First, thanks for reading. I would appreciate any help I could get on this. ffice
ffice" /><O
></O>
<O></O>
well, I have a manual 03' P5 and i have realized that i am developing a serious lower
backache because of my poor driving posture. I have noticed that i am slouching
alot in order to push my clutch far in to its friction point. i don't know about how others feel about their p5s clutch position but after comparing my car to my friends cars(bmw)(honda), I personally feel that <O></O>
1) our clutch pedals are positioned closer to the center(closer to brake pedal) than others. Meaning, my right leg and left leg is too close to each other when I am driving. And I dont know about you but I prefer having some air circulation in my croch area. <O></O>
2) my left foot has to travel too far to reach the friction point from clutch pedals initial resting position(in another words, I have too much free play). I havent measured it yet but I am estimating the total clutch pedal movement of about 4~5 inches. Also, this is more than my friends cars. Some told me to reposition my car seat to get closer to the clutches friction point and I have. However, when I do this, iam way too close to my gas and brake pedal. <O></O>
3) Related to 2), because the gas pedal on my car has NO resistance where I cant even somewhat rest my foot on them it is even harder to drive when I pull up my seat closer to reach my clutch pedal. I usually find myself holding the weight of my right foot while its on the gas pedal where later my right leg becomes fatigue.<O></O>
<O> </O>
Well, recently, I went under the steering wheel and saw that it looks like this down there.<O></O>
<O></O>
<O></O>
<O>(all pics are posted in orientation as if you are slightly looking up from the floor mat.)</O>
<O>
</O>
<O> </O>
The spring that is circled, seems to provide the resistance. I am thinking switching this spring to a spring with higher resistance will solve my problem for 3). Just gotta find the spring now. Let me know if anyone else have a feedback on this.<O></O>
<O> </O>
I figure, I cant really do much about number 1) even though iam not happy with it, unless I want to spend lots of money. I am thinking one solution is to change the whole shaft to one that bends over to the left, horizontally but I think this adjustment is not worth it compared to how bad the problem is.<O></O>
<O> </O>
The final question, number 2)// this is the question that matters the most for me. I would really like to do something about this. <O></O>
<O> </O>
I saw some post online about adjusting the clutch pedal, but I wasnt sure if it will just change the initial resting position of the clutch or change the actual friction point of it, which what I want to do.<O></O>
<O> </O>
When I went under the steering wheel, I saw that there is a "yellow bolt" that
which will allow my clutch pedal to be adjusted maybe about an inch. however, i didn't attempt to change it since i wasn't sure how this will affect the mechanics behind the hood, and knowing there are two other control devices tied into the current position of the clutch pedal. Plus, I am thinking that will only change the initial position of the pedal and not its friction point if done. <O></O>
Here is the picture of it.<O></O>
<O> </O>
<O> </O>
I have circled the two devices and the main rod in the picture. Does anybody know what these two devices do? <O></O>
Better yet, know what to do in order to change the actual friction point of the clutch pedal?<O></O>
I would really like to make this adjustment and would greatly appreciate your feedback.<O></O>
<O> </O>
thanks! Aaron
<O></O>
p.s. my AIM is LSCARTOON if you would like to talk online.<O></O>
<O></O>
<O>p.p.s. i was doing some research online and found this post. I am not sure if this is what i need to do.</O>
<O>Y'all please note. The clutch pedal is adjustable for height. I too had an issue with the pedal placement, so I got to looking in my shop manual and found what I needed to adjust mine. I'll try to go thru it here as it is relatively simple procedure, just requires being something of a pretzel since you are working under the dash. This whole procedure took me about 45 minutes.
1. Put seat as far back as it will go for working room.
2. Measure the distance from the bottom back of the clutch pedal pad to some reference point. I measured to the firewall at the top of the floor mat. Just find a reference point that you can return to since it becomes important later.
3. Locate the pedal stop bolt. This is a bolt with a 13mm head about 1" long which is in the framing. The clutch arm hits this bolt to stop its return travel. There is a 12mm lock nut on the bolt.
4. Loosen the lock nut and turn the bolt further into the frame. As you do this, you will see the clutch pedal start to rise. The lever relationship is about 3 to 1, so for each 1/4" you screw the bolt in the pedal will rise about 3/4". The maximum pedal height adjustment is between 1" and 1-1/2" due to the length of the master cylinder rod adjustments in the next steps.
5. Tighten the stop bolt lock nut.
6. Now you need to reset clutch pedal free-play. There is a rod about 1/4" diameter connected to a bracket on the front of the clutch arm on the opposite side from the stop bolt. This rod goes to the clutch master cylinder and is threaded on the bracket end with a lock nut on it.
