A funny story, and then I need help.

[VTWilly]

So, as you guys know, I have been fighting with the brake system on my 55 Wagon. It has not been fun, however it gave me a chance to clean up a lot of the road grime and crud at the wheels.
Since I had to replace some of the brake lines and replace the master cylinder, the system was pretty much empty, so I used a vacuum brake bleeder, and it worked okay, but not great.
So I got my wife to do some pedal pumping for me so I could get a good bleed on the brakes. We went back and forth, at all four wheels for at least 45 minuets, yelling back and forth
"you pumping?"
"yeah"
"got some pressure?"
"yeah, I think so"

and each time, I got little to no fluid (or seemingly air) out of the bleeder valves. Again, I tried all 4 wheels and was pretty discouraged as I know I had gotten some success with the vacuum bleeder.
It was getting time to leave for an appointment so we called it quits, but I hopped in real quick to see what was up as she had said the pedal went all the way to the floor most pumps.
I pump up the pedal and show my wife "you pumped it fast-ish like this to build pressure?"
And she looked me right in the eyes and said "Nope, I apparently was pumping the clutch" :confused: my beautiful loving wife, who took 2 years of auto mec in high school, who owned and drove a manual transmission vehicle for the first 10 years I knew her, was pumping the clutch to help me bleed my brakes :D

Now onto my problem (which you might see coming) after about 35 miles of driving (getting gas one day and groceries the next) I drove to work last night and just as I was getting there, shifting became difficult, and it would go hard into gear (aftermarket overdrive included), and then when trying to back into my parking spot I ground the hell out of the gears going to reverse.
I added some gear oil to the transmission this morning before leaving in hopes that it was the issue, since the clutch pedal felt normal (and I'm due for a fluids change soon anyway) but it didn't take too much, about .25 quarts, and it didn't fix the issue.
In the 20 minute drive home, it got worse. I limped it home, but now the clutch pedal goes at least half way or more to the floor without any resistance and pretty much doesn't engage (or just barely/not near enough)

I haven't had time to climb under and see if it is something simple, and of course I assume the worst. So I'll ask on here, what things should I look at first, before I have to take the whole thing apart (which I am not sure I am qualified to do)

Thanks all

VTWilly

[bmorgil]

VT I would start by trying to adjust the clutch free play. They don't need much. Just a half inch at the pedal should be a good place to start. If you cant get the free play correct, the linkage needs to be looked at to make sure something isn't worn out and causing it to lose motion. If the linkage is good and you still cant get it adjusted, the pressure plate might be worn out. Time for a new clutch and flywheel resurface.

With the vehicle sitting still, running in neutral, depress the clutch. Count to 4 (3 to 4 seconds) and try to shift into reverse. If it grinds the clutch is not adjusted properly or, the clutch is not disengaging properly.

[VTWilly]

Good News. It was a (relatively) easy fix. The Clutch Rod (connecting pedal to bellcrank) had come disconnected from the pedal. It was pretty obvious when I climbed under and had someone push the clutch so I could see what was going on.
While I am sure that 45 minuets of clutch pumping didn't help, it was already headed on the way out. As the picture shows it is bent at a 45degree angle at the pedal side (instead of 90) and that looks like it allowed it to rub the cotter pin holding it in until it broke off, but because of the weird angle, it was sort of half hanging on still.
So I gave it a little pinch in the bench vise to make it square again. Used it as an excuse to fire up my sandblasting cabinet, and reinstalled it, with washers (that it either didn't have or had fallen off) and new pins, and it works like a charm.

I say that I think it was on the way out because the pedal had a bit of left/right play in it pretty much since I got it, and now it runs solid and true. I'll probably get a replacement when I make a parts order next, just to make sure I have a spare in case it starts to bend again (it was pretty easy to bend back to shape).

Worst part was having to do it in the gravel driveway because my next project has already taken over the garage. Guess that's just life in a rural area.

VTWilly

[bmorgil]

I can see it is getting quite a notch worn into it at the one end. I would say time to replace that one

[LarrBeard]

You got your money's worth out of that one. Clutch pedals having left-right wobble are not that unusual. Two surfaces wear; the hanger on which the clutch and brake pedals swivel and the hole through the clutch pedal itself. The brake doesn't usually wear as much since it doesn't have as much travel as the clutch. On the '48 we bored out the pedal to true it up and put a half-sleeve on the hanger (just under the clutch). Keeping the zerks greased cuts down wear in that area.

[VTWilly]

And..... now I broke the Upper clutch control/adjusting rod. ARGH! it completely snapped in half about 10 minuets from the house.
So, now that I have both those parts on order, I understand HOW to adjust the free travel in the clutch (using my NEW Upper clutch control once I install it). What I don't understand is how I measure the free travel to make sure I am adjusted correctly. I'm sure it is pretty simple, but if someone could point me in the right direction I would be grateful.

[bmorgil]

VT just make sure you have free play at the pedal. About 1" at the pedal is plenty. Free play is the distance between the throw out bearing and the fingers on the clutch pressure plate. You want the bearing to have some distance from the clutch plate, so it doesn't spin until you take up the free play with the pedal. So adjust it so you have an inch of free pedal. The pedal should move about 1" and then the bearing should start contacting the pressure plate and start to engage the clutch. If you have too much free play, you wont be able to shift into reverse without grinding as the clutch wont fully disengage. If you have too little free play the throw out bearing will ride against the clutch and wear out. So you want some free play at the pedal but not so much the clutch wont disengage.