Re: Brake and Clutch pedal "Thump"

Posted by HH56 On 2020/1/9 18:49:11

The arm seals serve a dual purpose. When the pedal is up the large portion is pressed against the toe board holes to seal out wind and odors from the engine compt and the second purpose is the bellows portion do act as sort of a shock absorber to slow and cushion the abrupt stop of the pedal against the metal.

They do install as you describe. The metal plates at the end of the arms which hold the rubber pedal pads are attached to the arms with one bolt. Those plates are removed and when off and carpet is pulled back the floor toe plate with holes the arms go thru can be removed. On some cars, in order to pull the carpet back to access the screws holding the toe plate the accelerator also needs to be removed.

Once arms are clear, the seals are pushed on with the small end down. I would suggest you clean the arms well and then use some silicone spray or dish washing liquid as a lubricant before pushing the seals down the arm. On later years at least, that small end rests against a flattened platform like area on the pedal arm. Once installed the toe plate is replaced and seals should push down slightly taking the pedal with them and provide a solid seal to the plate.

I believe some have mentioned that Steele's items are fairly soft rubber and IMO, they do not seem to last very long before the rubber cracks at the bellows and the pieces separate. After that experience on mine I wound up making a mold using a deteriorated set as a pattern to get the approx shape and thickness. Kept the original flat rubber end of a broken seal for the top and replaced the middle bellows portion with an expandable flexible urethane foam product which bonded to the other piece to provide a stronger yet still slightly compressible center.