Pedal adjustment

[Guest]

So the first job to get me hands dirty on my new / first seven was to make some adjustments to the pedals. The previous owner had the clutch/brake pedals on the furthest of 3 setting, so being 5'8" I needed to move these back to the middle setting. Interestingly, while the clutch/brake were on the furthest setting, the throttle pedal was on the middle setting. Indeed, when I did moved the clutch/brake back to the middle, it became obvious that I'd need to move the throttle to the closest of the 3 settings in order to fall more in-line with the brake pedal. This logic seemed a bit odd - but is this normal?

 

I was wondering, regarding the clutch/pedal, is there a way to adjust the biting point without affecting pedal position? I find that you need to push the pedal a fair distance before you reach the biting point and I think this is partly the reason why I have difficulty (sometimes which a bit of crunching!) going from 2nd to 3rd during hard acceleration. I used the cable adjuster nuts on the pedal box to fine tune the pedal position in line with the brake pedal, and I assumed the adjuster nuts on the bell housing might have the effect of moving the biting point independently of pedal position, but it would appear these nuts have exactly the same effect. At the moment I have compromised and raised the clutch pedal 1/2" to bring the biting point up, but ideally would like to move the pedal back in line with the brake whilst leaving the biting point where is to reduce the required pedal travel.... if that makes any sense whatsoever?!?

 

My other query is regarding the throttle pedal. See image below after I had finished adjusting. You can see a stopper on a long thread behind the throttle pedal, but the pedal stops a long way short of this. From memory, I think even before I made any adjustment, the pedal did not stop against this. I didn't attempt to try an adjust the stop as it looked like even if I used all the available thread it would probably still stop short of the pedal. I was also questioning the robustness of the stop to do the job - as it was, it felt wobbly and the aluminium panel around the adjuster nut had ever so slightly begun to crack. The throttle body has it's own stop which does the job of stopping the pedal - is this sufficient or is it recommended to get the pedal stop sorted out?

 

I also noticed that after moving the throttle pedal that the cable appeared more slack, as can be seen in the pic. It doesn't seem a big issue but should/can this be sorted out?

 

Pic

 

Edited by - Smiffy7 on 31 Mar 2014 17:06:38

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

You can only change the length of the clutch cable outer using the nuts you described. That's it.

 

Throttle stop ..... is meaty enough. You could fit some extra large diameter (but standard hole) thick washers either side of the foot well panel. You want the back of the pedal to hit it just before the stop on the throttle body on the engine. This reduces the chance of breaking the cable. You may need a longer stud on the stop.

 

Take up slack in throttle cable with screw adjuster on bracket at engine end of cable. Pull black square sideways, then turn it on cable.

 

You should have another throttle stop that contacts the top of the pedal tube. This can be adjusted or changed for a longer bolt so the pedal hits it when released.

[Jonathan Kay]

Throttle pedal positioning isn't odd IMHO. I'm a bit shorter than you and had to pack the throttle pedal to get the surface close enough to me even after using the closest position. Currently that's a piece of oak railing but now I've got the position I should ask someone to weld a plate there instead...

 

Jonathan

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Good work on starting to get your hands dirty, Smiffy

 

As a general question, is there a standard position for the pedals as set by the factory?

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

Oak in a Seven. A Morgan is calling you JK 😬

[Grubbster]

In the metric chassis there are just 2 positions and the factory will put them in the forward position (as to use the rear position you need to shorten the clutch and brake rods and lengthen the threads - which are 1 imperial and 1 metric take a look at how!)

[redlight]

Oak in a Seven. A Morgan is calling you JK .

 

 

I think you will find it is Ash in a Morgan.

 

Edited by - redlight on 31 Mar 2014 19:16:53

 

Edited by - redlight on 31 Mar 2014 19:17:45

[TomB]

While you have the pedal box open, remove any R pins and replace them with split pins. When I bought my car many moons ago, it had an R pin on the brake pedal clevis! 😳

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

Quoting redlight: 

Oak in a Seven. A Morgan is calling you JK .

