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Difficulty in changing gears

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Old Nov 22, 2019 | 07:02 PM
  #11  
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Originally Posted by Steve83
But the lever is solidly attached to the shaft that's in the bushing. So if the bushing lets the shaft wobble, the lever will wobble in exactly the same way, and it will be apparent by observing the lever's movement when applying & releasing the pedal (even over a tiny distance).Ford describes doing it that way to replace the lever, but it's so easy to pull the whole box down that I've only pulled it in-cab once. Never again.Again: that's what Ford specifies. But when the ONLY problem is the worn bushing, I've simply reinstalled the old lever back onto the same splines on my 2 trucks with total success.You said "lever", but it seems like you're talking about the PEDAL. You can't observe the lever-end bushing wear in the motion of the pedal because it's too slight, and not in the direction you're talking about. You must put eyes (or fingertips) on the lever end of the pedal shaft to know what's happening at the high-wear end.That's why you shouldn't try that. The slave is specific to the transmission bellhousing & clutch stack that it fits - you can't necessarily mix from a 1/2-ton trans with a heavier (different model) trans from a heavier truck.
I did say lever, didn’t I? I guess it’s where I’m so used to riding my bike....yes I mean the clutch pedal.....so if the bushing is worn, and the only sure fire way to find out is to pull the pedal box assembly out, right? But if I am going to go though all that trouble, and remove the box assembly wouldn’t it make sense to go ahead and replace that bushing?
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Old Nov 23, 2019 | 01:21 AM
  #12  
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Originally Posted by frank5079
...so if the bushing is worn, and the only sure fire way to find out is to pull the pedal box assembly out, right?
No, that's the easier way to CHANGE the bushing. You can check it either by looking at the lever as you BARELY move the pedal (try to move it side-to-side), or by FEELING the lever - put your fingertip so it's touching the lever & the pedal box. If the lever moves in any direction other than smooth rotation, the bushing is worn.
Originally Posted by frank5079
But if I am going to go though all that trouble, and remove the box assembly wouldn’t it make sense to go ahead and replace that bushing?
It NEVER makes sense (to me) to replace a working part that's not on the maintenance schedule (and that bushing ISN'T). If it's still working after this long, let it KEEP working. A chinese replacement probably won't work half as long. And making your own (like I do) is a lot of effort - especially to replace a GOOD bushing.
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Old Nov 23, 2019 | 06:17 AM
  #13  
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Slide under the dash, the most common failure point on your vintage truck is the clutch push rod bushing which is very easy to change and likely has some wear after all these years..The four main bushings are more durable on your vintage than the ones of earlier models. Look where the cross shaft pin attaches to the clutch master push rod. That bushing is what wears most common and when that bushing goes, the thick pin of the cross shaft will make the aluminum push rod hole egg shaped. Just grab the push rod, if you can wiggle or slightly slide it sideways on the cross shaft pin, you are in good shape. If it is not and very tight, first get a new push rod bushing before preceeding, part # E69Z-7526-A because you will trash the old one(clip) when you pop off the push rod.Before preceeding, pump the clutch a few times. Once you pop off the push rod off the bushing, pull the clutch pedal all the way up, the cross rod pin should exactly line up with the eye of the push rod. If it doesn't, you have play within the pedal box which may require further investigation for a bad cross lever and/or bushings. If it lines up exactly, pop off the old bushing and install the new push rod bushing( I keep a couple extras on hand). Ideally, when everything is sound, the cross lever pin sound not be pulling up on your push rod when the clutch master cylinder is in its normal resting spot.Your pedal box is ok and you need to look into the hydraulics or mechanicals of the clutch.

As stated earlier," It NEVER makes sense (to me) to replace a working part that's not on the maintenance schedule (and that bushing ISN'T). If it's still working after this long, let it KEEP working". It is foolish for example, to remove a timing cover and not replace the water pump just because it doesn't leak or isn't mentioned as a maintenance item in the manual. That's called "preventive" maintenance and if you had to go far enough to pull the pedal box because of one part, it would be foolish to leave the other old, brittle bushings in service and not replace them, the cross lever which I would never reuse once pulled off and recondition the whole pedal assembly, make it perform like new and not have to pull it out again next year.. I value my time and prefer to have a reliable vehicle and not have to be working on it all the time because I chose to get an extra six months out of a working used part, especially when it is staring me in the face while working around it.OEM parts are still plentiful on the internet, so you do not have to rely on Chinese knockoffs for the pedal box. Use your own common sense because there are some strange ways out there being suggested.

Last edited by raski; Nov 23, 2019 at 07:01 AM.
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Old Nov 23, 2019 | 08:46 AM
  #14  
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Thanks Steve and raski. I'm off this Monday so I'll try and get to work on that...
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