Just rebuilt pedal cluster - what a mess

[Kemo]

for those out there contemplating rebuilding the pedal cluster, I say jump in there asap. I thought my car was fairly clean but the area under and around my pedal cluster was an oily mess. I am guessing the bulk of the funk was from brake fluid over the years. Not to mention a few rotting leaves, dirt, sand, rocks, wire tips, fingernails and hair.

I was able to pull it all out Sunday night following Wayne's 101 Projects directions. I drilled out the retaining pin and then was able to drive it out with a punch. I went ahead and wirebrushed off all the surface rust and hit all the parts with primer followed by paint. Last night, I assembled it all with the Bronze bushing kit from PP and put it all back in without issue. Definitely an easy DIY.

I would say the trickiest part was getting the pin out of the clutch cable, not alot of room to work in there.

Tips:
1. assemble the entire cluster as much as possible before putting it all back in
2. dont throw away all the plastic peices, I had to go digging around in my trash can to get the plastic spacer on the clutch arm near the cable attachment point.

hope this helps anyone contemplating rebuilding the cluster...

[RWebb]

I'll add that it can look just fine when you crawl in with a flashlight, but be terribly rusted where the cluster touches the floor pan - you need to loosen or remove to really check it out.

And... the diagram ain't that great - tag each item you remove as you remove it & mark the orientation too.

I plated my cluster body - figured it was less likely to rust than paint or powder coating.

[Craig_D]

This has been on my list since buying my 78 SC in October. Especially with the squeaky clutch pedal. How much improvement did you get in pedal action with the bronze bushings and the clean up?

Cheers,

- CraigD

[RSTarga]

the trickiest part is driving the new pin into the clutch pedal. Definitely worth doing and not all that difficult.

[Kemo]

i had rebuilding the cluster on my radar for a while. Unfortunately, my master cylinder went south and I had to replace that. I noticed just how worn out everything was when I removed the brake actuator thingy that attaches to the brake pedal. one of my plastic bushings had rubbed all the way thru. The bronze ones are wonderful. Super tight fit without any binding. no squeeks either! I havent driven the car since replacing the bushings but it sure did feel good and tight just trying it out in the garage.

[davemccorkle]

Here is mine that I just rebuilt. A must repair for anyone!