how to writeup on here somewhere, too, if you need it.

 

[mlenk64]

thanks for the info Bill... I checked the link to the new part you listed, looks reasonable but doesn't seem to specify in the description that it's for the manual trans and includes the clutch pedal. How can I tell? I'll order it if its the correct part, but I want to be sure.
thx
Mike

 

[RangerX]

Hmm, you're right. I just googled the part number and picked that link to post because it was cheaper than other few links I looked at. I didn't notice the poor info! I'm not recommending them specifically.

 

[mlenk64]

It's odd, if you drill down thru the menus for the part, you get a similar number but it shows as "not available". Going directly to your link, it shows the part as available but doesn't give any compatibility or fitment info...
Going in thru the menus via model/year, there is one listed for the Auto trans, with an "AA" at the end, the original manual trans part (unavailable) has a "B" at the end.... maybe the "BB" is an updated part? I sent them a message asking for clarification, will post results when I get them. I'll check out your other suggestion in the meantime.
Thanks again, you've been very helpful.
Mike

 

[mlenk64]

A couple quick updates - Got my part from kbabiak, all good there.
Also got a reply from Ford Parts Giant, the part number listed is correct for the manual trans brake/clutch pedal assembly.
Thanks for the help!

 

[Red Delta]

This was my experience removing and replacing the brake/clutch pedal assembly.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=330128&highlight=brake+clutch+pedal