Pedal Box Woes

Quantum Impact · 21-08-2014, 04:50 PM

Hi all,
I've got an AU Series 2 XR6, 2001. I had been having difficulty getting it into gear and found out the clutch pedal box has weakened. It spreads when pressure is applied to the clutch, and the pedal is sitting on a slight angle. The firewall is okay, and I had my clutch cable entry point re-welded about 10 months back.
Tried to source a new one from Ford and now it seems they don't do complete boxes anymore, just parts to repair it.
I'm chasing a complete one to get reinforced and strengthened before it's fitted.
Has anyone got one for sale or know of where I might get one? The wreckers here in Brisbane don't seem to have any at the moment.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

MadnessEvolved · 24-08-2014, 09:59 PM

Good luck with that. I'm currently still having issues with my pedal box, even after it got repaired.

It's currently back at the mechanic's getting a warranty job done on it.

Although I must say, the half day that the clutch worked properly was pure driving bliss...

mik · 12-09-2014, 10:03 AM

You could pull your own one out and take it to someone to weld it up reinforce it, if your worried about it being welded up properly, take it to an engineer/welder, he should be able to strengthen it up nicely.
but it's not rocket science, any decent mechanic who can weld should be able to repair it for you.

Grippy · 12-09-2014, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mik

You could pull your own one out and take it to someone to weld it up reinforce it, if your worried about it being welded up properly, take it to an engineer/welder, he should be able to strengthen it up nicely.
but it's not rocket science, any decent mechanic who can weld should be able to repair it for you.

That's exactly what was done to mine, it was able to be saved and welded up for a bit more strength to ensure it didn't happen again. Very common problem unfortunately that should have been addressed after e series Falcons suffered the same problems.

MadnessEvolved · 26-09-2014, 09:18 PM

I'll add a follow up to mine since I mentioned it.

The mechanic had the car for over 3 weeks this time around. Last time was nearly 3. The problem the first time was of course the welds breaking and the box bending. He fixed this decent enough, though it's not reinforced. This time around he said it was the pivot pin and he was unable to find a replacement unit to put in or work from. We ended up cutting the old pin off and boring out a new hole, where he put in a Valiant wheel nut and bolt in it's place.

Now feels pretty solid, though I can still feel some play where there shouldn't be, from the box. At a later date I'll pull it out myself and spend some time doing the reinforcement work myself. For now, that part of it works. However ...

Earlier this week I got into my car after work, put my foot on the clutch and BANG! Foot hits the floor and clutch doesn't return. Great. Turns out it was the catch at the top of the pedal that holds the cable. The previous dodgy welds on it had broken and there was no longer enough metal left on it to salvage.

Hit up a couple of wreckers and the only response was, "Good luck." They sound like a common part to break, so the general supply of them is very slim. Guess it was onto plan B and I'd have to fabricate one. (I'm too poor/cheap right now to have someone else do it, regardless of how cheap it'll be.)

I've cut a section off a star picket and got through shaping it to match the original, except a few places where the router took extra gouges out. They shouldn't be a hassle, though, as the whole thing is thicker than the old one and I'm not bothering to shape the outer edges of it to allow more steel to be present to deal with the stress of it.

All I've left to do now is bend it into shape and reinstall it. Best thing I have for the job is a BBQ lighter which didn't quite heat it up enough, so I'll have to actually spend some money and get a small blow torch from Bunnings in the morning. Fun stuff.

I'm really hoping that I've made it right the first time and it works as intended as I don't want to have to do it again. Though it definitely will go faster second time around.

jaysway · 30-09-2014, 12:11 PM

Also advisable to replace the clutch cable with a new genuine ford cable

MadnessEvolved · 01-10-2014, 12:11 AM

Finished building the new bracket. Using the steel from the star picket was a bad idea. It's high grade steel and I have nowhere near the right tools to shape that how I needed it. It took less than an hour to break a brand new vice!

Caved in and got a length of mild steel from Masters and got stuck right into it. Touch over an hour later and I have a shiny new bracket for the clutch cable.

Installed the bracket this morning, set the cable back on to the clutch fork after work and drove the car home tonight. With a little bit of tweaking, the clutch is feeling a lot better. The current build has no bushes between bracket and pin, as I have no idea where they are. I'll worry about that later, though.

Some time soon I'll be pulling the pedal box out and doing a reinforcement job on it. I can see it being an issue again, as well as the new pivot pin that was put in is already working it's way loose and twisting. So I'll have to weld it in place.

I'll definitely look at replacing the cable soon, jaysway. Seems to be one of the last things I can do shy of dropping the gearbox to remedy my heavy clutch. Going to go find out pricing for one locally, though I found one on eBay for $11. Will see how things go.

Reaper8 · 01-10-2014, 10:40 AM

anyone got any photo's of these. mine is good (touch wood) just wondering were there breaking ect

jaysway · 01-10-2014, 11:28 AM

Madness, they are around $90 new from ford, not sure I would trust one that's priced at $11, if the cable in your car has never been changed you will be surprised at the difference a new one will make.

MadnessEvolved · 02-10-2014, 11:31 PM

Ouch, that's a bit pricier than I'd hoped for. Guess I'll be a while before I can replace it, unless it breaks first. My budget only allows for emergency repairs and stuff that costs me nothing, or close to. Thanks for letting me know, though.

Reaper8: A photo of the pedal box showing where it breaks? I've got a couple of photos of when mine was out, I'll put them up in the morning if they show the welds from it's repair. Otherwise, I'll take some and have them up by the end of the day. If you meant the bracket that broke for me, plenty of photos of that

Reaper8 · 05-10-2014, 09:33 AM

just wondering where their cracking/breaking. mine seems good but wouldn't hurt to know where there going so can have look

Sox · 05-10-2014, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mik

You could pull your own one out and take it to someone to weld it up reinforce it, if your worried about it being welded up properly, take it to an engineer/welder, he should be able to strengthen it up nicely.
but it's not rocket science, any decent mechanic who can weld should be able to repair it for you.

This.
I've repaired and strengthened many of these, it's an easy job for any competent fitter/mechanic.

I've even done a few while still in the car, that's a bit trickier, but do-able...