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Clutch pedal return problems

M

mwood1985

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Marietta Ga
so I replaced the clutch in my K5. its a 70s mechanical linkage 465 with new fork, pushrod, newish 6 month old return spring from the frame to the fork. its old clutch and the new clutch makes no difference and the problems still there. basically the pedal is weak returning to the top after pushing it in to shift. every once in a while I have to lift it with my toe manually. any ides on how to make it stronger and do what is supposed to?
 
Proper adjustment? If you over center them they have poor pedal return.
 
I like seeing 3/4 to 1" of pedal free play on manuals,to ensure the throwout bearing doesn't stay against the pressure plate constantly...

If adjusting the clutch diesn't seem to help,it could be the pedal bushings are in need of lube,replacement,or the throwout bearing might be dragging on its collar ,sometimes one that failed will score up the collar and make it not slide freely,it can get rusty too--one truck I had I found the tranny bolts had loosened (or were never tightened enough when a clutch was installed),and let it sag enough to make the bearing drag on the collar,it also was hard to shift because the tranny input shaft was being spun by the pilot bushing in the crank..when I tightened all the bellhousing and tranny bolts the trouble went away..

If you have a hydraulic clutch the master cylinder for it could be sticking,a mechanical linkage has a cross shaft that goes to the frame and pivots on a ball stud mounted in the engine block,that needs to be given a shot of grease every so often..I've seen trucks with the wrong engine mount brackets on the block throw off the alignment of that cross shaft enough to give troubles too--car and 2wd trucks have the brackets that bolt to the block 1" shorter than 4x4 trucks use..
 
I am thinking there is a spring on the pedal itself that could be broken. Not positive unless I go to the shop and look.:dunno:
 
where's Martin the manual king when ya need him? :haha:

iirc, your correct... I have an old 77 manual z-bar pedal assembly kicking around here somewhere, and I seem to remember the clutch pedal being sprung...

I'm sure someone will be along shortly to verify that as fact or fiction..
 
Some clutch pedals have a STUPID heavy return spring under the dash on the actual pedal. Some don't. I have yet to figure out the reason why or why not.

Martin
 
I had to do this twice. Reach way up under the dash with a vicegrip and that little piece of metal that's rubbing against the petal rod and bend out of the way. Or you can take it apart and replace the bushings. This will work, like I said I had to do it on both my trucks now they work great, full petal movement. You will need to ajust your cluch for free play. If you look up there with a mirror and a flashlight then operate the pedal you will see a piece metal that stops it from returning bend it out of the way, till you get full movement. Easy fix no cost. A lot of people miss this.
 
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I cant see anything binding. its more of a stick vs a bind. if you let it sit for a second it"ll pop back up but it tends to hang up
 
My 79 did and it was a man killer to remove. My 82 diesel doesn't. i am sure I dented the firewall the first few time I used it. My camaro also has no return spring. The pressure plate should have no problem doing the job.
 
If your wondering about a pedal return spring look at the clutch pedal you should see a lever bolted on with two bolts a piece of metal with a hole hooked to that and a stiff ass spring hooked to that.the two other springs throw out arm to zbar,zbar to frame are to keep the slack out of the linkage when it gets worn so the pieces don`t fall out over bumps. .usual causes are clutch pedal shaft bushings worn out,linkage worn out holes in the z bar egged out and clutch linkage the rod to the zbar worn.start with the clutch pedal shaft bushings.
 
Probably dont apply to this truck--but I've seen more than one rusted GM cab go up and down when you push the clutch in,due to cab mounts that collapsed from rust!...also lests the cab sag enough to let the linkage rod rub on the firewall too...
 
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