Clutch pedal squeak

Clutch Pedal squeak

If your car has a VIN after X7261 then you already have the upgraded trunion bush and a squirt of WD40 or the like is all you can do.

If your car is has a VIN or earlier than X7261 (somwhere in 1999) then you may have the earlier Black clutch trunion and an improved trunion kit is available:

Here is a pic of a Knackered one, note the ends of the early one are black (a friction reducing coating) and fill the hole in the pedal.

The Later kit includes a smaller trunion and a pair of white synthetic bushes which fit around it.

1 off Trunnion A111J0155F 2 off Bush A111J6036F

This costs about 15 quid but is a pain to fit.

A Full details of how to fit it are here: Guide

Get yourself some slip on shoes or work in an area where you don't mind walking in socks. Have a cup of tea. Take the roof off the car. Put the driver's seat all the way back to make as much room as possible.

Hoover out the interior first as you're going to be upside down in it.

You will need :

10mm open ended spanner 13mm socket, ratchet and a selection of extenders, universal joints 3mm Allen key Rubber mallet Some butly tape so similar blue tack / sticky goo. Clutch truneon kit with the WHITE bush.

Pop open the front hatch and prop it up.

Get into the passenger footwell. Head first, looking up as the underside of the dashboard.

Take the 3mm Allen key and loosen the grub screw in the centre of the clutch truneon. This will allow the pushrods to be unscrewed.

Take the 13mm socket and undo the two nuts either side of the pushrod. Be careful to catch the nuts and washers as they can drop into the little channel underneath their location which is tricky to get at. These secure the clutch master cylinder. The master cylinder must be withdrawn a bit to allow the pushrod to be removed from the pedal bush. If you do happen to drop the nuts / washers into the channel the easiest way to retrieve is to remove the master cylinder and use a piece of wire to fish them out.

Take the 10mm spanner. Turn the pushrod anti clockwise (remember you're facing the wrong way so it will be the reverse) and unscrew it from the bush. Doing this will push the master cylinder out of the inside of the car a little. When fully unscrewed you can push the master cylinder out of the way with the push rod a bit and then it will clear the bush. Slide the truneon out sideways.

Examine the truneon and notice the wear on it. This is where the coating has worn off over the years and you now have metal on metal working on your clutch pedal.

Depending on how worn your pedal is will determine how difficult the next part will be.

The plastic bushes of the ES kit will need to be pressed into the pedal. If very little wear has taken place then it might be necessary to build a small press-in kit with some penny washers and a long screw, maybe some wing nuts too. I've never done this (having upgraded 3 cars). The 1st one needed a little fettling of the plastic bush with some wet and dry and it popped in very easily indeed. The latest car I did didn't require any sanding. Test fit the white bush and see if you can install it easily or not. Shouldn't be too bad with a little cursing.

Go have a coffee.

Once the plastic bushes are inserted, remove the grub strew from the old truneon and place it into the new one. Slide the new truneon into the clutch pedal. Take the push rod and screw it back into the truneon. Only a few turns.

Get out of the car and grab the master cylinder, ensure that the push rod is located in the correct place and pop it back through the large hole, make sure that the threads go through the bulkhead too. I placed a rubber mallet behind the master cylinder to help keep it in place. Seemed to work well.

This is where the sticky goo / bluetac / butyl tape comes in.

In order to stop many journeys out and into the car retreiving washers / nuts from the little channel there is a simple solution. Take the nut, put some goo in the back of your 13mm socket and place the nut inside it. Then pop a little on the front of the socket and stick the washer on. Lift the whole thing up and place it onto the threads gently turning until the thread bites. Remove the socket from the nut and peel off the sticky stuff. Repeat for the other nut. Saved me hours that did!

Now turn the rest of the pushrod clockwise into the truneon until the pedal travels up to the stop point. Give the push rod another turn for pre-load. Start the engine and test the clutch. Don't put too much pre-load on the pushrod as your clutch release bearing will suffer!

If all is fine then tighten up the grub screw so that it prevents the pushrod from turning.

Go enjoy your lovely smooth clutch pedal :-)