7. Depress the clutch pedal with your hand while observing this rod's movement into the master cylinder and you will see that the pedal and rod actually move some distance before you see the spool in the master cylinder start to move away from the C-clip which holds the spool in. This movement is "free-play" and it needs to be adjusted to be 1/2" of pedal travel.
8. Loosen the lock nut on the rod and turn to rod clockwise to until when you depress the clutch pedal by hand that it moves about 1/2" before the spool moves. Pay attention to how much thread is left in the bracket while you do this and do not screw the rod out beyond where there is full thread engagement in the bracket (this is the limiting factor I was talking about above in step 4).
9. Now measure again from the bottom of the clutch pedal pad to your reference point and compare with the original measurement you made in step 2. The difference in the two is how far you have moved the pedal.
10. Since you have moved the pedal out, the overall stroke length of the clutch master cylinder will be greater and must now be adjusted so as not to overstroke either the master cylinder and/or the clutch slave cylinder at the clutch itself. To do this you need to return actual cylinder stroke length what it was before you started, and you do it by making a "stop block" which you attach to the firewall so the pedal arm will hit it instead of going all the way to the firewall as originally done. This block can be wood, plastic, or metal. I made mine from a piece of scrap plastic bar I had on hand. Dimensions about 3/4" wide x 1-1/2" long and thickness the same as the distance you move the pedal out. Drill a hole for a sheet metal screw off towards one end of the block.
11. Now locate the place where the pedal arm touched the firewall and place the block so the pedal arm hits it. Mark the hole location and drill a small hole for the screw and mount the block.
12. You are almost done. You get in and adjust your seat and hit the ignition switch. But the car wont even turn over!!!!! This is because there is a plunger switch activated by the green button on the clutch arm to prevent you from starting the car if the clutch pedal is not fully depressed, and now the pedal doesn't activate it. I made a dime-sized spacer out of some 3/16" thick rubber and attached it to the green button with double-sided tape, and it solved the problem.
Hope this helps. It worked on mine, and the car is much easier to drive now, especially in traffic, since I don't have to sit with my leg stretched all the way out to hold the clutch in. I adjusted mine out about 3/4" and it makes a world of difference.
I just realized that it took longer to write this than it did to do it. Advise if questions.
Regards to all,
DaveT</O>
ffice" /><O></O><O
></O>well, I have a manual 03' P5 and i have realized that i am developing a serious lower
backache because of my poor driving posture. I have noticed that i am slouching
alot in order to push my clutch far in to its friction point. i don't know about how others feel about their p5s clutch position but after comparing my car to my friends cars(bmw)(honda), I personally feel that <O
></O>1) our clutch pedals are positioned closer to the center(closer to brake pedal) than others. Meaning, my right leg and left leg is too close to each other when I am driving. And I dont know about you but I prefer having some air circulation in my croch area. <O
></O>2) my left foot has to travel too far to reach the friction point from clutch pedals initial resting position(in another words, I have too much free play). I havent measured it yet but I am estimating the total clutch pedal movement of about 4~5 inches. Also, this is more than my friends cars. Some told me to reposition my car seat to get closer to the clutches friction point and I have. However, when I do this, iam way too close to my gas and brake pedal. <O
></O>3) Related to 2), because the gas pedal on my car has NO resistance where I cant even somewhat rest my foot on them it is even harder to drive when I pull up my seat closer to reach my clutch pedal. I usually find myself holding the weight of my right foot while its on the gas pedal where later my right leg becomes fatigue.<O
></O><O
> </O>Well, recently, I went under the steering wheel and saw that it looks like this down there.<O
></O><O
></O><O
></O> <O
>(all pics are posted in orientation as if you are slightly looking up from the floor mat.)</O><O
>
><O
> </O>The spring that is circled, seems to provide the resistance. I am thinking switching this spring to a spring with higher resistance will solve my problem for 3). Just gotta find the spring now. Let me know if anyone else have a feedback on this.<O
></O><O
> </O>I figure, I cant really do much about number 1) even though iam not happy with it, unless I want to spend lots of money. I am thinking one solution is to change the whole shaft to one that bends over to the left, horizontally but I think this adjustment is not worth it compared to how bad the problem is.<O
></O><O
> </O>The final question, number 2)// this is the question that matters the most for me. I would really like to do something about this. <O
></O><O
> </O>I saw some post online about adjusting the clutch pedal, but I wasnt sure if it will just change the initial resting position of the clutch or change the actual friction point of it, which what I want to do.<O
></O><O
> </O>When I went under the steering wheel, I saw that there is a "yellow bolt" that
which will allow my clutch pedal to be adjusted maybe about an inch. however, i didn't attempt to change it since i wasn't sure how this will affect the mechanics behind the hood, and knowing there are two other control devices tied into the current position of the clutch pedal. Plus, I am thinking that will only change the initial position of the pedal and not its friction point if done. <O
></O>Here is the picture of it.<O
></O><O
> </O>
<O
> </O>I have circled the two devices and the main rod in the picture. Does anybody know what these two devices do? <O
></O>Better yet, know what to do in order to change the actual friction point of the clutch pedal?<O
></O>I would really like to make this adjustment and would greatly appreciate your feedback.<O
></O><O
> </O>thanks! Aaron
<O
></O>p.s. my AIM is LSCARTOON if you would like to talk online.<O
></O><O
></O> <O
>p.p.s. i was doing some research online and found this post. I am not sure if this is what i need to do.</O><O
>Y'all please note. The clutch pedal is adjustable for height. I too had an issue with the pedal placement, so I got to looking in my shop manual and found what I needed to adjust mine. I'll try to go thru it here as it is relatively simple procedure, just requires being something of a pretzel since you are working under the dash. This whole procedure took me about 45 minutes.1. Put seat as far back as it will go for working room.
