TheSamba.com :: View topic - Clutch pedal replacement in 1/2 hour! (Pics)

Thu Mar 02, 2023 8:02 pm

I pulled the clip too. FWIW I didn't mess will twisting the shaft to get more clearance by the roll pin. Just kind of pulled down on the left side of the whole thing until there was enough room to drop the clutch pedal.

Wed Mar 08, 2023 2:15 pm

Has anyone who's attempted this process had to resort to pulling the whole assembly? I got the clutch pedal out after some struggling, and it's all welded up and super tight. But, for the life of me I can't get the large pivot pin to slide back into place. Working with mirrors and finicky lighting makes this really challenging. It almost appears that I pushed the pin out too far and now it's wedged against the radiator tunnel--I don't think it's the roll pin.

I have a spare pedal assembly on my bench, so I've practiced through all the reinstallation procedures, but this one is really not my friend. Won't you be my friend?

Wed Mar 08, 2023 2:24 pm

Just so we understand correctly, the main shaft is stuck touching the radiator tunnel and won’t budge at all? Even when the clutch pedal is not in place?

Wed Mar 08, 2023 2:32 pm

Correct. I can rotate it, but that's it. I've tried to clamp Vicegrips on there and then pry against that and the tunnel, but no love.

Wed Mar 08, 2023 2:37 pm

Is it possible that you backed the main shaft so far out that it is not aligned with the main bracket on the clutch side? Have you tried using the brake pedal to adjust the alignment of the main shaft while you attempt to push it back through?

Wed Mar 08, 2023 2:38 pm

Describe how the Brake pedal wiggles on the pin?
Is the pin stuck to the pedal or stuck to the bracket?

Wed Mar 08, 2023 2:56 pm

Success! It's almost as if a combination of the words pedal, wiggles and pins opened the Genie's lamp. I wiggled the brake pedal while slowly rotating the pin in a downward direction. I suspect the pedal bushing is slightly galled internally.

Also, it's cathartic to whine out loud in a group setting. Whining is underrated. My fellow regular van campers know this about me.

Thank you for the therapy session.

Wed Mar 08, 2023 2:58 pm

Great!

Nice work. Being crammed up under the dash can do weird things to your psyche! Sometimes you just have to step away and get another perspective.

Wed Mar 08, 2023 3:04 pm

All that is compounded by having an acute case of tennis elbow and snipping off the tip of my thumb a couple days ago.

I've done this job several times already, but I've always just pulled the entire assembly. I was enticed by the siren call of a 1/2hr job. I want my money back.

Wed Mar 08, 2023 3:06 pm

Zeitgeist 13 wrote: Success!....

Thank you for the therapy session.

We're here for you!

Wed Mar 08, 2023 11:19 pm

It is possible and probably more comfortable to see and reach the circlip from behind the fuses.

(turn the picture right)

Despite it not a nice job with the dashboard in place.

Tue Mar 21, 2023 7:37 am

HI everyone-
this thread has been an inspiration, and has given loads of guidance on getting this all sorted.

Ive got my pedal out now, but have not read much focus on the re-drilling of it, alignment wise.

my question is whether the new hole to be drilled (through the newly added weld) should be parallel and in the same axis as the pedal shaft (1), OR, the metal tab where the hole is to be drilled (2). (Photo pinched from elswhere in this thread- thankyou!)

On my pedal, the two alignments are not the same, and woulkd make a different angle, hanging the clevispin downward. In order for the pin to hang down directly into the clutch master, this is very important to get right! my gut tells me it should be on the same axis as the pedal shaft.

thanks all :)

Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:00 am

The hole is supposed to be centered in that ear. I bought the Go Westy bushing which comes with a template to help in locating the new hole. My worn hole looked much like yours, (see above) so I just drilled it to the OD size of the bushing and it was very close to the center. If you weld it, I bet you can get that template in a .pdf off the Go Westy page for the bushing they sell.

Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:01 am

Look at the un-worn part of the original hole.
Drill it like that.

It's not critical.

Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:15 am

Template in question

Tue Mar 21, 2023 8:38 am

Funny that GoWesty calls it a design flaw.
More likely an assembly flaw, where some vans were assembled "dry" and those are the pedals that wore out.

T3messie wrote: It is possible and probably more comfortable to see and reach the circlip from behind the fuses.

Good pic!

Tue Mar 21, 2023 11:37 am

For the record, I was ultimately unable to gain the leverage needed to drive the large pivot pin back through the brake and clutch pedals, and had to pull the assembly up through the cluster opening enough to hammer it back into place. The spare pedal assembly on my workbench was similarly difficult to drive the pin back into place. I can only assume that some of these assemblies are amenable to the "1/2 hour" solution and some are not.

I don't think I'll even bother attempting this approach again in the future. I didn't find its therapeutic value to be worth the effort.

Tue Mar 21, 2023 5:24 pm

Zeitgeist 13 wrote: I don't think I'll even bother attempting this approach again in the future. I didn't find its therapeutic value to be worth the effort.

My 1st was a fight,
2nd van was easy.

Statistically......you're good for next time.

Wed Dec 06, 2023 9:06 pm

Wow lots of varying results, im gonna give it a go and hope for the best, thank to all contriberters and the first posted!

Thu Dec 07, 2023 6:51 am

calo1956 wrote: Wow lots of varying results, im gonna give it a go and hope for the best, thank to all contriberters and the first posted!

Fingers crossed for you.