Clutch pedal replacement in 1/2 hour! (Pics)

[Mathew Zelezen]

First off, all credit goes to iceracer for his post on how to remove the clutch pedal for clevis pin/welding repair WITHOUT having to remove the dash. Please read his original post

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=405743&highlight=clutch+pedal+dash

I had about an 1 1/4" of play in the clutch pedal before the clutch master cylinder was being engaged and it made for a clutch that wasn't fully disengaging. I have 292,000 miles on Lars and figured it was time check the pedal.

I found that the removal of the driver's seat gave me more room to reach up under the dash and with a small light is was a pretty easy procedure!

1. Pop the little clip which holds the pin (last pic) I just used a long flat screwdriver and pushed it off.
2. Use a needle nose pliers and remove the clutch pedal spring.
3. Slide the large pivot pin to the right (passenger) until the clutch pedal is free.
4. Maneuver the pedal off of the clutch master cylinder and drop.
5. Open a Fat Tire and enjoy.

Here are some pics of the old clevis pin and the welded up clutch pedal as well as the rebuild and install. The clevis pin, brass washers and cotter pin came to about $3 at my local ACE Hardware store.

I covered the clevis pin assembly in grease and re-assembled and now my clutch works great.

Good Luck!
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87 Syncro Tintop
~Rocky J Motor
~Steedle Trans


Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: It might have been.

[SteveVanB]

Sweet! I've been meaning to check mine out as it's doing some weird stuff lately. Thanks for the motivation!
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91 CARAT

[keithwwalker]

Once you pull out the pedal, can you adjust the master cylinder throw?
My clevis is in similar condition, no doubt.

I already have the new clevis, but wondering if there is a way to adjust the play out of the pedal.

fyi, I have new master and slave cylinder in, and the pedal is the last culprit.

kww

[82WestyMan]

[iceracer]

Matthew, Thank you for giving me credit for my prior post. I appreciate that. You did a great job of posting with PICS, helps much. It is not a bad job to do and I would have to say, every van out there with high miles has this issue. I saw it more and more a few years back. Mine is fine since then.
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86 Syncro Wolfsburg edition
63 Beetle (The Iceracer)

[DAIZEE]

To diagnose this problem do you mean your clutch pedal moved laterally (side to side)? Specifically how do you recognize the problem?
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'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[iceracer]

Not lateral play but too much freeplay up and down. The pedal moves quite a bit before there is clutch pressure. And then the clutch grabs just off the floor when releasing while driving.
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86 Syncro Wolfsburg edition
63 Beetle (The Iceracer)

[DAIZEE]

Thanks will have to check it out. Probably easier to do with dash off I'd think. Simple preventative maintenance seemingly.
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'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[schoonerman]

Thanks Guy's for your great write up's on this problem.

I've just been standing on my head under the dash to see if I could do the job, conclusion YES I can.

Just to clarify, does the clutch cylinder shaft slide right out without a piston or nasty bits hanging on the end and oil coming out??????

I've never seen a clutch cylinder out of the van.
Thanks
Mike
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87 Westy/Vanagon

[iceracer]

Go back to the beginning of this post. His directions nail it. Master Slave and brake fluid have nothing to do with this job. The hardest part is just getting your head and tools and hands where they need to be. I used a mirror to view things.
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86 Syncro Wolfsburg edition
63 Beetle (The Iceracer)

[schoonerman]

Thanks for your reply Iceracer,
Oop's what I meant was.....

After moving the big pin out enough to get the pedal free, you have to move the pedal up to extract the shaft/pin from the cylinder......is it just a plain naked shaft/pin attached to the clevis which comes out the cylinder?

I've been in there laying on my back, seat out, holding the pedal down with my head, spring off, easy to see the the end of the big pin end with cir-clp.

