raski

My 87 has a 4.9 w/ manual 4 spd. I am in the process of replacing the cross lever for a low clutch pedal. There is slop at the latching grommet and where the lever mates up with the shaft. I would appreciate any suggestions (tricks) on getting the lever off. I have the 18mm nut removed and all the prying won't budge the lever off the knurled shaft. A puller would work if it would fit in the tight space. I hope not to have to remove the entire pedal assembly if I can avoid it.

BLDTruth

I've done it on my 94, which is slightly different but that swing lever is identical I think. The lever is splined onto the assembly so a good long pry bar and lots of working it back and forth will eventually break it loose.

There was no way to do the bushings without pulling the assembly, though. The bushing closest to the lever is usually the one that goes. But again, I am speaking of the assembly on my 94 and your 87 is a little different.

2dwoods

Some heat maybe if possible,sometimes the long way around is the easiest

Steve83

Heat won't help, and it would likely damage many things in the dash. Pulling the pedal box is MUCH easier than you think: pull the brake pedal hairpin & slip the booster pushrod off; snap the clutch pushrod off its lever; remove the 4 13mm nuts for the booster studs; pull the booster out of the firewall, and the pedal box will almost fall on the floor by itself. It shows a '92-96 truck which is slightly different, but close enough:


(phone app link)

This shows your pedal box:


(phone app link)

This caption explains when & how to R&R the lever:


(phone app link)

raski

An update to this project and may help someone who is facing this repair to keep their old truck going.. Ended up pulling whole pedal box because I noticed powdered aluminum falling out behind cross lever which I was able to pull off with a pitman arm puller with the box still in place... Bushing behind the cross lever was half gone and the hole which it resides was egg shaped. Took time to find bushings, cross lever and a good pedal box online.I believe everything is long been discontinued already. Found a great pedal box which was in perfect shape. Still, I replaced all four green bushings, cross lever and the bushing which fastens to the push rod with OEM items.The firewall was crack free but I still installed the small reinforcement plate which Ford once made to stregthen a weak from the begining, supporting the clutch master cylinder area.As Steve mentioned, it is not a difficult job just time consuming laying on the drivers floor most of the time but I had to remove the steering column and it made the job easier to remove the instrument cluster prior to removing the pedal box. I suggest when you have the whole assembly out, leave the nut for the cross lever loose. After you get everything back up into place, connect the clutch push rod, adjust the play out and then tighten the nut down. Clutch pedal is high and smooth as silk. Thanks for all who responded.

Necromancer1

@steve #83 Hey Steve, I know this is an old thread. Thank you for the link and pics...excellent.

I do have one question: in your pics, you've dropped the intermediate steering shaft to drop the pedal box. Can you tell me how to do this? It doesn't seem too complicated, but I don't want to do something wrong - especially when it comes to steering.

thanks...

Nec

raski

What I did on my 87 last summer was I removed the whole steering column/ shaft assembly,put it in the bed to get it out of the way. One bolt going through the steering shaft near the gear box, removed the bolts going into the cowl and then removed the affected bolts which support the steering column and are fastened to the pedal box itself nearing the steering wheel. Easy to remove the column and made it easier for me to get the pedal box out from beneath than just dropping the column, getting in the way of your work area..

I don't know what year you have, when you get the pedal box out, closely examine the sheet metal around the area which supports the clutch master cylinder. There are TSB's regarding fatigue cracking of the sheet metal. Ford did make small and large reinforcement plates to deal with the weakened and damaged area. Mine was ok but I found the small reinforcement plate on ebay and installed it to prevent any future problems.

Steve83

Not really, because your truck info isn't in your signature. Follow the suggestions in this caption:

(phone app link)


But in general: remove the upper bolt from the intermediate shaft, and push the shaft forward (into its telescope joint).

Necromancer1

@steve #83 apolgies. Done.

Steve83

You can see the bolt in the 1st pic in that album; and you can see that it's removed in the 3rd. The caption of the 2nd mentions it.

That's a start on your sig...