Clutch Linkage

Trying to take all possible free-play and slop out of the clutch linkage made it necessary to improve on every component designed by Ford. After consulting with machine shop owner Josh W. of Kingsbury, NY it was determined that it wouldn't be that difficult!

Other improvements to the clutch pedal assembly were previously described in an earlier blog entry.

All repaired and new items were sandblasted and finished with Dupli-Color Engine Enamel.

Below is a photo that shows the old and new clutch link rods. The old rod was fabricated from a 5/16" steel rod. The new rod was made with 3/8" steel which is much stiffer with little weight gain.

Notice how the old rod has worn away where it was inserted in the clutch pedal assembly. It would probably would have lasted for many more years before failing but it was a cause of slop in the operation of the clutch. This would have been a good candidate for frequent lubrication.

This end was redesigned with a Heim joint which made it necessary to modify the clutch pedal assembly. That change will be show in a photo further down on this page.

This is a view of the linkage rod where it connects to the equalizer bar, sometimes referred to a the "Z-bar." It too, was improved with the addition of a Heim joint.

Below is a close view of the clutch pedal assembly where the linkage rod connects. The factory method had a hole bored to accept the rod. It was held in place with a split pin. The modification was to bore the hole out to accept a stud that was machined to fit the Heim Joint. The threads are long enough to accept a nylon lock nut.


An overhead view of the Heim joint in place. Notice how the machined surface is long enough to accept Heim joint seals and washers.


The restored and improved equalizer bar is shown below. Notice how the original pins to mount the linkage were replaced with threaded studs to accept the new Heim joints.


This is the original equalizer bar chassis mount with a new stud. The new stud is identical to the factory design including the knurling on the stud as you can see in the photo just below.



Below is the restored mount complete with a new felt seal, plastic bushing and C-clip. Not seen in this photo is the small amount of Green Grease that was applied to the shaft.


A close view of one end of the equalizer bar. The original bore was destroyed when the bushing failed and the equalizer bar was being worn away by the mounting studs.

Originally Josh was planning to bore the shaft out, insert a repair sleeve and plug-weld it. A much simpler and elegant solution was to simply add material to the interior of the shaft with welding rod and machine the bore. Evidently, you can mount an eccentric item in a lathe and machine it.

Notice the new Heim joint mount which replaces the factory original.

The equalizer bar with the clutch linkage rod is shown below.

Below is the clutch pushrod. The factory original had a D-shaped hole at the end of the threaded portion that allowed length adjustment. The improved version uses a Heim joint. Josh machined a coupling to attach the new Heim joint to the threaded portion of the old push rod.


The three new Heim joints will be sealed against the elements with the seals shown below.


Shown below is the modified clutch pushrod mounted on the equalizer bar.


A closer view of the clutch pushrod temporarily mounted on the equalizer bar showing the seals in place. When mounted on the truck, the plain nut will be replaced with a nylon locknut.


As always, you can see larger versions of these photos at my Flickr page. Just be sure to hit the "Back" button on your favorite browser to return to this blog.

Email me: Ron B.

Enjoy the Ride !