Clutch pedal sticking

[winger300]

Im having a little problem whereas when braking, the clutch pedal doesn't fully return to the top until i remove my foot from the brake pedal.

Am i correct in assuming the pedals are linked at the top somewhere? Where and what do i need to clean & lubricate?

[Cam]

That is caused by a worn pedal shaft which runs throught the chassis leg. The brake pedal pivots around the shaft and the clutch pedal is attached to the side. If it's doing as you say then it will probably need replacing (most Minor places do them). Usually you have to weld the clutch pedal on the end of the shaft. Oh and you will need new bronze bushes for the brake pedal (2) and for the chassis leg (2) and a new nylock nut for the end of the pedal.

Here is a picture of the assembly:

[brixtonmorris]

nice tricky job to deal with

[Cam]

Yes, I've done 2 now and both were different. Mine was loose and rocking about. When I did Jane_b's it was as described as above (both pedals sticking together).

[Kevin]

nice tricky job to deal with

That a bit of an understatement Mark

Unfortunatly its quite a common problem you could try a spot of lubrication around the brake pedal but in the long term replacement will be the only solution.

[simmitc]

Like many things on the Minor this is not a difficult job in theory, when you follow the steps logically. What is difficult is the chain of things that need doing, or that go wrong. It can take a long time to do it properly!

Remove the clutch pedal. Simple, undo nut on outside end of shaft - will it undo? To get the pedal out, you have to disconnect the linkage - crawl under car (safely supported) and locate mechanism buried under years of grease and oil. Remove split pin from end of other pin - will it come out? Examine all plates, pins, holes, etc and realise that everything needs replacing anyway if you're going to do it properly; so remove bolts from mounting plate - will they come out?

Back to inside of car, need to remove gear box cover - will all the brass crews come out without chewing heads or snapping? Probably need to remove seats to get cover out - more that might or might not undo. May need to remove gearstick to get cover out of the way. That means removing the rubber gaiter - dead easy, but try getting the screws lined up through carpet when you put it all back together!

Once clutch pedal is out, remove brake pedal, drift out old bushes and drive in new ones. Refit with new clutch pedal, have fun hooking on brake return spring inside chassis leg.

Don't be put off, none of it's difficult; but do be aware of what you're starting - don't start at 15:00 on Saturday and expect to be driving off for an evening out, allow plenty of time and take it easy. Better still, hope that just removing the small plate over the master cyclinder allow you to squirt plenty of WD40 or similar in the area shown in the photo above, and that that works. Better still, treat it as a fature - auto de-clutch when braking !

[rayofleamington]

Once clutch pedal is out,

Even that bit can be a nightmare!
Ive seen it on a few cars where the spacer rusts solid onto the pedal shaft so the darn thing ISNT coming out.
The only way I got round it was to weld a big lump onto the spacre so that I could crack it loose by turning it witrh molegrips. When it starts to turn keep going until it is a bit more loose then you can remove the clutch pedal and shaft by rotaing them and pulling out whuilts still holding the spacer with molegrips............

[Willie]

WINGER, everyone is right of course as to how this is yet another
MINOR job which involves much more work that you expect. However
the fact that your pedals do not appear to be totally locked together
is promising. Once you have removed the small floor plate you
will be able to work the pedals against each other and, if they free
up make sure that you finally douse them in EP oil(rear axle)
this will cling far better than any other type.

[Cam]

Ive seen it on a few cars where the spacer rusts solid onto the pedal shaft so the darn thing ISNT coming out.

Yes, that happend to Jane's car. Luckily I had a spare spacer so I cut the old one off with a grinder (on the disc's edge).

[rupert]

I had to do the pedal shaft on my car twice, so now I've drilled and tapped a hole into the brake pedal and the spacer and put a grease nipple in so hopefully it should be free in the future!

[Willie]

One other question. Are you sure that the clutch pedal return spring
is still on the car? without it the pedal will still return up to a point
with the aid of the clutch diaphragm springs themselves but the 'free
play' will not be present if the spring has fallen off?

[winger300]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes the clutch return spring is in place. What happens is when braking the clutch pedal is fine, only when i put both pedals down, and then lift off the clutch pedal, it returns upto the point of free play, and then returns fully to the top when i release the brake pedal.

The pedals dont feel locked together in any way, theres just enough friction in them to overcome the feeble clutch return spring.

The clutch linkage snapped last week, so i've already had fun under the car putting that back together

[brixtonmorris]

iam sure those linkage strips and adjuster rod are not as strong as made originaly

[simmitc]

iam sure those linkage strips and adjuster rod are not as strong as made originaly

Agreed. I've commented about other bits that thye lasted for say 150,000 miles or ten years, but now new ones manage only a couple of years before they wear out.

[rayofleamington]

it returns upto the point of free play, and then returns fully to the top when i release the brake pedal

doesn't sound too bad - you ight cure it by working some thick oil down the sides of the pedal.
When they are really bad the clutch will stay open when you are braking so that you don't get any engine braking when you downshift (until you lift off the brake pedal)

[Matt]

so when that happens and you are changing up you have to brake??

[winger300]

Looking at your picture cam, does your clutch pedal pivot on the outside of the chassis leg? I appears both my brake and clutch pedals are mounted on the inside of the chassis leg, but to the left of the clutch pedal is another hole in the floor where is should probably be coming out from! they are very close together.

Is this normal for a splitscreen? and i've just got a later gearbox cover due to the 1098 conversion. The clutch linkage i have is a little rod as opposed to the two parallel plates that a later car has.

[Cam]

Is this normal for a splitscreen?

Yes, it should be like my '52:

http://potteries.mmoc.org.uk/Members_Ca ... CF0055.JPG

Both inside the chassis leg.

[winger300]

its crazy how close together the pedals are! I have a friend who's foot presses all three pedals at once! theres no way he could possibly drive my moggy.

[winger300]

Hi,

After five years I'm finally getting around to this job! The pedals are all over the place and the clutch is really hard to operate.

So, in taking it apart it looks like there is no nut on the end of the pedal shaft, and that the clutch pedal is anchored to the shaft with a nut and bolt running through it. Problem is that I cant get the bolt out. I probably just have to bang it with a hammer, or cut it out.

Can I just replace this setup with the modern type? Clutch pedal on the outside of the chassis leg, spacer, brake pedal then a nut on the end?

What parts should I order for the clutch linkage?

Thanks