Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Upon driving my 37 I found that there is some side to side play in the clutch pedal iron. Depressing the pedal resulted in the outboard side of the iron rubbing against the opening in the toe board and causing an annoying squeak.
I could avoid the squeak if I remembered to keep my foot to the left side of the pedal and push the pedal to the right as well as down, but this was easily forgotten and slightly awkward.
I know you could (should maybe?) remove the iron and machine it to insert a bushing to rid this, but it is not that worn, just annoying, so I found a simple solution.
I took a piece of 3/4" thick nylon block and cut an "L" section from it, about 2" on the long leg and 1" on the short leg. The wall thickness was a consistent 1/4" wide.
I then took this 3/4" wide x 1/4" thick "L" and after lifting the carpet, simply inserted it into the left side of the slotted hole in the toe board with the 1" leg going into the slotted hole and the 2" leg resting on the top surface of the toe board pointing towards the kick board panel. Laying the carpet down sandwiches the part under the carpet and retains it in position. Now the pedal iron rubs soundlessly against the nylon with the squeak gone. You could drill a hole in the 2" long leg and then use a sheet metal screw to hold it in if you found that your carpet did not hold it tight enough.
Here's to quiet touring!
Bob J.

Bob, it wasn't a worn clutch and brake pedal shaft? Ron Carpenter, Walnut Creek, CA reproduces these.

Thanks Su8.
Possibly a slightly worn clutch pedal shaft (iron), it does way more work than a brake shaft, but the slight wear was addressed with this nylon rub block. The toe board is also a bit distorted over the years. Works great now though and will likely do so for years to come.
Bob J.

If the 37 pedal and shaft arrangement is the same as later models wear could also be caused by lack of lubrication. Later cars thru at least 50 have one grease fitting on the end of the shaft at the brake side. That fitting is threaded into a long passage thru the shaft with small holes drilled into the passage to allow grease into the space between brake and clutch pedal bushings. Problem with that single fitting is the grease is oozing out around the bushings on both sides of the brake pedal long before any ever reaches the clutch bushings. I expect a lot of lube guys stopped the grease gun as soon as they saw it coming out and not much fresh grease ever reached the clutch pedal.

On 1935 to 1937 and maybe 38 and further. They used a felt wick on the firewall side of pedal pivots base. Pull the pedal away from the firewall or have someone depress the pedal fully, to see the oiling wick at the base or pivot point of the pedal.

Thanks for all the input. I am aware of the felts, all oiled up during the rebuild. In my case it has nothing to do with the arm's pivot. It rotates soundlessly on the rod. What I was indicting in the article is that the clutch arm itself is allowed to lean slightly to port (left) from her 80 plus years of wear so that when the pedal is depressed it rubs against the opening in the toe board causing an annoying yet harmless squeal as the cast iron arm and the sheet metal toe board sing their cricket squawk. The "L" piece of nylon is a simple spacer that can be used by anyone else experiencing this noise. The nylon placed on the left side of the toe board slotted hole and the cast iron clutch arm still rub together, but with only a whisper of noise.
Bob J.

Good Morning...I wonder if your motor mounts have shifted just a tiny bit...Ernie in Arizona

My '41 110 had the same problem, and it's because the original rubber grommet that lined the hole in the firewall where the pedal stem goes through rotted away and fell down into the engine bay. My brake pedal's firewall hole has an identical grommet which is still in place. If our cars are close enough in age that Packard used similar designs for these areas, then you should have (or may have had) similar grommets around both holes.

Sounds like you already solved your problem with the nylon clip, so I'm really just posting this for posterity.

G'day PACK-41,
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I invite you to include your '41 110 in PackardInfo's Packard Vehicle Registry.