Clutch pedal issues

[Avalanche325]

I have a MKIV with the Wilwood pedal box. It has the quadrant that is offset from the pedal. This was after they went to forged pedals, but before the quadrant re-design. Running a RAM clutch and TKO 600.

My pedal has been clicking once on the way down and once on the way up. I am getting ready for a track day, so was going to put a new cable on. You know how it goes when you open something up......

I took the cable off, which has some normal wear, 1 frayed strand. Then I checked the pedal for smoothness. I can twist the pedal an alarming amount. Probably 5 -10*. I think the left hole on the pedal box is ovalized due a few years of offset torque. Also the shaft to the quadrant is slightly bent. My clutch is pretty stiff and I am sure the increasing misalignment is making it worse. I think 21k miles of sideways torque has taken its toll.

So the offset quadrant has to go and I am likely in for a new pedal box (ouch). That is going to be a lot of fun on a completed car.

Should I:

1. Get the new in line quadrant from FFR and stay with the cable? How is this solution working out?
2. Go to a hydraulic setup? More expense, but I wouldn't mind a little less pedal effort either.

Is the Forte kit the way to go for hydraulic? I have seen a couple threads where he recommended a quadrant relocation to someone over hydraulic, which has me scratching my head a little.

Thanks for your opinions and advice.

[GoDadGo]

The Silly Chevy Guy's Solution:

Personally I love having a hydraulic set up; however, could you pull the pedal and simply open it up, meaning drill it out, so that you could install a bronze bushing?...It would be cheaper and get you back on the road while you figure out a long term solution and/or hydraulic upgrade.

Any decent machine shop could easily handle this task and likely supply the bushing.

[edwardb]

Man, that's a shame. I agree installing a bushing into the existing pedal box would be a reasonable fix vs. an all new pedal box. Whether fixing or new, getting that pedal box out of a completed car won't be fun. Possible I think but hopefully you like working up inside the footbox from the bottom. By all accounts the revised clutch cable mod that pulls from the center of the clutch arm is robust and works OK. Obviously you would also need to move the cable exit from the footbox over to line up with the new location. Going hydraulic is certainly another option. I've seen mention of a couple other choices, but overwhelmingly the Forte version is the most common. I've done several, and they work although I've tweaked my latest one with a different size MC than Forte supplies. I've had both cable and hydraulic. I wouldn't say the hydraulic is hugely different than a well set up, routed, and proper cable setup (e.g. a Ford OE cable). But it works well and what I prefer on my builds.

[Avalanche325]

[B][COLOR="#FF0000"] could you pull the pedal and simply open it up....

It is the box, not the pedal, cuz the pedal would just be too easy. I am going to see if a bushing will do it once I get it out. But only if that won't make the wall too thin. I only want to do this once.

I figure a few hours with my head in the footbox and feet on the roll bar will be therapeutic. The trick will be to stage every tool imaginable on the trans tunnel.

I am looking at a couple different slave cylinder setups, including one from Wilwood that is a pull type. Interesting and fairly simple if it clears where the dipstick goes into the sump.

Edwardb,
Why the MC size change? Throw or effort adjustment?

[GoDadGo]

It is the box, not the pedal,

Wow! ...Never an easy solution!

On the MC size question for Paul, yes the size determines the effort and throw.
I'm running a .75" (3/4") for my set up which is working well for my C-4 Corvette Slave Cylinder.
You need to know the volume (diameter & throw length are helpful) of the Slave in order to size the Master.

Hope This Helps & Good Luck!

[Cobra4GC]

I have a Mk 3.1 but things should be similar to the Mk IV. My Wilwood clutch pedal broke so I had no choice but to replace it. I had the original cable setup and decided to go with the Forte hydraulic kit as an upgrade attached to a Levy Super Alloy T5. You can complete this on a finished car provided you have access from the engine bay and you don't have extra large hands. A second set of hands is highly recommended but you can do it by yourself. You can count on getting cuts and scrapes as well. Removing the original clutch quadrant was easy, but getting the new peddle and the shims installed was the tricky part. I removed the drivers seat so I could lay on my back and work overhead while wearing a headlight. There's no extra room for wide shoulders in the footwell and its hard to reach anything on the tranny tunnel without having to slide out from the footwell. Persistence gets it done. Good luck with the swap.

Gary

[edwardb]

Edwardb, Why the MC size change? Throw or effort adjustment?

Forte provides a Wilwood 1.125 inch MC and CNC 7/8 inch push slave cylinder. On both my Mk4 builds, this combination pushed the slave cylinder out past it's rated throw of 1.0625 with the clutch pedal to the floor. Rather than stop it short, I switched to a 1.00 inch bore Wilwood MC. Resulted in not over-driving the slave cylinder plus slightly reduced effort. I've heard second hand that Mike is certain 1.125 is the right size MC. But this has worked really well for me, and several other builds have taken my advice and worked well for them as well. Side note: Since CNC is out of business, curious what Mike will be providing. Perhaps he has a supply of them. But there are other brands out there. I personally haven't used a pull setup, but I've heard they aren't as reliable. Don't have any hard data, just what I've heard. You might want to check into that.

[GoDadGo]

Avalanche,

Could you possibly do the following:

1. Remove the clutch pedal, clutch quadrant and rod.
2. Remove the Flat Bolt that attaches the pedal assembly unit to the frame mounting bracket.
....The Flat Bolt May Need To Be Pressed Out With A Reasonably Sized C-Clamp & Socket To Push The Bolt Out!
3. Create a bracket that has a hole in it, with a bronze bushing preferred, that will support the clutch rod that uses the Flat Bolt Hole for support.
4. The bracket may need to have the stud welded to it, but you get the picture as to where I'm trying to go with this Lame Brain Idea.
5. Reinstall the clutch assembly.
6. See the attached Factory Five Video as a possible reference:

https://youtu.be/CNjDsEbqJVk

Sorry to suggest creating an alternate solution, but I think it may be possible to modify the existing assembly to fix your problem.
I'd bet money, and I'm not a betting man, that the outer hole is the one that is culprit (worse of the two holes) since that point is carrying most of the load.

Yes, I Think I'm O.C.D. But Know I'm Definitely Dyslexic For Sure!

Steve