Pedal bushings and other questions

[Whoaaanelly]

It seems a month since I last posted. So many projects, so little time.

I'm finally at it again and pulled the steering column and brake pedal assembly out. I found that when I applied pressure to the clutch the brake pedal would move and vice versa. What I found was the bushing (not the plastic bushing, but aluminum one peened into the hole) was totally gone. Well, it was there anyway, but it was not aligning anything anymore. So I machined a new one and installed it. See the pics.

I also am replacing the steering column with one I got off e-bay, which was for the floor shift truck, which I have. Someone put a column shift automatic column in my truck at some point. It'll be available soon.

Questions:

I noticed there are pedal bumpers which are cams. Do you start both of these at their low spots and adjust as needed to make sure the pedals are equal?

Does anyone know why they used aluminum bushings that can't be replaced?

That's it for now...

[spartman]

I think the bushings were made of lead.

That is also the reason they aren't made anymore.

[Whoaaanelly]

I saw elsewhere someone said they were lead. I'll have to check that out. Lead is pretty soft. Perhaps they are zinc, which we use quite often for castings. Anyway, not sure why they chose to do it that way. I can only guess so if the plastic bushing wore out it wouldn't be steel against steel, which would cause both the shaft and bushing to wear. I'm not concerned with that. I'll keep it lubed and well bushed.

[jor]

So I machined a new one and installed it. See the pics.

Wow! Nice job.
jor

[roachrider]

That is a very nice piece of work on machining the bushing and welding it in. Congrats!

[Whoaaanelly]

Here's the company that does it:
http://www.mustangsteve.com/clutchbearings.html

I had seen this post as I researched what I discovered what was the problem. As with most of this type of stuff, you learn the things that need to be maintained (though Ford probably never mentioned the need) and it should last a long time.

Bearings are the way to go, for sure, but even they fail. I am blown away how the steering column bearings on both of these columns were - non existent. Clearly, they can't be easily lubed though. Although I'm thinking on that.

On my little Falcon wagon I did a similar thing recently to a part that was just two stamped metal discs to act as a cable guide for my emergency brake cable. That little 5/16" diameter pin (see the picture) was riding in a hole that had opened to 5/8" on one side and 1/2" on the other. It now rides on a bearing. And it is night and day an improvement. I posted a picture, just in case it relates to someone else who has something similar. Oddly, there was a means to lubricate this pulley, but who ever did? Nobody... obviously.

I'll take some more pictures as I put these parts back together.

[Mooosman]

So, is there a source for the bushings themselves?

Also, I was looking in the galleries of other peoples' trucks, and all of their brake and clutch pedals looked even. If you look at the attached pic of my truck, the clutch pedal sits 2" higher than the brake.

Did something wear out to where it's sitting like that? Is there an adjustment for it?

Nick

[FORDification]

If you have manual brakes, there really is no adjustment. However, some power brake boosters have an adjustable pushrod between the booster and the brake pedal. Also, the bumper stop for the clutch pedal might be worn, allowing the pedal to come up farther when it's released....or it might be a combination of the two.

I know you can get those bushings from DennisCarpenter.com for $3.00/pair (2 pairs needed). I'd imagine the other major vendors would have them as well.

[Mooosman]

Does Ford still have the bushings? If so, what's the part number?

Thanks
Nick

[Whoaaanelly]

Just to clarify, are you asking about the plastic bushings or the one I had to make a new one of? The big "stamped in place" so-called "lead" bushing (though upon closer inspection, I think are made of zinc diecast, which is confused for lead all the time) I don't think they make, because they don't think this ever fails, which of course my truck proved them wrong. And a lot of these pedal assemblies are missing anytime I look in a wrecking yard for them. The small plastic bushings are readily available from every vendor. I think they use the same plastic bushings found on most Ford vehicles of this era.

In my original post I asked about the rubber stops, and there wasn't anyone who offered a reply to that question, but it would appear these were cam shaped so you could rotate them to even up the pedals -- or something. They were permanently dented on mine, so I turned them over to use the other half, which was "fresh". Look for these on yours and and maybe you can even up the pedals. You may need to compensate for this downward pedal movement with a clutch adjustment to get the pedal play back.