Flimsy Clutch Pedal Bushing

[CreepingNet]

Been awhile since I've posted here.....

So the subject of issue as of late has been the clutch pedal bearing.

So I took my truck in 2 years ago to have the clutch replaced after it went up in smoke. I had it towed to the transmission place, and they replaced the clutch and everything was hunky dory....

About a month after that, I sit down to go to work and the clutch master cylinder rod pops off the clutch pedal. Ok, a little redneck ingenuity, I had some cable ties from a lawn mower project in the trunk (cable management), and they were the right width to block the clutch master push rod onto the pedal, so I used one to hold the rod on.

Skip ahead about 2 weeks ago, I'm driving home on the off ramp after being in stop-and-go traffic, I go to downshift into 4th, and hear a "pting" from the clutch pedal, quickly I manage to push the gearshift into neutral, kick on my hazard flashers, give a few honks for the guy hiding in my blindspot to pass so I can cross 2 more lanes of traffic to get onto the shoulder, and coast my truck to make repairs....only to find, holy crap, the Clutch Master Cylinder push-rod broke.

Relieved of $350 and going through silly personal patronizing from those dear, I think all is well, I even check the push rod to see if there is a new plastic bushing holding the push rod on - there is.

Well, today I'm driving home from work in Redmond, I'm on the on-ramp to the interstate, PTING, (clutch pops). quickly I feel around under the dash and feel.....quite relieved....that the push-rod is still in one piece and functional.....but at the same time, I realize that stupid bushing broke again.

I quickly slap on the hazards, breathe a grumpy "I'm Sorry" to the drivers behind me, climb into the passenger seat, get under the dash, and in a matter of 2 minute, re-link my clutch and hop back into the drivers seat, fire her up, and limp my way to Office Depot to pick up some cable ties again as a temporary fix.

Now, this leaves me with some questions.....
- Is the clutch master cylinder replaced when having transmission work done?

- Are the stock Ford push-rod bushings usually plastic and do they really break that often?

- IS there any more permanent and robust method of re-affixing the push-rod without having to resort to "Redneck" means like cable ties?

- And if that was the original one that broke after 275,000 miles, why the hell did the 2nd one not last so long?

I need this vehicle to get me through September as I get married then, and then I'm saving up for a down payment on a new(er) truck, hopefully a recent used Ford Ranger. It's been a good truck until recently with all these clutch bearing issues after the last clutch replacement.

 

[OneofMany]

I do not remember how the mechanism on that contraption of yours is set up, BUT I did have a similar problem on my 70 ford. worn out bushings caused the rod to get stressed. I seriously doubt they touched your clutch master cyl. when replacing your clutch but something changed.

 

[freezerlunik]

bother.. I had the rod pop off the clutch pedal happen to me as well! Reattached it with the old bushing, and am looking for a solution.

I'm thinking some kind of metal spring or snap ring type of fastener (?) might be a better replacement than the plastic bushing?

 

[RangerX]

I've had that clip break while driving a few times. Now I keep a pack of small zipties right in the door pocket.

I've also had the pushrod break while driving, here's my thread on that from last year: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=387537.
Note the comment about pre-93s having an all metal piece.

 

[Anime]

I had the master cylinder pushrod break, replaced it with an all-metal pushrod from a OE Ford master cylinder kit for 91-92 Explorers as noted in the thread linked above.

The plastic retainer clip broke on mine after 200,000+ miles, so it's not really that bad, though you'd think something as critical as that would be made of something more durable, or at least have some kind of retainer system in case of failure.

You can get a new plastic retainer clip for cheap as part of a 5-piece Dorman/HELP! pedal and shift linkage bushing kit 14041 , sold at auto parts stores like Advance and Autozone. I replaced mine with one of those right after it happened and the clip is still doing fine. It's probably a good idea to go ahead and get two sets so you have a spare clip in case the new one breaks when out driving again.

 

[Jason94sport]

Great! I have something to look forward too...I never heard of this before....

 

[freezerlunik]

You can get a new plastic retainer clip for cheap as part of a 5-piece Dorman/HELP! pedal and shift linkage bushing kit 14041 , sold at auto parts stores like Advance and Autozone.

Thanks for the tip Anime! I couldn't find the tiny bushing after much looking. I have also decided to tackle the root of the problem: the worn out pedal bushings. I have a nasty squeak and some play in the clutch (and to lesser degree brake) pedals which I'm sure contributed to the little rod bushing failing and rod sliding off. So I have ordered a couple of D8TZ-2471-A bushings and plan on getting the pedal assembly sorted out next weekend.

 

[RangerX]

. I have a nasty squeak and some play in the clutch (and to lesser degree brake) pedals which I'm sure contributed to the little rod bushing failing and rod sliding off.

When you have the pedal assembly out to put in the new bushings, look for wear or breakage where the clutch pedal mounts and pivots. It's a weak point in the bracket.
I think you're right about the pedal slop helping the bushing to fail. I'll go further - I think in my case, driving with a bad slave for an extended period caused the bracket to break away, which caused the bushing to fail.
With a bad slave that wouldn't release the clutch completely, I would press the clutch in with all my might to try to get that little bit further pedal travel. That caused stress cracks and then pedal slop.
I just recently replaced the bracket. Here's the broken spot on it.

 

[freezerlunik]

When you have the pedal assembly out to put in the new bushings, look for wear or breakage where the clutch pedal mounts and pivots. It's a weak point in the bracket.

