Reason #17 to keep me out of the garage.

Someone mentioned cleaning the pedal cluster. My cluster is a mess. The clutch is hard.

1) Notice a lot of gunk around the moving parts
1a) Dirt and grime is stuck to the grease in the area
1b)(huh?) Use engine degreaser to degrease the area and remove the grunge. Yes, I did. I can't believe it.

Anyway, half a can of WD40, lithium grease and some fancy stuff in a gold can later, and my clutch still gets hard after two days of normal working. Is there any way of regreasing that thing without actually removing the entire cluster?

------------------
Kurt B
1984 911 Carrera Cabriolet
75 914 1.8

I just took my pedal cluster apart and boy was I suprised. Now keep in mind mine worked well no binding. I bought a HD clutch so I thought I would update to bronze bushings. I am glad i did every plastic bushing was wore through and lots of metal on metal wear. check out the pictures
http://www.zing.com/search/index.html?StartRow=1&MaxRows=20&Type=Album s&Criteria=my+911+project&x=34&y=7
It is very easy to remove the only thing is you have to remove the suspension cover plate to get to two of the nuts. And removing the clutch cable can be dificult to remove. YOu may also want to check to see if your masterclylinder is leaking that will swell the bushing and bind the whole thing up. Good luck

Skip 77sc

[This message has been edited by s77911 (edited 01-23-2001).]

[This message has been edited by s77911 (edited 01-23-2001).]

Kurt: Change your clutch cable. It will make an amazing difference. Trust me on this one.

------------------
Mark Szabo
1986 911 Targa 3.2
1987 Escort 5-speed 1.9
The Porsche Owners Gallery

KurtB

I'm a little off subject here, but I've been planning to ask you. I know you have one of those "empty" pipes instead of the stock pre muffler or cat in the exhaust system. How much difference do you think there is in noise level, type of sound etc.? Does the car have resonanse sounds at constant speed with that exhaust pipe??

Kurt and Mikkel:

I rebuilt my pedal 'box, replaced the clutch cable, and replaced the helper spring under the trans ('78 sc Targa w 122k). The difference is nothing short of AMAZING!

Lubes are temporary fixes that kill the bushings. There is no substitute to removing the pedal box and rebuilding with fresh brass bushings.

Here is what I found when I did the work:
1) The clutch pedal shaft's "ear" that goes into the center tunnel and on which the clutch cable connects no longer had a bush, and the safety pin was eating into the pedal shaft metal: next stop, broken cable!
2) ALL of the old bushings were ovalized (white nylon bushings, plastic).
3) Replacing the helper spring is easy. 20+ year-old spring was worn; new spring fresh and ready to ease the pedal movement; a must-do at $65.00 for the part.
4) You can ease the clutch cable onto the ear on the lever under the trans by carefully prying the lever forward. There is a point at which it snaps forward; you won't get this far, but be aware. Just snap it back into position.

The clutch is sooooooooooooo easy to push, the pedals so tight with no sideplay, that I CANNOT believe it is the same car. For about $130.00 you will have changed a common complaint about these cars and the clutch pedal. I should also add that it cleared up my hard shifting as well, though my plan is to replace the couplers, adjust, and flush the trans regardless.

On the test pipe instead of catalytic converter: I swapped my cat. out for the plain pipe and I did so when I had to adjust the valves. Go to your local muffler shop, have them remove the bolts holding your cat. and replace them all with fresh bolts. Go home, remove the bolts, and drop the cat. Getting fresh HARDENED nuts and bolts and fresh gaskets, bolt in the test pipe. I think I notice more noise from the exhaust, but basically I did the work to find out if my cat. was clogged.

Test for leaks by placing a cold wet rag against the exhaust outlet, listening for hisses from under the car.

Jw

[This message has been edited by Jdub (edited 01-24-2001).]

Okay, I'll take the cluster apart this Saturday and let you know what I find out. I'm looking at bushings...the tranny was rebuilt less than a year ago, and a new clutch, cable, helper spring put in. My guess is that the pedal cluster is the primary problem here, but the clutch cable is a definite possibility because it does sort of feel like a fraying cable. I'll see when I get in there.

The cat pipe gives a lower rumble that really isn't noticeable audibly. That is, you'll feel the different in the car's vibration. I did the same to see if my cat was clogged as well.
I can only measure the net difference in my car after all the changes I've made, and together, my guess is 20 to 25 HP overall added (Weltmeister chip alone boasts +20HP at highest RPM).
I need to put it on a dyno to be sure, but the 0-60 times sure dropped.


------------------
Kurt B
1984 911 Carrera Cabriolet
75 914 1.8

This weekend it's time for my 1K mile SWEPCO swap out of my rebuilt tranny, so I guess I'll be joining you on your journey towards clutch nirvana, Kurt.

I don't have a new helper spring on hand, so it's going to be (1) Pedal cluster rebuild, (2) Clutch cable (yes, I still have the pre-rebuild cable), (3) SWEPCO (not necessarily in that order). Will it be a pain to do the helper spring at a later time, or should I wait until I've got one and do it all at once?

blue

I'd wait to get the helper so you don't have to readjust the clutch cable again. No big deal, but would just save you some time from doing it twice.

A friend replaced his clutch, cable, exhaust, and more last winter (IL). Just like s77911, old_skul and Jdub said, it made a world of difference. I thought when I first drove his 86 the clutch was heavy because it was mech. operated and heavy duty. New cable made it as light as any other clutch i've pushed. Gotta do the cable!

I agree that getting the helper on at the same time would be a good idea. I do think, though, that I will be checking my cable adjustment again after 200 miles or so to see if any stretch has put my cable out of adjustment.

On the helper spring: Note that, on '78 and some '79, there is a pin that holds the lever onto the transmission shaft which you must punch out: not detailed in the Bentley SC manual. I used a 24t hacksaw to break through the three layers that form this spring, but a Dremel tool or die grinder with cutting wheel makes short work of this.

Something else: the helper spring sits on a splined shaft that goes into the lever. In the body of the lever are two (I believe) needle bearings that hold the splined shaft, permitting this shaft and the helper spring on it to swivel when the cable is pulled. Support that pin at the bottom when you tap the new spring on so as not to cause sideload on these bearings.

When done, smear heavy grease into the spring to ease movement and trap dirt on the outside of the spring, instead of the dirt getting *between* the springs. Every so often remove the grease with the accumulated dirt, douse with WD-40, then regrease. Idea is that dirt cannot be by the grease if you put a tidy amount on.

Jw

Kurt,

I appologize if I am somewhat responsible for your desire to clean and lube the cluster due to my reply to a prev. posting.

I did clean and lubricate mine with excellent results, now lasting 4 months. I guess we will see if it stays or not.

I would guess the brass bushing rebuild would be a good idea, as well as a cable and helper for the clutch. As long as you have it all apart, may as well take apart the cluster and do the bushings I guess.

Best of Luck.



------------------
__________
Nick Shumaker
1982 911SC Coupe