Fix pedal rattle under dash

[my kids took the truck]

1974 K5 with SM465 transmission and clutch linkage.

When I got my blazer from my grandpa back in 1993 it had a rattle under the dash that seemed to change with RPM. It got worse with time. By 2000 I had changed the clutch pedal bumper and that seemed to help.

Forward to 2013 and the clutch pedal would catch on the high-beam button if you didn't press just right. My wife said it needed a fix. I watched YouTube and found out there are bushings. Out came the pedals and I found a horrible mess -- it was a quick fix in my father-in-law's driveway.

This morning I had to redo that quick fix from a few years ago.

I am posting photos to show key steps; this first post is what I was confronted with. In the next post I will give the parts. The next post after that the repair steps. The process is amazingly easy when it isn't 100 deg out and you can open the door all the way without a car parked a foot away next to you.

I found the bushings had worn through and it was metal on metal that had almost worn through the sleeve. In addition, a brass bushing for the clutch rod had also worn through (photo is of replacement). I just turned up the radio, added an amp, and bought better speakers.

 

[my kids took the truck]

The parts

• Bushings -- not all created equal; good ones were hard to find
• Sleeves -- these are getting harder to find -- I found new OEM on ebay
• Clutch rod bushing -- really hard to find, one guy makes these
• New clutch pedal -- I might have bought the last new OEM out there
• New brake pedal -- I cannot find a new OEM but lucky mine is still good
• New cotter pin for clutch rod
• Socket and wrench -- they are different sizes for bolt and nut

Next post has key steps.

 

[my kids took the truck]

The key steps (I cannot figure out how to get photos in order)

• The trick to getting the clutch spring off is to remove one clutch pedal bolt and loosen the other. Then carefully let off the spring. Reverse to install.
• There is a brake tab on the brake pedal, when installing, be sure to have the bolt in before attaching the brake rod.
• To remove the clutch rod, rotate the clutch pedal down after the spring is released.
• It is difficult to see the bolt and nut on either side of the steering column -- I searched around for a few years and never found how to get the pedals out.

 

[Bent77]

When I did my pedal, I cut the flange off the end of the plastic bushings and ran it all the way across the shaft. That was 1998, still good

 

[my kids took the truck]

I cut the flange off the end of the plastic bushings and ran it all the way across

I sort of did the same. I took the old bushings and pushed them in-between the new bushings (in background of image #2 you can see an old bushing without flanges on the shaft). Buying an extra set and cutting off the flange would be the clean approach. If I pull it apart again, I will do the same.

 

[Bent77]

Mine was pretty munched, so I just bought a bunch, welded the shaft up, et al

Thanks for the write up