Hey RangerX, this bushing swap is kicking my butt tonight! I can't slide the pedals out - the clutch linkage/MC rod is getting in the way of the pedals! Do I have to detach the MC from the firewall? I can't seem to be able to access the MC that well. I tried pulling on the MC rod thinking it might be removable -- it wont' budge. OR is there a clever way to push in the clutch without using the pedal for leverage? I really don't want to muck about with that rod or remove the MC just to get at the @$$^^% bushings.. O_O

 

[RangerX]

When you say "I can't slide the pedals out", does that mean you're trying to remove the whole pedal assembly and it won't come out, or you're trying to remove just the pedals and leaving the bracket in place?

 

[freezerlunik]

When you say "I can't slide the pedals out", does that mean you're trying to remove the whole pedal assembly and it won't come out, or you're trying to remove just the pedals and leaving the bracket in place?

I'm trying to keep the bracket in place, and just slide out the clutch pedal to the left after removing the clip on the right end. Looks like it should just clear with the parking brake assembly unscrewed. Is it easier to pull the whole bracket along with the pedals?

 

[RangerX]

Well, I never did it, I had it done. But it just doesn't seem like there would be enough room to slide it out to the left...

Rereading your earlier post, if the clutch MC and pushrod is what's keeping you from getting the pedal out, yes, it's alright to unbolt it from the firewall. Just keep the hydraulic line attached.

Is the bushings you're trying to replace, the ones that go in the axis of the pedal assembly? I remember when I had those replaced, I ordered the parts myself as a hopeful fix for loose pedals, and I was really disappointed to see how paper thin they were! How much play could that thin bushing cause!
I strongly suggest you look closely at the area in the pic I posted. It's kinda hard to see, unless you get your head up in there and have a good flashlight, then wiggle the pedal as you watch where the play is.

 

[Benjam]

When I did my manual trans swap I left the bracket in place. I pulled the parking brake down and fought the pedals out of there. Absolute worst part of the whole swap!

It can be done, but it's a huge pain.

Benjam

 

[freezerlunik]

Welp, here's what I found:
- Two new bushings is not enough. There appear to be 4 bushings in total, and only the two at outer ends can be replaced without removing the whole pedal cluster. Note the bushings can pop on and off without necessarily having to slide them on.
- I only really had about 1/8" of side-to side play (left-right) when holding the lowest point of the clutch pedal. Some of it went away with the 2 new bushings, but not all. Same goes for the sqeak -- I sprayed a bit of WD40 but some sqeak at the top end of clutch pedal travel still remains.
- Couldn't detect damage to the aluminum bracket. No visible cracks. I will check for protrusions and bulging at the top now that I have looked at RangerX's pic some more.

To do it _right_ and with less pain, it makes sense to pull the pedal bracket after disconnecting the brake and clutch switches. I would definitely combine the job with servicing the brake booster cylinder. Mine has some rust where it appears the master cylinder leaked at some point in the past (it's now dry as a bone; I suspect the previous owner had the brake MC replaced when it leaked and didn't care about cleaning off the booster).

 

[freezerlunik]

Another update:
Still not satisfied with continuing creaking of the clutch pedal in the upper end of the curve, I decided it must be the master cylinder. So I took off the clutch switch and got a grease gun and a needle nose fitting. Greased up the clutch MC where the connecting rod comes out. I greased with the pedal up as well as in the pressed-in position. I should have been more careful, as it did feel at one point like the needle may have gone into the rubber seal

Almost all of the squeak is gone now, pedal travel feels much smoother.
FINGERS CROSSED I didn't muck up any seals in the process. :scratch:

P.S. I wonder what I should watch for now: if MC leaks, does the fluid go all over the firewall? Does the clutch feel change so it's easy to spot without visually inspecting all the time? Will the fluid corrode the firewall and floor if it gets on them?

 

[Anime]

You greased the master cylinder?

I'd say it's a bad idea to put grease in or near the master cylinder where the push rod goes into it, or even to grease the rod itself, since either way grease is going to get on the rod and into the cylinder, and that could get grease all over the clutch switch, and gunk up inside the master cyl eventually. If you can't get grease completely out of something, it sits and will gather dirt and dust. There's also a chance the brake fluid film that's on the walls of the cylinder will mix with whatever grease it makes contact with, and a thin grease/brake fluid mix will contaminate the fluid in the rest of the system.

When the master cylinder leaks, it leaks behind the pedal. If you have a set of plastic floor-liner type mats that go under where the clutch pedal is, they might catch it, otherwise it might get all over the carpet. Clutch feel is generally something that changes with the type of clutch/slave cylinder/master cylinder you have in there, but you can have a leaky master cylinder and not be able to tell until it leaks enough to be low and pushing the pedal in the normal amount isn't enough to fully release the clutch. Brake fluid won't corrode the firewall or the floor, but it will stain the carpet and eat through paint.

 

[freezerlunik]

Thanks for the advice, Anime! This article seems to suggest that a bit of grease in the cylinder and on the plunger is actually desired: http://www.redrubbergrease.com/clutch-master-cylinder-repair-leak-or-failure-with-rebuild-kit.html

Then again, my grease is all-purpose lithium grease... which may swell the rubber. I guess I'm going to have to keep an eye on it and plan on getting a new MC since the bloody thing STILL SQUEAKS