 

 

I think you will find it is Ash in a Morgan.

 

Edited by - redlight on 31 Mar 2014 19:16:53

 

Edited by - redlight on 31 Mar 2014 19:17:45

Indeed it is ....... but timber is the common theme ...... it will be a pipe and slippers next

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

The other thing I spotted in your photo ..... the legs of the split pin on the top of the clutch pedal are very close to the contacts on the brake light switch. Suggest you loosen brake light switch and turn it round by 90°, then tighten nut again. Will save you blowing brake light fuse when it touches.

[Jonathan Kay]

Go ahead, laugh, but I had to work out which way the grain should run!

 

Jonathan

[susser]

My preference includes having the throttle pedal at rest, in line with the brake pedal when it's in use:

The reason being that whilst the right foot is braking, I can rock my ankle and blip the throttle whilst double declutching. Sometimes called Heel and Toe, but try that in a Caterham footwell with human sized feet !!

[Drumster]

Well worth mentioning heel and toe. That's exactly how my pedals are set-up. Quite simple with only size 7 feet 😳

[Guest]

Quoting SM25T: 

You can only change the length of the clutch cable outer using the nuts you described. That's it.

 

Throttle stop ..... is meaty enough. You could fit some extra large diameter (but standard hole) thick washers either side of the foot well panel. You want the back of the pedal to hit it just before the stop on the throttle body on the engine. This reduces the chance of breaking the cable. You may need a longer stud on the stop.

 

Take up slack in throttle cable with screw adjuster on bracket at engine end of cable. Pull black square sideways, then turn it on cable.

 

You should have another throttle stop that contacts the top of the pedal tube. This can be adjusted or changed for a longer bolt so the pedal hits it when released.

 

SM25T, thanks for the advice! All noted and will finish off the next chance I get. I had already thought of the big washer idea if I was to use the throttle stop - should make it a bit sturdier too. Oh, and thank you for spotting that split pin!

 

I'm well on my way to mastering heel n toe in the seven, but I'll adopt the advice of susser regarding the throttle pedal position.

 

Hopefully I'll then have perfectly adjusted pedals

 

Cheers all

[Guest]

Quoting SM25T: 

Take up slack in throttle cable with screw adjuster on bracket at engine end of cable. Pull black square sideways, then turn it on cable.

 

You should have another throttle stop that contacts the top of the pedal tube. This can be adjusted or changed for a longer bolt so the pedal hits it when released.

 

I finished off fine tuning my pedals tonight. I got the throttle pedal set level with depressed brake pedal. To take the slack out of the throttle cable I actually found it more effect to do this using throttle stop at the top of the pedal - I wound it down until the slack was taken out and just before the TB butterfly moved. I found that the cable adjuster on the TB just adjusted the pedal position while always leaving the same amount of slack.

 

Quoting SM25T: 

Throttle stop ..... is meaty enough. You could fit some extra large diameter (but standard hole) thick washers either side of the foot well panel. You want the back of the pedal to hit it just before the stop on the throttle body on the engine. This reduces the chance of breaking the cable. You may need a longer stud on the stop.

 

I fitted the big washers which seemed to beef it up a treat. But as you can see from the first pic below, it left about 1/2" between it and the pedal at its maximum adjustment. I didn't really have the tools/time/knowledge tonight to extend the stud so I improvised! Using a small lump of MDF I bonded it to the stopper with some good 'ol No More Nails 😬

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/pullpete/20140403_205603.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/pullpete/20140403_223744.jpg

http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i315/pullpete/20140403_223804.jpg

 

Seems to adequately do the job for now! We'll see how long it lasts until I come up with a more permanent solution. All in all a good evening's work and ready for a nice Friday commute to work

 

 

Edited by - Smiffy7 on 3 Apr 2014 23:50:01

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

Improvisation

 

However .... I don't think NMN is suitable for adhesion to steel ?

 

But then ...... suspect you are not going to be stamping the throttle down to the stop in normal driving ?