I just wanted to know how the cylinder shaft/pin worked and what it looked like.
I will be doing the job next week after Drydocking my schooner

Thanks
Mike
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87 Westy/Vanagon

[iceracer]

Schoonerman. The pedal pin will slide out of the clutch master. It looks like a long pin/naked shaft similar to a beetle master cylinder pin from the 60's.
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86 Syncro Wolfsburg edition
63 Beetle (The Iceracer)

[sanchius]

[joseph928]

While renewing the clevis system is the proper fix, you can also slot the master cylinder mount (without removing the pedal assembly) to get more adjustment I like this idea , for a temporary fix. I tired for 1 hour on my back, seat out ,to get to the clutch rod out. Dam my hands are to big. Cant get to it, clevis not to bad yet, so I'll try this fix! Thanks!
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1987 syncro westy tin top sun roof , GW2.3, rear locker, decoupler, Gary Lee tire rack & winch mount, lift, south african grill, big brakes , rhein alloy ,15 BFG AT, Fiamma 10 foot awning ,140 watt rear 85 watt front solar , mppt, truckfridge, automatic fire extinguishing system, tencent oil cooler, And a RMW SS exhaust! - 1971 bug convertible 1776 engine- 2010 Subaru turbo - 1993 Toyota 4x4 truck - 1999 Harley 95 CI, big bore, Andrews cams . Also 80-84- vans. Stock 65 sunroof bug.

[tds3pete]

[schoonerman]

Today I attacked the clutch pedal removal, followed the instructions and it took me 35 minutes to remove.

I bought a new pin and rubber boot from Autohaus and took the clutch arm to a local welding shop, had it welded and a new hole drilled ($20)
It took me over an hour to get it back in as the large pin took a bit of aligning into the support, but with a little swearing and a gulp of beer it all came together and it feels great!!!!

Thanks Guy's for the two great HOWTO write ups
This is a prime example of what The Samba is all about

Mike
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87 Westy/Vanagon

[jalan]

Thanks to all who went before for the great posts.

I have large hands so I was skeptical about getting this job done when I looked from below. Got my pedal out and welded and reamed the worn hole today. Just waiting on the new pin now.

If you pull the instrument cluster you can get a trouble light into the clutch mechanism from just above and to the left of the brake booster. That makes more room for your hands and a mirror from below.

I made a tool out of an old screw driver to hook the c-clip from the bottom. A piece of heavy wire or 1/8" rod would probably work as well. See photos. It may be necessary to turn the c-clip so you can hook it from below. You can get your finger on the c-clip if you pull the fuse block and snake your hand, through the wires, behind and below the booster. I might just super glue or hot melt glue the c-clip to the tool to install it.

As another member pointed out you can cut off the unused arm at the top of the pedal. It makes it easier to put it back together.


Here are the urls for couple of picts.

[http://w3.gorge.net/kraus/clutchrepair]
[http://w3.gorge.net/kraus/clutch_repair]

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89 syncro hardtop
91 carat
2012 Jetta TDI

[bajaleo]

Great post indeed.

Has anyone considered putting a bearing in the clutch pedal instead of having two metal pieces grinding away at each other?

Just thinking out loud.

Leo

[jalan]

All finished with the clutch repair now and the freeplay is perfect. Not as bad a job as I thought it might be.

The tool and hot melt glue worked great for re-installing the C clip. Here are a couple more photos showing the tool and clip ready to go back in.

[http://w3.gorge.net/kraus/clutchrepaiclip]
[http://w3.gorge.net/kraus/clutchrepairclip2]

As to the addition of a bearing; if you could find a bearing small enough to fit in the arm without weakening it that would be great. I thought about installing a bronze bushing but decided I would just grease it well and add that to my maintenance schedule.
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1989 Syncro Hardtop, 2.5 '07 Subaru
1991 Carat Hardtop
1995 High Top Eurovan Syncro

[JFLACROIX]

Once again, The Samba is saving my ass by providing Amazing info! Thanks for the write-up and pictures! It sure helped to pull my clutch pedal out! Only on little issue. While removing the Clip that holds the big Pin in place, it decided to go for a walk.

I looked all over the place and even though I heard it hit some metal when it release, it's nowhere to be found.

Does anyone of you know what size of Clip I should be looking for? While I haven't tried yet, i'm pretty sure that sliding a caliper to get a mesurement in that hole will be a lot of fun. Anyone with that info handy?

Oh, and while i'm at it. Here's a scary picture of how worn out my clutch pedal and clevis pin were. No wonder why I had to push the pedal all the way to the ground to barely engage the clutch!