Change your pedal bushings now!!

I just got done rebuilding my pedal cluster and replacing my worn, plastic, pedal bushings with aftermarket bronze bushings and the difference is unbelievable!!!
If your clutch pedal takes any more effort than necessary, get this done or do it yourself and live the good life again. Mind you, it's not the most fun task I've undertaken but the payback is worth the sore back I am suffering from. This 12.00 kit is the best deal around.
Rich '83 SC

Hey Rich how easy was this task?
How long did it take you and what were the symptoms that lead up to you taking on this task?

You seem as exstatic as I was after changing my gear shift bushings!!

Did you get the parts from Pelican?
Rgds Ben

Bronze vs nylon. . .
I just read, in Excellence Tech Notes II, that Bruce Anderson recomends using the "original style, nylon-type bushing and not the bronze type being offered as a replacement." (page 111)
He doesn't say why, though.
What's superior about nylon?
Anybody?
Anybody?
Beuller?

Not sure what Bruce's reasoning was, but when I did the pedal cluster rebuild last year I was less than impressed with the fit of the new bronze bushes in the pedal cluster. That is to say, for the most part they were undersized on the OD and were not a snug fit into the pedal, they would fall out if given the chance. So I ended up cutting small bits of an AL can to make shims to get the fit nice and tight. I suppose over time the bronze might be more prone to wear than the nylon or whatever non-metalic material then stockers are made from.
We'll see....

Chris Bunker
78 SC

Ah! It's a fit thing. Thanks Chris.
I'm *guessing* the hole for the bushing has some relatively sloppy tolerances. Bronze bushings are relatively brittle, and need a nice fit. else they will likely crack. Nylon, however, will conform, and take up the slop.
Any other theories out there?

Yo,
86RAGTOP, it took , me about 6 to 8 hours mostly taking my time and cleaning parts along the way and being very careful about putting parts back together the way they were originally assembled. I bought tthe parts from Pelican and they are indeed a good fit: much better than the worn nylon bushings that were in there.
The symptons: an annoying clutch pedal squeak, a stiff clutch pedal as well. They are gone now. When I disassembled the cluster the nylon bushings were visibly worn unlike the shift bushing I replaced a month back.
The task is not technically challenging but it will require you to contort to some uncomfortable positions to remove vital parts.
E-mail me for more in-depth info.
Regards,
Rich

This is one of those problems that you don't realy notice until it is fixed. Then you wonder how in the hell you put up with it for as long as you did.
Getting the cluster in and out is the worst part. Nice winter job.

Speaking for the SC pedal box, I can say that the bronze bushings seem to operate just great.

The job itself is not hard, just tedious. You will need access to the bottom of the car to undo 2 hex heads and 2 bolts, remove pan, now you can access front pedal box nuts. The other two are accessed from inside the compartment.

There is a large spring that holds the clutch pedal. This spring gets in the way of removing the large hex bolt in a horizontal plane, accessed from the left side, next to clutch (this bolt holds on the support bar that goes up to the master cylinder area). Use an 8mm bit from a socket, or have an 8mm with a short end that is very short; this provides access to the bolt.

When I put everything together again, I put the spring for the clutch on BEFORE I put the pedal box back into the car. Then, I had to hold the clutch pedal in a very specific positon for access to and tightening of the hex bolt. Alternative is to put the spring on later: if you do this, make sure you cut long spring end hook down a bit to make it easier to hook the spring back on.

Assemble everything at first loosely. There is a sequence of reassembley that goes support bar, brake pedal rose joint and clip, then trunnion pin from clutch cable to ear of clutch pedal shaft.

This is all evident once you get it out. Easier than it sounds, and worth the trouble. Also, after seeing the plastic bushes I am certain that the bronze ones, while possibly not tight at first, will exceed the nylon ones over time in terms of fit and wear.

Jw