2. Measure the distance from the bottom back of the clutch pedal pad to some reference point. I measured to the firewall at the top of the floor mat. Just find a reference point that you can return to since it becomes important later.
3. Locate the pedal stop bolt. This is a bolt with a 13mm head about 1" long which is in the framing. The clutch arm hits this bolt to stop its return travel. There is a 12mm lock nut on the bolt.
4. Loosen the lock nut and turn the bolt further into the frame. As you do this, you will see the clutch pedal start to rise. The lever relationship is about 3 to 1, so for each 1/4" you screw the bolt in the pedal will rise about 3/4". The maximum pedal height adjustment is between 1" and 1-1/2" due to the length of the master cylinder rod adjustments in the next steps.
5. Tighten the stop bolt lock nut.
6. Now you need to reset clutch pedal free-play. There is a rod about 1/4" diameter connected to a bracket on the front of the clutch arm on the opposite side from the stop bolt. This rod goes to the clutch master cylinder and is threaded on the bracket end with a lock nut on it.
7. Depress the clutch pedal with your hand while observing this rod's movement into the master cylinder and you will see that the pedal and rod actually move some distance before you see the spool in the master cylinder start to move away from the C-clip which holds the spool in. This movement is "free-play" and it needs to be adjusted to be 1/2" of pedal travel.
8. Loosen the lock nut on the rod and turn to rod clockwise to until when you depress the clutch pedal by hand that it moves about 1/2" before the spool moves. Pay attention to how much thread is left in the bracket while you do this and do not screw the rod out beyond where there is full thread engagement in the bracket (this is the limiting factor I was talking about above in step 4).
9. Now measure again from the bottom of the clutch pedal pad to your reference point and compare with the original measurement you made in step 2. The difference in the two is how far you have moved the pedal.
10. Since you have moved the pedal out, the overall stroke length of the clutch master cylinder will be greater and must now be adjusted so as not to overstroke either the master cylinder and/or the clutch slave cylinder at the clutch itself. To do this you need to return actual cylinder stroke length what it was before you started, and you do it by making a "stop block" which you attach to the firewall so the pedal arm will hit it instead of going all the way to the firewall as originally done. This block can be wood, plastic, or metal. I made mine from a piece of scrap plastic bar I had on hand. Dimensions about 3/4" wide x 1-1/2" long and thickness the same as the distance you move the pedal out. Drill a hole for a sheet metal screw off towards one end of the block.
11. Now locate the place where the pedal arm touched the firewall and place the block so the pedal arm hits it. Mark the hole location and drill a small hole for the screw and mount the block.
12. You are almost done. You get in and adjust your seat and hit the ignition switch. But the car wont even turn over!!!!! This is because there is a plunger switch activated by the green button on the clutch arm to prevent you from starting the car if the clutch pedal is not fully depressed, and now the pedal doesn't activate it. I made a dime-sized spacer out of some 3/16" thick rubber and attached it to the green button with double-sided tape, and it solved the problem.
Hope this helps. It worked on mine, and the car is much easier to drive now, especially in traffic, since I don't have to sit with my leg stretched all the way out to hold the clutch in. I adjusted mine out about 3/4" and it makes a world of difference.
I just realized that it took longer to write this than it did to do it. Advise if questions.
Regards to all,
DaveT</O
>
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