Clutch Linkage

[goodnigh]

Driving home from work and the clutch pedal goes to the floor and

stays there :huh: Long story short I was able to drive the car to a

place and meet a tow truck for the rest of the way home. Put the

car in first with the engine off and start the car. I drove for about a

mile in first. My mechanic came by and checked the linkage from the

pedal to the equalizer bar and this is what we found. This is a 1971

Grande M-code with toploader. Notice anything odd about the

linkage in the pictures below? The broken end attached to the

equalizer bar.

mike

 

[mchandford]

Awesome! I have a similar story. Not sure if you put this thing together yourself. I don't want to offend. It looks like it was 'rigged.' Mine was put together in a "reputable" shop near Weiser, ID. When I got the car it didn't really look right under there. I am no mechanic and it seemed to work ok, but every once in a while I would have a hard time getting the clutch to engage/disengage properly. Took it in to get looked at and the guys said the linkage holes were warbled out. So replace that and the bushings, (which may be all you need to get yours on the road again) Got the thing back together again and it drove great! For about 3 miles. Then, just like you said, pedal to the floor. Coasted to a stop, tow truck, went back in again. Guess what they found? The clutch fork pivot bracket...



...was not there. Not broken off, just not there. Like they forgot to install it when they put the car together. The shop told me they had found an extra spring holding the clutch fork 'up' and in place. the fork was pivoting on the outside of the bell housing. Not good. Had to drop the tranny, just to pull 2 rivets, install the bracket and put 2 new rivets back in. Now it works great, but pedal feels totally different than before. Long story short, sometimes it takes a trained eye to catch the strange things people do to fix their cars.

You said you are running a toploader, but your clutch linkage looks totally different than mine.

 

[OMS]

Mike that is a home made rod

Don

Driving home from work and the clutch pedal goes to the floor and

stays there :huh: Long story short I was able to drive the car to a

place and meet a tow truck for the rest of the way home. Put the

car in first with the engine off and start the car. I drove for about a

mile in first. My mechanic came by and checked the linkage from the

pedal to the equalizer bar and this is what we found. This is a 1971

Grande M-code with toploader. Notice anything odd about the

linkage in the pictures below? The broken end attached to the

equalizer bar.

mike

 

[cazsper]

I don't mean to offend any "purists" but have you considered a cable setup? I'm using one on my TKO-600 and it's really nice.

 

[goodnigh]

I don't mean to offend any "purists" but have you considered a cable setup? I'm using one on my TKO-600 and it's really nice.

I looked at a kit from Mustang Depot for $259.95 but went with the

original rod from Don of OMS for $28. The problem is how does the

rod attach to the pedal. The old rod in the picture has a pin which

is appropriate for a 1970 but not '71. That rod has a hole. What does

it attach to and how to hold it in place. Got the bottom end figured

out.

mike

 

[droptop73]

You could use a shoulder bolt tack welded to the pedal.

 

[goodnigh]

Ordered a new pedal assembly with bushings and an "assist" spring.

Got the rod from Don of OMS, the spring from Sacramento Mustang

and the pedal from NPD. My mechanic looked at the spring and said

there is nothing like that under my dash. So a previous owner installed a home made linkage and who knows what kind of spring.

The CenterForce clutch mentioned you did not need this spring when

using their setup.

We will see.

Here is the spring.

mike

 

[Jeff73Mach1]

oh yeah, that spring is one dangerous bad boy! They can break fingers, noses and put out eyes. Some folks suggest removing it with the centrifugal weighted clutches, but I left it in my car and when I replaced the clutch I was glad I did!

 

[ramair]

On the pin side of the rod on your mechanical linkage don't use that plastic bushing. This is what I do and it works way better than that plastic bushing. I use a bronze door pin bushing instead, it lasts way longer and wears slower than the white plastic one.

 

[goodnigh]

On the pin side of the rod on your mechanical linkage don't use that plastic bushing. This is what I do and it works way better than that plastic bushing. I use a bronze door pin bushing instead, it lasts way longer and wears slower than the white plastic one.

Will run that by my mechanic, we don't have the bushings yet.

mike

oh yeah, that spring is one dangerous bad boy! They can break fingers, noses and put out eyes. Some folks suggest removing it with the centrifugal weighted clutches, but I left it in my car and when I replaced the clutch I was glad I did!

The rest of the assembly arrived and it is all about the Spring

If I understand correctly the purpose of the spring is to assist you in

depressing the pedal, opening the clutch. The current setup is

"broken" and likely has an improper assist spring. Pedal action right

now is pretty heavy so I can expect a lighter pedal with the new

setup. It is like driving a '48 Farmall.

mike

 

[goodnigh]

So we purchased all the parts for a new clutch pedal as

pictured below. Then we crawl under the dash and find

what is currently in the car looks nothing like the

picture. The current clutch pedal assembly appears to

belong in a Torino or Comet as far as we can tell from

Ford shop manual diagrams.

Let the Games begin.

mike

 

[woodsnake]

I went through a similar nightmare with my 68 Cougar...Somewhere in the car's history, somebody had installed a 3+1 OD transmission, in a car that was a C4 auto from the factory.

The only reason I bought the car, was because it was a three pedal car! I ended up going with a cable clutch set up and a T5 transmission that was "rebuilt"..The trans was a good deal, and complete, but the 1-2 upshift requires a 'sweet spot' when shifting...

 

[goodnigh]

New pedal is in, after three days of working it.

Below is what came out of the car. It took three

days as this is a daily driver and we needed to be

sure we could mount the new pedal, pictured elsewhere

in this thread, without damaging the hanger assembly.

The old pedal's pivot rod was held with a clip on one end

and press fit on the other.

Anyone venture to guess what car the pedal belongs in?

mike

 

[Tnfastbk]

Yours

 

[goodnigh]

Yours

Makes me wonder what else previous owners did to this poor

car. Maybe I can sell it on eBay as a universal clutch pedal

specifically custom made to fit any make or model Ford product

with or without a manual transmission. If you need that

clutch look, this is for you.

mike