On Fri, 21 Sep 2001, Patrick Schmidt wrote:
>
> So, the pedal cluster's that much fun? I think I have to do one on Saturday
> in my Rabbit; the clutch pedal has about 2 inches of movement with a new
> clutch and cable. I'm sure with the ample space VW engineered into the A1
> chassis it will be even more of a treat than in an A2. Any suggestions
> before I break out the plasma cutter?
>
> Cheers,
> Pat
I guess there's no time like the present. :) I got the basic stuff for
this procedure from mike potter.
There are two posible problems with the pedal cluster. The first is
cracking of the pedal cluster itself, which causes the whole assembly to
flex and stop working. The remedy for this problem is replacing the pedal
cluster. The other problem is that one of the mounting studs for the
pedal cluster can be pulled out of the sheetmetal that it mounts to,
causing the pedal cluster to flex as well. In this case it just feels
like the brake pedal is very springy, and that pushing on the pedal has
little effect- almost as if the brakes have faded really bad. When this
happens, the brake and clutch pedal will also move side-to-side quite a
bit when wiggled by hand. The second problem may eventually cause the
first one, because of the extra flexing that the cluster goes through.
Since I had the second problem, I'll detail the fix for that.
1. Remove the lower tray underneath the dash that covers the pedals, etc.
2. Remove the center console, being careful to disconnect the cigarette
lighter and power window switches if you have them.
3. Remove the knee bar, or package tray, whichever your car came with.
You'll have to do the first three if you're removing the pedal cluster,
too. From here on out is only for repairing the second problem.
4. Remove the steering wheel.
5. Remove the instrument cluster. You'll need to reach up under the dash
and undo the speedometer cable. It has a little clippy deal that holds it
on. All you need to do is squeeze the white plastic end of hte speedo
cable and pull it off the cluster.
6. Through the hole where the cluster was, you should be able to see the
sheetmetal dash beam. The pedal cluster extends up and mounts to a stud
off of this beam. Since it is a square box, you need to do something to
be able to get a bolt down from the top through the beam. This is where
the hole saw comes in.
7. Directly above the hole in the beam that is there from where the stud
was, drill a hole in the face of the beam with a hole saw. Make the hole
as close to the bottom of the face of the beam as you are comfortable, as
this will make it easier to get a wrench on the bolt you're going to put
in through the top. You'll want to make the hole 1 1/2". Make sure the
hole saw you get is rated for cutting through sheet metal. It's not a
rule, but most of the time hole saws painted white are rated for metal or
wood, and unpainted or black ones are only for wood or plastic.
8. You should now be able to see the hole in the bottom of the dash beam
clearly. Use a 7mm bolt with two 1 1/4" fender washers from the top,
going down through the hole, into the hole in the bracket on the pedal
cluster. Use a washer and a nylock nut to hold it on, just to make sure
it's not going to come off.
Once everything was apart, the actual repair only really took me like 15
minutes- cut the hole, drop the bolt in, tighten it all up.
Here are a couple ascii diagrams of what stuff looks like down there.
This probably won't work for most people's e-mail clients but it's worth a
shot anyways:
<pre>
Side view of the beam and pedal cluster, before fixing:
<-- front of car
____________ |
| | |
| Dash | |
| Beam | |
| | | Dashboard
| | |
|_____ _____| |
___________||_______ |
/ #### |
/ || <--- stud that
/ breaks of
Pedal cluster ^
with the hole drilled:
____________
| |
| Dash |
| Beam
| <--- hole drilled in the side
|
|_____ _____|
___________ _______
/
/ ^---- hole left by broken stud
/
Pedal cluster ^
With bolt and fender washers installed:
____________
| |
| Dash |
| Beam
|
| ||
|___==||==___|
___________||_______
/ ####
/ ||
/
Pedal cluster ^
</pre>
_____________
List Sponsor: http://www.netsville.com
To remove yourself from this list, send mail to [email protected] with
'unsubscribe a2_16v' in the body of your message
See us on the web at http://www.a2-16v.com
Visit the 16V Homepage at http://www.gti16v.org
