Clutch/brake pedal shaft question

okieford

okieford

Junior Member
I remember reading a post that the bell housing had to be removed so the clutch/brake pedal shaft could be removed from inside out of the bell housing.

I just wondered if anyone has been able to remove the shaft without removing the bell housing?

I put new bushings in the pedals, but the shaft is so worn that only about half the slop was eliminated. The pin that holds the shaft has a head much like a rivet head so I thought maybe the pin could be removed by prying or with vise grips. Then maybe the shaft could be pulled out. Maybe some heat from a propane torch might be needed. Any opinions on this??
 
I just don't how you could do this. I have removed 2 and even with the housing out it was a chore.
 
The brake and clutch pedal shaft go thru the bell housing, and to remove it, the fork that moves the throw-out bearing (therefore the clutch) is inside the bell housing between the clutch plate and the transmission, and is firmly fixed with a riveted pin.

Bottom line is that the bell housing has to be separated from the flywheel housing in order to get at it. If you don't remove the transmission, then the engine has to come out.

This is one of those things you do when you already have it apart for something else.:eek:
 
If you are asking about the clutch/pedal shaft that the pedals slide onto, the answer is you do not have to take the bell housing apart to get to it. The clutch/pedal shaft slides into the bell housing and is secured with a tapered pin which passes through the shaft as it goes through the bell housing. You will need to remove the pin with a punch and the shaft will slide out of the bell housing. It may take some working the pedal shaft to remove it as it is a machine fit and it probably has been in there for some time.
 
Dick M said:
If you are asking about the clutch/pedal shaft that the pedals slide onto, the answer is you do not have to take the bell housing apart to get to it. The clutch/pedal shaft slides into the bell housing and is secured with a tapered pin which passes through the shaft as it goes through the bell housing. You will need to remove the pin with a punch and the shaft will slide out of the bell housing. It may take some working the pedal shaft to remove it as it is a machine fit and it probably has been in there for some time.
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I have read this before, but have never tried it, because I always had a rivet-headed pin and couldn't get in there to grind it off. If the pin is tapered, how can you drive it out? Which way does it taper? Has anyone here done this?
 
Dick has it right except it does not have a tapered pin but has a rivet. This rivet is in a position that the head can be sheared off with a chisel and the pin driven out the bottom of the housing mount. I use a grabber to grasp the pin just before it is out and throw it away. The shaft can usually be twisted and pulled from the housing and the new one put in it's place. The new one comes with a tapered pin to replace the rivet you removed. I have done it this way several times and find it is a great time saver and eliminates a lot of work.
 
As I understand it the pedal shaft is the issue. There are people who claim they have replaced the pedal shaft without removing the bell housing from the car. That may be true, but I would never attempt it as you can easily paint yourself into a corner and then be required to pull the rear end and transmission.

The early pins have a dome shaped head and it can be knocked off with a chisel and the pin driven in and fished out with a magnet. The later ones used a tapered pin and you need to knock it out from the inside or drill it out from the outside.

Once the pin is removed you can saw the shaft off short and drive it in with a punch if it is not in there too tight. Most are too tight to be pulled out. You would then need to fish the cut off end of the shaft out of the bell housing with a magnet.

Now the trick is to install the new shaft. Some go in so tight you need a shop press. If you drive it in with a hammer you will mushroom the end and you won't be able to get the pedals on. You also have to be sure that the pin hole lines up so that the new pin can be inserted. This is where you can paint yourslelf into a corner.

It would be best to wait until the bell housing is out of the car for other reasons such as a clutch replacement, then you can replace the pedal shaft and the clutch release shaft and also replace the two bushings in the bell housing.

Even with the bell housing sitting on a work bench replacing the pedal shaft can be a daunting task.

Tom Endy
 
I just tackled that issue last week. My 31 had the round head pin in the bellhousing and was heated and peened on the inside also, so you would need to grind one end off and drive it out. In my case I used a dremel tool with a cutoff wheel and ground off the inside portion that was peened and drove it out from the inside.

The new pedal shafts are a bit oversize like others have said. I polished mine with some fine emory paper and metal polish hoping that it would fit it but no avail. I had heard of others cracking their bellhousing by trying to drive it in with a hammer so I put the shaft in the freezer overnight and it slipped in like a charm, and had a nice and tight fit also. you gotta be quick though because it won't slide around much as it warms so I used a 1/4 inch pin punch to line the holes up and drove in a round head pin with a hammer. I didn't bother peening the inside because it was a very tight fitting pin, with a now very tight shaft that isn't going anywhere.

Another tip I picked up was to drive some 1/2 inch copper pipe plugs into the transmission tower sliding pin holes in the top center of the bellhousing to prevent oil leaks. You can buy a gizmo to seal them from the vendors for about $40 that covers the holes and bolts to the bearing retainer but this is a good cheap alternative. They compress in the holes nicely and still allow the shifting pins to move in and out sufficiently. I added a little RTV around them but am certain they're not going anywhere and sealed up tight with the compression from the soft copper.

Here is an inside view of the bellhousing where you can see the inside of that pin. Cut the head and drive it out. If you can't grab it before it drops you should be able to get it with a magnetic pickup tool, or if you remove the radius ball it will come out that hole. Both my clutch release shaft and my pedal shaft were badly worn. I would recommend doing this with the bellhousing removed because even if you manage to get the pin and shaft out you don't have much room to work. The clutch release fork attaches to the clutch shaft with a tapered pin and removed and installed (somewhat stubbornly) with a pin punch and sledge hammer. The clutch arm attaches in the same manner.


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I agree with MontanaFordMan. I had this issue last summer. I did the job without removing the bell housing. I had the round (non-tapered) pin. I knocked the head off the pin and drove it down into the bell housing (when it was partway in I grabbed it with a four pronged retrieving tool so it wouldn't fall in). I put a pipe wrench on the old shaft and twisted it while applying outward pressure. It came out without a problem. Before I tried to put the new shaft in I used some emery cloth to reduce the shaft diameter. After the new shaft was in I put a new pin in with some Loctite for insurance. The new shaft is nice and tight and works like a charm. If you have a tapered pin don't try this method. If the pin has a round head it should be straight, not tapered.
 
I don't see a taper pin in the parts book, it shows A-23288 1/4"x1 3/4" Round head rivet or 72291-S8
1/4"x1 1/2" Groove pin.

Bob
 
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