Clutch Pedal Shaft stiff when re-fitted

[DMNewton]

Hello Everyone, I am new to this forum, and looking for a little advice as I get my 1958 saloon back on the road after around 10 years being dormant. I restored the car when I first bought him, about 25 years, but he's in some need of sprucing up again!

At the moment I have the engine and gearbox out, so I have taken the opportunity to remove/replace the very worn clutch pedal assembly (a much discussed topic I see...) and found the shaft resembles a cam shaft. The removal actually went very smoothly - lucky I guess. I've bought a new shaft, all 4 bushes and spacer from ESM. (I probably didn't need to replace all of the bushes and the spacer, but thought it best while I was at it.)

The new shaft slides in very smoothly through the first new bush, the spacer and brake pedal (complete with new bushes), right until it goes through the new bush on the outside of the chassis, at which point everything gets tight. The brake pedal is nice and loose, and spins freely, but the clutch pedal is too difficult to move. So much so that the return spring won't budge it.

My guess is that the two chassis bushes are mis-aligned, but I would like some advice if this is a correct assessment, and if anyone else has found this? I'm beginning to wonder if I should have left the original bushes in now, but there you go.... Any advice on how to get the clutch pedal moving freely would be much appreciated.

Many thanks in advance, Dave

[bmcecosse]

Does indeed seem like an alignment issue. I suppose you will need to ream the bush that's causing the problem till the shaft turns easily. Ideally a 'line reaming' operation although difficult to see how..

[DAVIDMCCULLOUGH]

I fitted these some years ago to my blue saloon, when my Dad saw the bronze bushes he said they were 'oilite' bushes and should be soaked in oil for a few days before fitting as it is a semi porous type of material. We did this and all went together smoothly.

Have you tried some oil or copper grease to see if it helps make things move any better?

[DMNewton]

Thank you BMC and David for the quick responses. I suppose it doesn't have to be very far out of alignment in order to bind. I just used 'normal' grease, but I have some copper grease which will probably be better. I will try that first as I expect the reamer will cost more than the new shaft, and it will just sit on the shelf after one use! I'll probably end up reaming the bush though.....

Thanks again, Dave

[MarkyB]

While you have the shaft out try it into the outside bush from the other direction, it may be that the bush got damaged while fitting it rather than an alignment issue.
I'd be tempted to ream it a bit with a fine half round file.

[kennatt]

just ream it out with a file .as above, it dosen 't need to be that tight a fit ,in fact better to be a bit slack with plenty of grease,than tight, it will damage the internals of the clutch if it starts to bind up after the old corrosion sets in later.

[bmcecosse]

As above - make do with what you have - it's not something spinning away at high speed..... 'Copper grease' is not a grease - it's an anti-seize compound. Use Moly grease if you have it - but ordinary grease will be perfectly fine.

[DMNewton]

Thanks again for the advice everyone! I've been using this forum as a resource for a couple of months now, and its great to see so many people willing to help.

I'll let you know how I get on.

[alexmcguffie]

Hi DM,

Last year I knocked up a fully geaseable pedal shaft and also fitted new bushes in the chassis leg. The bushes do tighten slightly when they are fitted and should ideally be reamed with a reamer rather than a file. I forget the size now but to buy a reamer would have been quite expensive. Luckily I managed to borrow one instead!

http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f= ... it=+clutch

Alex

[philthehill]

A 5/8" reamer is the size required.
A reamer that is long enough to bridges the gap between the two bushes is preferable and therefore as such will give perfect alignment of the bushes/shaft.
http://www.tracytools.com/straight-tape ... -64-reamer
I have found that it is very rare that the bushes fitted in the chassis legs wear.

[alexmcguffie]

The ones I replaced measured 17mm fitted rather than the 15.875mm equivalent of 5/8". That was the 'worst case' inboard side bush. A standard length reamer is long enough to pass through both bushes at the same time.

[philthehill]

Alex
The two genuine BMC clutch pedal bushes that I purchased many years ago (which I have never had recourse to use and my Minor has done over 85K on the original bushes) are a nice sliding fit over a 5/8" reamer and are 19.1mm OD un-fitted.
My 5/8" reamer is 6" long and is just right for doing the clutch pedal bushes.
Ownership of a 5/8" reamer is a good investment as it can be used for reaming other bushes fitted to the Minor.
5/8" seems to be a popular bush size on the Minor.
Keeping those bushes well lubricated and including the brake pedal bushes is the secret of longevity.
Phil

[alexmcguffie]

Keeping those bushes well lubricated and including the brake pedal bushes is the secret of longevity.
Phil

Hence my pedal shaft mod