Pedal Cluster Rebuild

[R2911]

I was wondering if someone could provide information regarding removing pedal cluster, I have an '80 SC that the pedal needs rebuilding. After taking the car for a leisure drive yesterday, I notice the brake pedal has a slight movement from side to side. Decided to take a look when I got home and noticed bits and pieces of plastic bushings near the pedal, its time to take this aprt and replace with bronze bushings.

My question is, do I need to release the tension on my clutch cable in order to remove pedal cluster? I wasn't planning to do any clutch adjustment unless I have to. Please advise what I have to do....TIA

R2911

[GH85Carrera]

Removing the pedal cluster is not that hard, the clutch cable is a PITA but everything else is pretty easy. The hard part is getting the big springs back into position.

Just do a search for pedal cluster and you will see several threads on how it has been done.

I will be doing my pedal cluster this winter.

[Rot 911]

Pelican Technical Article: Pedal Cluster Rebuild

[JeremyD]

I just did this - it helps to have the car on jack stands. I used big washers that I shoved in the spring when extended - made reconnecting easy. I also compressed the clutch (using a c-clamp) at the bell housing that allowed me to slip the clutch cable off the retainer - which gives you room and makes the pedal end MUCH less a PITA.

I used an air impact gun to remove the rolled pin - the rolled pin was hardened steel and was eating my drill bits.

Other than that, it's pretty straight forward - use light oil on the bronze pieces, easy to button back up...

[Jdub]

I note the hesitation in your post and want to tell you that you can do this, and the clutch cable adjustment no problem. Once you are in doing the pedal cluster you will want to also replace the clutch cable, the trunnion pin that connects it to the cluster, the small brass bushing, and any other bits.

Why? Because by now your clutch cable is worn - now is the time to replace it as a "while you are in there" moment. Trust me. Next, the trunnion pin that retains the clutch cable yoke (think "Y") to the pedal cluster "ear" will have dug the brass bushing to nothing and is now digging directly into the metal. You want to stop this NOW with a fresh bushing. Again, trust me.

The difference is amazing - really amazing. You will have returned the car to spec. and the shifting will be a world of difference.

Finally, not to add to your task list, but I would HIGHLY recommend you have a look at the shifter bushings to complement the work you are now doing. There are four; from front of car to rear: Ball cup bushing at end of shift lever; Shift rod bushing in tunnel; Shift coupler, comprising two idential bushings within the body of the couper.

Once you have done this work and adjusted both the clutch cable and the coupler, your shifts will improve markedly. You will have totally removed any possibility of slop and will have freed up your 915 to shift the way it was meant to.

[crustychief]

/\ This

[R2911]

Thanks JDUB for responding on cluster rebuild, I've had the car for 3 years now and know the car has new clutch and cable, shift rod & ball cup bushing done by previous owner. I have also recently replaced shift coupler bushings as well and made dramatic improvement in shifting along with replacing motor & tranny mounts.

I will definitely look into replacing trunnion pin for clutch cable while I'm in there. So I do need to release tension on clutch cable to remove cluster off the car. I was hoping that this is not necessary, I just need to make sure clutch adjustment is where it suppose to be.

Cheers....R2911
Thanks again to everyone that provided me enough information to do this job.

[korbensinclair]

Not to hijack this post, but I had a question vaguely relating to the topic. Does one have to remove the pedal cluster to remove the wood floorboard that goes under the pedals? Or do the pedals detatch easier than that to allow the wood to be slipped up off them.

[pete3799]

If your clutch is properly adjusted you should have enough free play in the pedal to allow
removing the clutch pin.

[pete3799]

Originally Posted by korbensinclair

Not to hijack this post, but I had a question vaguely relating to the topic. Does one have to remove the pedal cluster to remove the wood floorboard that goes under the pedals? Or do the pedals detatch easier than that to allow the wood to be slipped up off them.

You have to remove the floor board first in order to access the pedal assembly.

[korbensinclair]

The gas pedal comes off at the foot cover as it is just held in place by that rod with the round end that fits into the plastic backing. How is the foot pedal for the clutch and break removed to allow for the wood to be taken off?

[pete3799]

You will have to play with it some in order to get it to fit up over the pedals.
You may have to loosen the clutch pedal stop that's bolted to the floorboard ( mark it's location before removal)to allow enough room for the pedals to fit through the FB.

[bfunke]

I repaired my pedals on my 68 a few months ago so here's some pearls I learned.

1.First remove the floor mats and carpets from the driver side and front tunnel. Since your here may want to also remove your shifter and replace the bushings as these are likely also shot. My car had very sloppy shifting and trouble getting into third. The shift base had a crack so I replaced that part and all bushings - two nylon rings around shifter spring, nylon cup at base of shifter, circular rubber ring in shift rod bracket and coupling at rear of tunnel. I tried replacing the bushings in the coupler but the new ones were still sloppy so I got a new coupler which is still available from Porsche. Car now shifts like new.

