bLinded_ Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 Hey guys, Currently doing a 4AGE into my KE70 at the moment and I am up to the exciting part of converting to a hydraulic clutch setup! Now, I know the obvious route to take is to fit an AE71 pedal box, or a t-18 with minor mods, but I am deciding to modify the original KE70 box to use the clutch master cylinder I have here from my donor AE86 as I'd rather not pay the $150 + that most people want for the AE71 setup and also, from my first assessment, I should be able to make the KE70 pedal box work easily. Firstly, here is how I plan to do it: From what I have seen, with the clutch MC mounted in the factory position (mould in firewall), the pushrod comes through 'X' amount out of line from the clutch pedal and clears cabin parts, so it can move in and out with no obstruction from anything. See below: The measurement 'Y' is the range needed for the clutch to work. Pretty much fully extended (clutch disengaged) to fully depressed (clutch engaged). Now, by knowing the range of the master cylinder pushrod, I can work out the position of where it has to mount to the clutch pedal so that when the pedal is depressed, the travel of the master cylinder pushrod is correct. Common sense shows that by having it mounted closer to the line of the pivot point, the travel of the pushrod will be less, and obviously making it further from the pivot point will increase travel. Find the 'sweet spot' and pushrod travel should be the same ratio to the pedal travel. From here, all I need to do is just make an 'L' shaped new bracket that connects the clutch pedal to the line of the master cylinder and mount the pushrod into it so it travels the correct distance to engage the clutch. Obviously this bracket will be inline with the master cylinder in both axis so that the pushrod slides in straight. At the moment I am yet to make the new bracket for the pushrod to mount off, but I just wanted to post this up to see what everyone thinks of my current plan before I get too carried away :P Also open to any suggestions you may have! I will make sure to keep this updated as to let people know how it goes, and hopefully if it works according to plan, people may be able to copy it as an alternative to the AE71 Pedal box :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
altezzaclub Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 Are you going to bolt the bracket onto the clutch pedal so it can be moved if needed?? That means it is a "U" shape, not an "L". It all sounds good, but I know working in that cramped space upside down at wierd angles is direct line to swearing and apoplexy!! I can see the cutout in the black insulation beside the clutch pedal on mine and the ridiculous shape of the pedal shaft. Any civilised manufacturer would have mounted the steering column between the clutch and brake pedals, not wound the clutch pedal shaft around the steering! It will have some strange leverages. Anyway- theory sounds fine- Good luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KENut Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 ... Any civilised manufacturer would have mounted the steering column between the clutch and brake pedals, not wound the clutch pedal shaft around the steering! It will have some strange leverages. Anyway- theory sounds fine- Good luck with it. AE71 have the clutch pedal on the other side of the column from memory. Agree, theory sounds fine! Just so long as your 'L' bracket is nice and stiff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bLinded_ Posted February 27, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2011 Well, after some very f@$king awkward measuring, I worked out the position of where the bracket had to be welded to the pedal. Tacked it on and tested it... ...Couldn't believe it, it actually was in the correct spot! :D Didn't worry about bracing the 'L' Bracket as I ended up rotating it 90º so that the weld runs inline with the travel of the pedal, as opposed to how I had it drawn with it being perpendicular to the pedal. Obviously time will tell, but it seems like it will hold fine. So yeah, measurements are below for anyone who wants to try it. These were taken with the clutch pedal in the 'disengaged' position. (ie. If you had no foot on the pedal) And how it looks from a few angles: Obviously I can't test this 100% at the moment as I don't have the T50 in yet, but I have full travel of the clutch pedal and the MC pushrod has the same travel as it did when it was in the sprinter, so theoretically it should work... Will see how fire wall flex goes too. That was one thing that didn't even occur to me when I did it. I have never seen an AE71 pedal box before thus didn't know it braced the firewall. If flexing is an issue, it should be a piece of piss to make a bracket that goes from the firewall behind the booster to where the clutch MC mounts. Will see how it goes first :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bLinded_ Posted April 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2011 Okay, I know it has been a while since I updated this, but I have finally been able to drive the car and test it :) So far I have been driving around a week and have had no problems with it at all. This has only been timid driving at the moment so obviously no clutch kicks etc. With normal driving conditions it works perfectly and has had no issues so far! Okay, I know it has been a while since I updated this, but I have only recently bleed the clutch and been able to drive it. My only change (personal preference) will be to replace the standard pedal return spring with a slightly stronger one. The stock one works fine, but I'd prefer if the pedal felt a bit more firm/harder to press. Other than that, all is sweet :) Will report back in if something goes wrong, or when I start abusing it a bit more! -Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ke70dave Posted April 15, 2011 Report Share Posted April 15, 2011 very well done!!! so easy and effective, how you like 4age? if i get a change if you don't mind i can put this into the FAQ? or better yet, if you can write it all up neatly, with explanation (its pretty good now), I'm sure we can copy and paste it for you into the FAQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bLinded_ Posted April 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2011 Love the 4AGE so much :) I must admit, I do miss the growl of the old carbies, but the new 4AGE does go very hard...especially with 4.77 diff ratio :P By all means if you have time, feel free to add this to the FAQ. My aim in the first place was to help other people here, so go nuts with it in the FAQ. I probably won't have time to do a better write up anytime soon (busy as with work etc), but if you have any other questions, feel free to ask! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philbey Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 I still reckon I'd be beefing up that bracket, it's susceptible to fatigue failure which means when it goes, it just goes. And that will be a real bitch to get home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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