[Guest]

No more nails... sticks anything to anything! 😬

 

Wood

Ceramic

Metal

Glass

Concrete

Brickwork

Plaster

Stone

Mirrors

 

Have to say, after my drive into work this morning (nothing like a bit of tail happy action to start a Friday morning! ), just the minor tweaks to the throttle pedal position and taking that bit of slack out the cable have made so much difference! Love it.

 

 

[FramerateUK]

Be careful with the throttle stops...

 

My car has a badly fitted one before I fixed it. I accelerated hard down the road only to find the pedal got stuck underneath the throttle stop - quite scary!

 

Just make sure there's no room for movement ;)

[Guest]

Very good point! You got me all paranoid now!! I will have to give it another check but I'm confident it should be OK.

 

What did you do when your throttle got jammed?

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

That is a potential problem if the head of the stop is too small .... or misaligned.

 

Should be ok with your carpentry !

 

A: step on clutch and put it in neutral I hope !

[Guest]

I just popped out to Tesco for my lunch followed by the 'long way back' via a few roundabouts and something odd started happening...

 

As I first set off the engine revs seem to hover at around 2-3k rpm, as if the throttle was pressed ever so slightly. A quick blip of the throttle and it would settle. This happened another couple of times before getting to Tesco. Possibly due to the top throttle stop being slightly over adjusted? The odd thing was it seemed fine from Tesco back to the office, and it seemed fine all the way to work too...

 

Another thing happened as I was leaving Tesco (which hasn't happened before), started her up before getting in and after 30sec or so she appeared to struggle to tick over nicely, a little bit of hunting, gave it a little blip, then sounded like it was about to stall. But once I set off it seemed fine again.

 

Could the two be linked?

[TomB]

To take the slack out of the throttle cable I actually found it more effect to do this using throttle stop at the top of the pedal - I

 

Have you got adjustment at the throttle pedal end? mine just has the cripped nipple on the end of the cable clamped into the pedal through the cut slot. Ive recently been messing with mine to get the pedal a bit lower and nearer to the level of the brake pedal during use. I adjusted the black threaded square at the TB end which have brought the pedal down, but there is a bit more slack around the throttle actuator. Not sure how I can get it improved as there isn't any more adjustment.

[Guest]

Quoting TomB: 

To take the slack out of the throttle cable I actually found it more effect to do this using throttle stop at the top of the pedal - I

 

Have you got adjustment at the throttle pedal end? mine just has the cripped nipple on the end of the cable clamped into the pedal through the cut slot. Ive recently been messing with mine to get the pedal a bit lower and nearer to the level of the brake pedal during use. I adjusted the black threaded square at the TB end which have brought the pedal down, but there is a bit more slack around the throttle actuator. Not sure how I can get it improved as there isn't any more adjustment.

 

If you look at the pictures I recently posted you will see just above the throttle pedal there are 3 holes and I have a throttle stop bolt in the left hand/rear most hole. You need to wind this down until it hits the side arm of the throttle pedal. It acts as a 'stop' for when you come off throttle. Wind the nut a little further and it will begin to take the slack out of the cable. Think I may have gone half a turn too far though....

[FramerateUK]

Quoting SM25T: 

That is a potential problem if the head of the stop is too small .... or misaligned.

 

Should be ok with your carpentry !

 

A: step on clutch and put it in neutral I hope !

 

Yeah that's exactly what happened. Full throttle in 2nd, clutch in to go 3rd and I noticed the engine didn't let off. Engine off, pulled over...

 

My car had a badly fitted (really badly fitted) round one which I replaced with this:

http://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/product.php?id_product=4507

 

It's been great ever since.

 

In regards to your problem with hunting. Perhaps the throttle breather needs adjustment? Mine used to have trouble starting (Sigma Supersport). Replaced the spark plugs and throttle breather and it's been all good. (I didn't local garage did, he knew what he was doing and it was in for a service/MOT anyway).

 

Edited by - FramerateUK on 4 Apr 2014 15:05:24

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

I suspect you over-adjusted the bottom stop. That's why you should do it at the engine end of the throttle cable ..... much finer adjustment on the black plastic square adjuster plate.