10 years and still functional is what I need ta hear.😂 Maybe I still have an angle drill in the garage… if not I’ll get it fixed one way or the other. Thanks again for the advice!!😊

 

If you have spongy pedal you have air in the hydraulics.

 

For the record the only modifications that I have done to my clutch pedal assembly is to remove the helper spring and MAYBE replace the bushing where the plunger for the clutch master cylinder connects to the pedal itself. Then from there I attached a small return spring that pulls up on the pedal with just enough force to hold it at the top of the pedal throw. Doing that guarentees that I will have full pedal travel every time. I forget what spring I used for that job but most likely it was a scrap carburator return spring at the time because I used to own and operate an auto repair shop at the time that I did that.
I'll repeat myself here. If you have spongy pedal, that is 100% trapped air in the clutch master/slave assembly, then you need to disconnect the slave cylinder from the transmission, pull the slave cylinder kind of down so there is no "uphill" in the tube anywhere so air bubble can rise to the top. Then begin to push the slave rod in all the way to push the air out and up. Give it a few minutes for all the bubbles to rise to the top and find themselves in the brake fluid reservior. Keep adding fluid as necessary. You can tell when the air is getting purged by the fact that the clutch pedal itself will become solid and when the slave cylinder is fully extended the clutch pedal will not be able to be pushed down at all. It will be locked at the top of the throw. There is no real easy way to bleed that assembly and I wish there was because brake fluid is supposed to be replaced every two years regardless of miles driven due to the properties of brake fluid absorbs water into itself right out of the humidity that is in the atmosphere.
At that point in time, reinstall the slave cylinder in the bell housing and try not to get dripped on by the brake fluid overflowing the reservoir. And you should have good control of your clutch after that.

 

Forget actuating your clutch pedal with your foot. Use an electric clutch pedal as shown at 3:51 in this video.

 

VW beat them to that with the Autostick transmission in 1968. Weird design. A three forward, one reverse speed gearbox transmission that had a clutch AND a torque converter. Clutch was released by a vacuum operated canister operating a throw out bearing instead of the driver's left foot and the torque converter was for pulling up to a stop light. There was a set of electrical points in the base of the shift handle that would engage the control solinoid that disengaged the clutch so you could shift gears while underway. Or just leave it in high gear for the ultimate slush box experience.

 

Well I got the heim installed… clutch still releases RIGHT off the floor. I cut the rod a little long in hopes of a little more movement but no. I also put in another new South Bend MC/SC assembly that hung up for three days to allow air to vent. I did see the plastic piece the MC twists into flexes quite a bit during pedal actuation… It flexes before it it’s close to bottoming out. Is this the issue associated with the pedal brace? I’m getting frustrated with this flippin clutch pedal, and being a non drinker beer can’t comfort me.😂🥺

 

Is there still a bunch of slop at the top of the pedal throw?

 

Negative. That at least has been remedied! This MC feels better too. South Bend is sending a reinforcement bracket…. I hope that fixes it!

 

I haven't seen a reinforcement bracket for the 7.3 trucks. I know they do them for the 6.0 but I think they use a different master cylinder.

 

The truck is an 05. I HOPE it doesn’t require a different master cylinder! Do I need ta order something else??

 

If you ordered parts for a 05 they should be right. I wasn't aware it was a 05 truck or I would have recommended the stiffener bracket a long time ago. lol

 

all good brother. Glad for all the wisdom that is available here!

 

Just in case someone else runs into not having a reference, I’ll try to explain how i installed the South Bend Clutch reinforcement bracket. Sorry I don’t have pictures, my phone was in the house when motivation struck and i don’t stand in the way of motivation.😂 The original pedal box has to be removed. Four 13mm nuts- two under the dash and two outside on the firewall. You will inevitably drop one of the firewall nuts and will not be able to locate it. Three nuts for re-Installation is sufficient. Also, don’t destroy the fuse box located ridiculously close to the clutch master cylinder. Remove pedal assembly from your truck. You’ll see the area where the round backstop on the master cylinder touches the pedal assembly. You’ll have to cut this section out of the pedal assembly. I recommend making the hole a little larger than the circular pattern on the plastic shown on the pedal assembly. I used a grinder to cut a square out the plastic, yes it did cut into other parts of the plastic but motivation decided I was not concerned with the cosmetic atrocity I had just committed. I did try to use a hole saw but excessive bleeding during this procedure suggested using the grinder would be better for my own safety. After you butcher the required hole in the plastic, begin the reinstall. Since you only have three of the 13mm nuts now, pick which stud you want to secure with one nut- you may need to twist the assembly a bit to get both studs through the firewall. After you tighten the firewall nut, take the reinforcement bracket and another 13mm nut and yoga yourself into position to use one hand to hold the bracket and thread the nut on the stud. Then add the second nut. The holes on the bracket are slotted allowing right/left movement. Before you tighten, look through the square hole in the bracket to ensure you don’t have any obstruction to fish the master cylinder through. I could not use the tension spring on the master cylinder and get the assembly to twist into the new reinforcement bracket, so that was deleted. I actually filed the plastic on the round backstop of the master to make it fit in the new bracket. I also have de quervains in both wrists, so I ain’t the strongest. The flippin fuse box drove me absolutely insane due to this. I’d much rather replace a clutch than have to repeat this procedure again. Put the pushrod back on the clutch pedal to complete and hopefully enjoy this clusterfrig of a process.


The two nuts on the inside of the pedal assembly.

What the bracket looks like after assembly. I found this on another forum.
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So...... not to sound like a critic, but that master cylinder, square part is supposed to go down into that square hole and then rotate 1/8 turn and lock itself into the mounting point with the square tabs behind that reinforced wall. Not in front of it as it is in the picture.
Much in the same way that the slave cylinder mounts in the bell housing of the transmission.

 

I don’t mind ANY experienced critic clarification!! This was only intended to help someone in the future, let’s make sure they get it done correctly! And, that would have been some useful information.😂😂😂 I thought about and fought the thing for literally three hours over the course of two days before the grinder came out. I couldn’t reverse engineer enough to make sense of the actual mounting process. I truly thought the tabs locked in on like the original plastic mount, minus the one flat corner on the master cylinder.
It does function like a clutch now, everything feels good and the creep is gone. 🤟🏻 Again, I can’t thank you all enough for the support and wisdom!!