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Sierra Pedal Box Mods
Chris_R - 13/7/04 at 05:20 PM

Don’t think this has been covered, but has anyone moved the brake pedal rather than the clutch pedal? I’ve noticed that behind the clutch pedal there’s a support that’s there to activate the self-adjusting mechanism. Surely moving the pedal will render that particular feature useless? It struck me that by cutting the other bush in half, the one closest to the brake pedal, you’d be able to make use of the second aperture for the switch, shift the brake pedal to the left and everything would still work alright. I know there’d be an offset between the master cylinder and the pedal, but I think it would be mechanically sound and providing there’s nothing in the SVA manual suggesting otherwise, it shouldn’t raise any eyebrows. This would also eliminate the need to re-weld the cable carrier behind the clutch pedal.

Does anyone have any experience or suggestions? Rescued attachment pedal_box.jpg
Rescued attachment pedal_box.jpg


Mark Allanson - 13/7/04 at 05:49 PM

I moved the clutch, but as long as you centre the master cylinder, I cannot see a problem with moving the brake Rescued attachment PedalMod.jpg
Rescued attachment PedalMod.jpg


Mark Allanson - 13/7/04 at 05:51 PM

The picture shows the brake pedal moved as well, but I moved it back again after fitting the box to the car (I had already fitted my master cylinder!)


Chris_R - 13/7/04 at 06:02 PM

Mark,

did you mount the m/c to the bulkhead? The holes in mine don't mate with those in the pedal box.

[Edited on 13/7/04 by Chris_R]


Mark Allanson - 13/7/04 at 07:56 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Chris_R
Mark,

did you mount the m/c to the bulkhead? The holes in mine don't mate with those in the pedal box.

[Edited on 13/7/04 by Chris_R]



My master cylinder mount holes are an exact match for the holes in the pedal box. I made up a mini bulkhead to mount it all (very early shot!) Rescued attachment Pedals.jpg
Rescued attachment Pedals.jpg


Chris_R - 14/7/04 at 06:51 PM

Mark,

I have two m/c's. One is cast (see attached) and the other is the same as yours. Looks to be pressed. I have the cast one to hand and the holes are quite a bit off. See photo in next post. Rescued attachment cast_mc.jpg
Rescued attachment cast_mc.jpg


Chris_R - 14/7/04 at 06:53 PM

Rescued attachment mc_box_misaligned.jpg
Rescued attachment mc_box_misaligned.jpg


craig1410 - 16/7/04 at 11:59 AM

Chris,
I had the same problem with the mounting holes not matching and couldn't understand why people like Mark had no problems. I incorrectly assumed that all master cylinders must have the same mounting lugs...

I have welded the pedal box onto a 4mm thick steel backing plate which is then bolted onto my chassis. I then cut holes in this thick plate to match my desired master cylinder positions. I don't think that the pedal box itself is strong enough to mount a master cylinder onto directly without some form of intermediate plate anyway as on the donor vehicle the master cylinder is mounted to the servo which in turn is mounted through the pedal box AND bulkhead.

I am using a hydraulic clutch so I didn't have any problems with the cable adjuster and I basically followed some aspects of Mark's solution. You can see details on my website in the March 2004 diary page. Note that these pictures were taken before welding and fitting so please let me know if you want me to take some additional pictures.

Be aware also that I have not been able to source a master cylinder repair kit for my master cylinder yet so it's perhaps best to check you can get one for whichever cylinder you end up using.

Cheers,
Craig.


Chris_R - 16/7/04 at 05:13 PM

I’ve just been to the scrapper with the intention of buying a replacement clip for my pedal box, but ended up buying the whole box instead. I thought that mine may have been damaged because I smacked it with a hammer. There was some damage, but my "cast" master cylinder still doesn't fit and I've not been to get the other out of the garage.

I have however shifted the clutch pedal to the right so that it's now 55mm from the brake pedal. I've also cut off the support for the self adjuster, re-welded it so that it's still operational and moved the clutch cable carrier inline with the pedal. All seems to be ok and I'm hoping that I won’t have to straighten the pedals because it's looking quite nice as it is.

Craig, the pictures are a good reference. I notice the m/c that you’re using is the same as the one I’ve got to hand. I have one that’s the same as Marks but it’s about 15 miles away at the moment. Also, thanks for the heads-up Re: repair kits.

Think I’ll follow suit with the Steel plate/mini bulkhead plan though. Prolly gonna be a bit of pressure on the box, especially with my heavy right foot and late corners.


Chris_R - 18/7/04 at 02:48 PM

All done and dusted. Thanks for the help everyone.





Oooooops. I'll try putting the right URL's in.

[Edited on 18/7/04 by Chris_R]


Dick Axtell - 18/7/04 at 05:16 PM

quote:
Originally posted by craig1410
Chris,
I had the same problem with the mounting holes not matching..... I incorrectly assumed that all master cylinders must have the same mounting lugs...

Oh dear me NO!! Mcyl mounting holes can very, depending on manufacturer (e.g. Lucas/TRW, Bendix or Teves). Sometimes the vehicle manufacturer specifies that each mcyl supplier must adopt agreed mounting centres, to provide interchangeability.
On the Sierra, mounting holes are predetermined by the booster mounting studs. On Lucas items, these are actually rods, passing through the booster and extending forward to provide mcyl mounting studs. These are 10mm dia, @ 90mm pcd, angled approximately 20 deg to horizontal.
Is there any identifying mark or casting no. on the cast-bodied mcyl?


craig1410 - 18/7/04 at 05:30 PM

Dick,
Yes in retrospect it is clearly the servo mountings which will most likely be the same but at the time I had thrown the servo away and forgotten all about it and after reading Mark Allanson's recommendations on how to bolt it all together it seemed easy peasy!

In the end I am happy with my solution as I think a "mini bulkhead" is important for stiffness. I wouldn't want to just rely on the pedal box and the master cylinder because although they may well be strong enough it may attract some unwanted attention from the SVA inspector.

Cheers,
Craig.


Chris_R - 18/7/04 at 05:35 PM

It's a ford part with a big 22 on it. I assume that that refers to the bore. There's also a part No. which is KO236 311809. The No. Q17 is also cast at the front end of it. Assuming they're all the same that is.

[Edited on 18/7/04 by Chris_R]