Could these be symptoms of a partially busted clutch pedal

oilspotoilspot Wagonist
in Engine & Drivetrain
When doing my booster swap I noticed that a previous owner had done a kinda half assed reweld on my pedal assembly. My wagon doesn't like to slip into 2nd gear(especially on a downshift) and it has the same hard time being put into reverse.
Would that be a common symptom of say maybe a pedal fix that isn't done quite well enough?

Also... how much of a pain is it pulling the assembly to reweld everything up (just for shits and grins).

Comments

  • 1988rt1988rt Senior Wagonist
    That sucks, I would just pay someone to do it, Knowing me I would catch my car on fire, lol
  • unlimited02unlimited02 Senior Wagonist
    there's only two answers for this... buy a RT pedal assembly b/c there way better... or weld it back together witha bracket... as for me, it was easyier to get swap it out since i found a cheap RT pedal assembly...
  • oilspotoilspot Wagonist
    unlimited02 wrote:
    there's only two answers for this... buy a RT pedal assembly b/c there way better... or weld it back together witha bracket... as for me, it was easyier to get swap it out since i found a cheap RT pedal assembly...
    Mine is a RT, and it has had a repair. The repair is just kinda shady looking spot welds.
  • ragenasianragenasian Moderator
    If the welds look bad take it to a reputable shop and have them fix it. If the weld wasn't properly done it will just break off with the first bit of pressure.

    Take some pics and post them up. It will be a lot easier to see exactly what you are talking about.
  • ScallyWagScallyWag Wagonist
    Sound like maybe a synchro-mesh problem to me, or else it would grind in all gears.
  • oilspotoilspot Wagonist
    ScallyWag wrote:
    Sound like maybe a synchro-mesh problem to me, or else it would grind in all gears.
    That's what I've been thinking, then I saw a thread about damaged pedal assemblies, and my mind flashed back to seeing the "repair job" on the cluster when I was swapping the brake booster.

    I was hoping my symptoms were as easy as a quick weld up to fix. :(
    I
  • leWolfleWolf Senior Wagonist
    Being a pain to down shift and put into reverse for me was cured by adjusting my clutch cable just a little tighter. Solved my issue's in about 2 minutes.
  • oilspotoilspot Wagonist
    AlexanderleWolf wrote:
    Being a pain to down shift and put into reverse for me was cured by adjusting my clutch cable just a little tighter. Solved my issue's in about 2 minutes.
    Already tried that. thanks for the tip though.
    Looks like its time to cram my head under the dash again and get a closer look at the pedal assembly
  • oilspotoilspot Wagonist
    So I'm at work thinking today "damn, my second gear and reverse gear syncros are shot".......

    What's wrong with this picture/ explanation????


    Reverse gears don't have a syncro! I'm not totally positive about this, but have no idea why any auto manufacture would put a syncro on a reverse gear. They don't put them on a first gear, and there's a reason for that.

    So I come home after work. I don't have a working flashlight (kids!) But I can see a part of the pedal cluster flexing when I push in the clutch pedal. Welded good enough to hold together but not good enough to keep from flexing.

    I'll have to confirm all this by pulling, rewelding, etc.

    So... How much of a pain is it to pull the pedal cluster?
  • JakerJaker familEE
    1st does have a synchro, but you are right, reverse doesn't.

    1.png
  • oilspotoilspot Wagonist
    Jaker wrote:
    1st does have a synchro, but you are right, reverse doesn't.

    1.png
    thank you for confirming that!!! I guess a syncro on first would make sense in case you were to want to drop from 2nd to 1st while moving.
  • driftin90driftin90 Senior Wagonist
    I had the same problem with my wagon. your pedal asssembly bracket is probably cracked. does it squeek when pushing down on the pedal?
  • oilspotoilspot Wagonist
    driftin90 wrote:
    I had the same problem with my wagon. your pedal asssembly bracket is probably cracked. does it squeek when pushing down on the pedal?
    no squeek. but I'm pretty much convinced thats my problem. The half assed welds would hold everything together, keeping it from squeeking.
    Haven't even had time to stick my head under there to estimate the time it's gonna take to pull the assembly out.
  • driftin90driftin90 Senior Wagonist
    if you already did your brake booster, then you know how it's a crappy job. should take about an hour out and hour and a half to two to put back in. trust me though. it's worth it. drives like new. good luck to ya
  • oilspotoilspot Wagonist
    driftin90 wrote:
    if you already did your brake booster, then you know how it's a crappy job.
    So you saying this, i'm assuming the four nuts have a good part in holding the pedal cluster in. I figure I'll have to undo the clutch cable, throttle cable. Is it pretty much a clean drop after that or is there all kinda crap in the way i have to take out?
  • JakerJaker familEE
    There's more than 4 nuts. If memory serves me right there's at least 6 (if not 8).
  • driftin90driftin90 Senior Wagonist
    one of the six is above a heater vent tube. which you need to move to get to it. I can't remember if that is a bolt and six nuts or five and one. all I remember is I don't ever want to do this again. I also dropped the fuse panel to have more room getting it out, and removed the gas pedal from the assembly to unhook the bracket from the steering column. there is another thread that said he dropped the steering column also. I felt uncomfortable doing that, so I worked around it. here is what mine looked and looks like. I'm sure you've seen it. viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10656

    it's pretty easy to do. just really takes a toll on you and your back. if you have a good back and really steady hands, total swap out and in in and hour and a half.
    good luck to ya. and again night and day difference. you can even set your clutch cable properly. best upgrade by far.
  • oilspotoilspot Wagonist
    Well I finally got a chance to cram my head under the dashboard. The welds don't actually look that bad.
    Should the left side of the pedal cluster have any flexablitly to it? It does flex some when I'm pushing the pedal.

    Now I'm thinking maybe it's something else. Quick history....
    1. The car got a new clutch not long before i bought it.
    2. I found a second clutch cable in the back of the car.
    3. Even when i adjust the clutch cable as tight as it goes, there is still a little slack in the cable

    I think i read on here that the rt4wd take it's own special clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing. Something like that.
    So lets say that the person that did the clutch job didn't get the right rt4wd specific parts. Would any of that result in a clutch that you aren't able to adjust tight enough?
    I started to wonder if the clutch was done with the wrong parts, and then the person that did the job thought that maybe the clutch cable was streched, so they replaced it. (and that it's still not right)
    I'm really thinking it's a problem in the clutch or shift linkage, and not something with the transmission itself.
  • JakerJaker familEE
    I don't know for sure, but if the release bearing (throw out bearing) was the wrong height (too short) it could lead to what you're describing.
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