2. Snap the thottle rod ball out of the back of the pedal. Remove the wooden floorboards. Be careful with the 10mm nuts that screw onto studs in the floorpan. If they are rusted use PB blaster and let it soak in and tap GENTLY with a hammer before trying to unbolt. You don't want to have to weld on a new stud. If the floorboard has any warping or cracking replace it. Unless your car is concourse, I'd go with aluminum or ABS replacement as the factory plywood is prone to warpage. I went with Rennsport black anodized aluminum and biller aluminum throttle stop with nylon stop bolt - nicely finished and perfect fit. Don't forget to use your old clutch pedal stop on the new floorboard. I found I had to shim a washer under the factory cup washer as the aluminum is a hair thinner than the wood.

3. Reached into the tunnel at the front top open and remove the clevis pin from the clutch. It's a little tricky if you haven't studied the hardware. the lever on the pin has a spring which snaps over the cable to hold it in place. I've seen people destroy these by prying on them and beating them with a hammer. You should be able to easily unlock it with your finger or the tip of a straight screwdriver. Disconnect the throttle socket from the ball on the lever.

4. Now you have access to the pedal assembly. It's held in with two nuts bolted onto studs in your floorpan and two studs going through the brake master cylinder. Be careful not to break the studs on the floorpan same as above. Also take note of your brakelight switch. Some years have the switch on the master cylinder and some years have a microswitch on the pedal assembly. Be careful not to break this switch as it is costly (about 100 bones). the switch is bolted to a boss on the pedal assembly with two small bolts and nuts. There is a little lever that catches on a washer on the brake rod. There are two different types of brake rods also so take note of what you have. Also good time to get a new rubber boot for the end of the master cylinder to the brake rod.

5. You'll now have to remove the nuts on the studs going through the master cylinder. Jack the front wheels up and place car on two jack stands (think safety here). Remove the dust panel covering the steering box and brake lines. There are two large bolts and two small bolts that secure the cover. Now you can access the front of the master cylinder. Remove the nuts and carfully slide the master cylinder forward to avoid kinking your brake lines. The master cylinder may be stuck to the body with a little caulking to seal out water.

6. Now you should be able to gently rock the pedal assembly loose and off the studs. To replace the bushings, you'll have to drive the roll pin out of the clutch pedal where it is pressed onto the shaft that goes all the way through the assembly. The pedal can be frozen onto the shaft. A good trick is you can hit if with a brass hammer and drive it further onto the shat initially rather than trying to pull it off. This way you have more leverage. Once you've cracked it loose work it back and forth to loosen. Now you have access the springs, pins and bushings. In my particular case my clutch pedal was so frozen, I could not loosen it. I took it to the only machine shop in my little southern town - big mistake. They beat the hell out of my poor clutch shaft with a torch and an air chisel. Time for the pros.

7. Bruce Stone out in Riverside CA is the Porsche Pedal guru. I send him my pedal assembly and he repaired it and very reasonably. When I opened the shipping box my pedal assembly was a work of art. The black parts were beautifully powder coated and the bare metal pieces were plated gold just like the original cad plating. Bruce installed new oil bronze bushing to replace the old plastic pieces so it should last a lifetime. Bruce's contact info is on the pelican website pedal rebuild page. Send me a note if you need his email bfunke@sc.rr.com.

8. Assembly is reverse of above. Carefully reattach the cables and don't twist them. You almost need 3 hands to get the throttle rod through the floorboard as you position it. Be sure to lubricate all pivots/sockets/pins, etc. I like to use a little antiseize on all threads to ease future disassembly. After putting everthing together and adjusting the brakes and clutch free play to factory specs, I had no brake lights unless I really mashed the pedal. Turns out the po had inserted some washers under the brake light switch to make up for the pedal slop due to worn out bushings. A call to Bruce confirmed the factory didn't use washers here and once corrected all worked well. Pedals are now solid and firm. Brakes and clutch work well and the car shifts like new again. Best wishes.

Bryan

[boyt911sc]

Originally Posted by korbensinclair

Not to hijack this post, but I had a question vaguely relating to the topic. Does one have to remove the pedal cluster to remove the wood floorboard that goes under the pedals? Or do the pedals detatch easier than that to allow the wood to be slipped up off them.

korben,

The pedal cluster is installed first before the floorboard. So you could remove the floorboard without removing the pedal cluster. As a matter of fact, I don't have floorboards on my SC at the moment.

Remove the 6-mm bolt that holds the front end and release the carpet's straps from the floorboard. And you should be able to slide the floor board out easily. HTH.

Tony

[blucille]

+1 for bruce stone, great work.....mine was a mess, he sent me a replacement and refunded a core charge when mine was shipped back....quick shipper and great service!

[MrScott]

Just recently went through this myself. Took some figuring to remove the brace connecting the cluster to the brake master cylinder housing. Hopefully this saves you some time:
Clutch wont disengage