Pedal box

[BaaderMeinhofWagen]

My new carpet from Esty has arrived but before I Install I thought I was wondering if there was anything I had to do to the pedal box. there was some evidence of a slight fluid leak at the rubber cover which I will replace with a new one but can't find any obvious leak. See picture. I vacuumed out some crud and am planning to spray some lube on the linkages.

[Chris_B]

Probable leak from clutch master. Common problem. Suggest you check that out carefully.

[popovm]

What Chris_B said. If the age of the master is unknown it would make sense to rebuild or replace while you have easy access. How floppy are the pedals? If they have lots of play before they start to act on the clutch master cylinder or brake clevis pin, then a rebuild kit from IE or Blunt to tighten things up would be nice to do now as well. Master cylinder is the main thing. A full pedal box rebuild would be sizeable scope creep and optional, but you asked.

[Leucadian]

+1 to checking the clutch master.  If you do find that it needs replacing, I would recommend also replacing the slave cylinder.  In my case the new MC caused my already very old slave cylinder to leak.

 

If it helps, rebuilding and refinishing the pedal box is one of the more satisfying jobs on our cars.

['76mintgrün'02]

If the puddle box still has the foamy cover on the outside, it'd be good to peel it off so it can dry out.  The covers trap clutch juice and rot the box.  Mine was so bad I had to weld in a patch piece.  That made it an especially satisfying job.

 

[tzei]

Could it be just moisture over the years? If brake fluid has come out it will be messy unless it's recent failure. Hard to tell from that pic. I've seen a way worse. Is the outside padding still there? Under it might be different story.

 

And while you're at it there is something cooking under/around two lowermost p/b assembly bolts. Might wanna wire brush & paint now.

[BaaderMeinhofWagen]

Thanks for the comments gents.

I'll have a closer look today and report back. Last time I checked under the car there was no foam around the box. I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking at as I'm not familiar with the system. (I'll hit the Haynes manual)

I do know that the brakes felt like they needed to be bled when I had the car on the road last year a few times. Clutch actuation felt good. I wasn't planning on the mission creep of a full pedal box rebuild as I don't think the box warrants it but TMHO.

[Mike Self]

12 hours ago, Leucadian said:

I would recommend also replacing the slave cylinder.  In my case the new MC caused my already very old slave cylinder to leak.

+1.  In hydraulics, the strong seeks out the weak and makes it leak...wouldn't hurt to take a quick look at the flex hose that connects the two cylinders too...

[TobyB]

Just to creep your mission, the bushings on the clutch main cylinder also look like they're pretty worn.

I also find a good greasing of the bottom bolt bushings makes things last better.

Especially the brake pullrod- that's metal- on- like- metal, so a molybdenum- bearing grease helps.

It also collects gunge, but since the brake pullrod moves very little distance, if you leave a bit on the outside,

the outer surface of the grease traps the gunge AND keeps water out AND lubes it, so 3x as much win.

 

I've not experienced one cylinder murderating the other, but I tend to reseal rather than replace,

and I tend to do it preventatively whenever I'm around the offending thingus.

 

t

 

[BaaderMeinhofWagen]

It's certainly beyond the scope of my expertise and unsupervised ability. I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile replacing both cylinders at the same time.

[Dudeland]

19 hours ago, BaaderMeinhofWagen said:

It's certainly beyond the scope of my expertise and unsupervised ability. I'm wondering if it would be worthwhile replacing both cylinders at the same time.

Start with both the cylinders

 

then while you are in there the booster,

then while you are in there the pivot bearings,

then while you are in there , the brake lines, flex lines, calipers, backing plates  wheel cylinders, 

then while you are in there, the rear wheel bearings, then the front,

then while you are in there the ball joints, suspension bushings and upper strut bearings. 

 

LOL just kidding, but really this how it all starts, at least in my case.  Working on the pedal box can be a two person job, but it a once  every 15 year job (maybe longer).  Cheap insurance to make sure your car doesn't get stuck. 

 

Regards

 

[Buckeye]

Here is chapter for pedal box from repair manual. Not difficult job but you will spend some times on your back for taking box off and install.

 

FOOT_PEDALS.PDF