Club 80-90 Forums

Hi guys,

Got a 1988 t25 1.7 diesel, it has had a bit of play in the clutch pedal since I brought it and I think it has got a little worse.

I've looked at the top of the pedal and read the wiki, it looks like wear in the clevis fork is quite common, as well as slave cylinders giving up and sucking in air. My question is, is there an easier way to get access to and remove the pin that holds the master cylinder push rod to the pedal?

From what I can feel it seems like the pin is held in with a circlip or an e-clip but I can't see how I would gain access to remove it. Is there a way to remove anything else first to remove this pin so I can adjust the free play in the pedal ?

I'm going to bleed the system and check the slave just in case that needs replacing too, but either way there is slack in the clutch master cylinder push rod I want to fix too.

Thanks for reading!

Been through this!

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... it=+clutch

Real b*tch of a job - dashboard out, moving brake vac unit, whole pedal assembly etc and is still difficult especially adjusting it up afterwards. Made worse by being arthritic and having large hands! The majority is doable with patience but the adjustment is what I had the most trouble with as there is no easy access to the clevis once it is back in position.

The slack in the push rod at the master is most probably serious wear unfortunately. A job that I certainly don't wish to repeat.

Damn that's not what I wanted to hear :p

I did lay Down and manage to shove my head underneath and I thought it looked like the pedal was on the same bracket as the brake servo. That's a real pain in the ass, I was hoping to just unbolt it and pull the pin out and deal with it that way.

Sounds like a weekends worth of swearing then!

It seems even if I do find a way to remove the pin and get the master out, I'm still going to be left with a knackered pedal bracket anyway :/

How hard is it to remove the dash on these? I'm still new to campers.

Thanks very much for the info and for copying your previous post, most helpful

Dash out isn't too hard - two small bolts each side that you can see when you open the doors then the row of smaller screws along the windscreen edge. Empty your glove box also remove the heater cowling which slides out towards you at the top - with a bit of jiggling! Steering column cowling needs removing also - two crosshead screws underneath at the top - the third one lower down in the middle holds a clip to hold it to the column and doesn't need to be undone. You may need to remove the coldstart handle and/or surround. You need to free up the column and the servo unit. I did it without removing brake lines from the brake master but you will need to remove the master from the servo, also the clutch master's pipe. You will find the various bolts that need undoing. Some are tricky to access!

Follow this https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/In ... rd_removal ignoring the heater references.

The pedal is easy enough to weld back up/have welded and drilled but you will need a new clevis fork and pin. I welded up the fork and redrilled it though and used a new pin.

Be prepared for a lot of cursing and scraped knuckles though.

Thanks a lot for that information, really helpful!

I'm not sure if that bracket is broken, when I felt around I could feel the push rod freely moving up and down in the master cylinder, so I'm hopeful that I can adjust the free play in the master cylinder rod. Did you just drill them both out and fit a larger diameter pin then?

Unfortunately I can't weld, so might make the task a little harder!

I used to own a defender so I've got plenty of practice swearing at annoying bolts and rust etc

Just a shame I can't undo that pin and adjust the free play without taking all the dash out, that would confirm if the slave needs replacing or if it's just all a bit loose.

Better get the swear box and plasters ready then

I should think that you will find that the free play is wear. On mine you could see that someone had previously adjusted it hence the hole finally ending up as the open slot. It shouldn't be difficult to find someone local to weld it up and redrill the pedal and fork. I looked for a good secondhand for a while but had no luck. New pins are easy to get on ebay but the fork isn't. Theoretically you can adjust it in situ but you need extremely small hands and weird spanners to get at it. The push rod just sits in the master and will be free to rotate once the locknut is loosened but it is just about impossible to get to the rod to turn it or access the lock nut. You may have better luck but everyone says the same!
Personally having suffered total failure due to the wear having just been adjusted on mine I wouldn't recommend just adjusting.

Ah ok I didn't think the rod would turn in the cylinder, I think I'm going to try and stick my head under and see if it's just lose in the cylinder or the pins worn, from what I could feel it was just the rod moving up and down in the cylinder but I'm sure that sounds too simple!

That will be wear on the pin and hole - the other end just sits in a cup in the piston on the clutch master cylinder with no fixings.

Well I got my hand on the push rod and held it still, moved the pedal and there was not any play but then loosened my grip and moved the pedal and the rod was moving in the cylinder.

So it's either just play in the push rod, or the master or slave cylinder has had it and it's sucked in loads of air and Lost fluid, the plot thickens!

You may well get away with just adjusting it then, I made a z shaped spanner to get at the lock nut, it was either 12 or 14mm. Mind you if the hole has elongated like mine had you may have just been on a tighter piece of the slot and didn't notice the that it was in a different position. I had no indication of play on my pedal when it failed. Good luck with it whichever one is causing the play.

Have a look at this thread to see how I managed to adjust the pedal free play.

https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... l#p7720480" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hope this is in time to help you.

Thanks Garyd, I had a play at the weekend and managed to sort it out.

I just laid next to the handbrake and used my head to push the clutch pedal to the floor, the master cylinder was unbolted and I wiggled a 15mm open ended spanner in there and undid the lock nut. Then twisted the push rod free on the clevis with my leatherman, adjusted it up by hand and then tightened the lock nut. All seems much better now but think I will still bleed the system soon and keep an eye on it as it never seems right that play has developed without reason so will see

Personally I would inspect it for wear, as mine had been previously adjusted to compensate for the wear the potential for the total failure was that much closer, as I found out! Mine lasted over 7 years since I had it so it won't be quick in failing but I presume you couldn't see if it had already been adjusted.
Lovely job doing just that bit though isn't it!

Id love to solve this too, as i have quite a floppy pedal. (.)

ive tried looking too, but you need to be some kind of contortionist to see anything. perhaps thats where mirrors come in!

heres a video on it, and it also shows the pedal assembly out of the van at the end too.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMKC8In4kfw

I did mine recently, and did it the same as Gary. Have to say, it's quite easy if you have the right tools...
1, remove securing bolts from clutch master and drop out the way
2, correct size box spanner over the rod and loosen back nut
3, give the rod a quarter of a turn to make sure it's loose
4, refit clutch master
5, reach up for the rod and slowly start to undo it, testing clutch pedal until just about all play is removed from the pedal (make sure you leave a bit of movement)
6, tighten back nut up hand tight, checking the rod doesn't move with it.
7, remove clutch master and tighten back nut with box spanner
8, refit clutch master and double check rod adjustment
Done!
I spent. Year and a half with a right loose pedal, found Gary's thread.. Had a go, took me all of 20mins. I found my clutch master was leaking, so removed and replaced it a day or so later.
Oldie is right though, it will be down to wear. But while there is adjustment there I'll do it as above.