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The clutch and brake pedals are sloppy on my car.
I would like to replace the bushings on the brake and clutch pedals on my 1949 Deluxe Club Sedan but the parts suppliers don't know if there is a bushing there or not since they do not show on the plates. Please see picture of plate 62 here.
Does anyone know if bushings are available for where the pedals attach to the rod that they rotate over?

We would like to know before we disassemble the assembly. Any help would be appreciated.

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Parts says the Clippers and models thru 50 have the same support arrangement and on my 47 there are two bushings in each pedal arm which are supported by a single shaft. I could not find a commercial match for the bushings when I did mine but possibly one of the vendors can if they have a NOS or good pedal and can measure needs. I can say it looks like a real pain to change them and if there are no readily available sizes the pedal bores might need machining to place a standard size bushing in. Shaft diameter is 7/8 and as I recall the bore side was a fraction or decimal not offered in the readily available standard bushings.

What I found on my car was you could grab the clutch pedal at the top and move it side to side a good half inch or more. Taking things apart I found the bushings were passable with only minimal wear but the shaft had an extreme amount of wear on the clutch pedal side because of lack of lube. There is a single zerk on the end of the shaft at the brake pedal side. My assumption is infrequent lubes and maybe the person doing the lube saw grease squeezing out from the brake pedal and stopped the lube before any was able to reach the clutch end and it was working almost dry. Because I felt the bushings were still usable I found a hardened shaft at McMaster-Carr and with the use of a cutoff wheel and a grinder was able to cut to length and form the grooves and D shape on the end that locks in the frame. Because of the hardening I could not drill the shaft for the lube path so opted for a zerk fitting opening in a space between the bushings in each of the pedals instead.

You might need to take yours apart to find the actual problem and if your bushings are bad and the cause of any slop get an oversize shaft. At one time there was an oversize shaft kit an individual made to take care of the wear but that source apparently has passed away. A poster awhile back with a similar need said that Ron Carpenter in Alamo, CA was able to machine him an oversize shaft so that or a local machinist might be an easier option than changing bushings.

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As these cars fell to third and fourth and later owners they were primarily bought for cheap transportation and maintenance like grease jobs was typically neglected, especially an obscure grease fitting like the pedal shaft. I wonder even today how many of us remember to do a by-the-book grease and lubrication job at the proper intervals.

Mine were beat. I had a machine shop make new ones in '86.

And yes, even when I give the grease guy the manual with like 22 fittings to hit, they say they got them all, then I ask about the pedals and they always miss that. What zerks!

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Zerks? Love the humor!!

Great inputs everyone! Thank you

Hi Joe; As Howard explained the shaft is the biggest problem. I have done several sets, i use a newly machined shaft and bore out the pedal ends and press in Plymouth wrist pin bushings and machine them to fit the new shaft. I have an extra set that I will not need if interested.

Hi Joe,

I've no business being 'over here' on the post-war side as I am a pre-war guy, but couldn't help noticing your post and I just went through a refit on my '39 clutch linkage and found that the bulk of the sloppiness on my clutch was extreme wear on the 'U'-shaped relay lever (part 3.1385) I understand the need to tune up the bushings on the pedals themselves, but I would do a close inspection on that bracket. I actually couldn't believe the wear on mine! Chris

I have a 1948 22nd series. When the end of the shaft is talked of having a D shape and locking in the frame I do not understand. I am actually bolting mine back in after swapping out a clutch assembly. The end of the shaft seems to set in a cup in the frame. Is it supposed to be held in there by something than pressure from the bracket, which attaches to the cross member, and spring pressure?

Thanks,

The shaft is the same for 21st and 22nd series so I will presume the mount is similar if not identical as well. The description and photos is of a 21st series.

The clutch end of the shaft fits into a hole in the frame which has solid section remaining on one side forming a D shaped opening. There is a portion of the shaft ground down to form another D shape at the end to slide into the hole. The D shape keeps the shaft from rotating and the frame hitting the end of the ground down portion and possibly a retaining ring keeps the shaft locked in the hole. The other end of the shaft has a retaining clip which fits into a groove to keep the pedals, springs, washers and shims etc contained on the shaft. There is a bracket which bolts to the crossmember that goes over the end of the shaft and presses against the other side of the retaining clip to farther lock the shaft in the frame hole and the car.

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