Clicking clutch pedal

89lxsport50 · Nov 25, 2005

Ok, I have a very annoying little problem here. I get a click whenever i depress the clutch pedal. It is coming from underneath the dash. It is similar to the click you here when you lock the steering wheel.
I have a MM quadrant and adjuster with a Ford cable. I installed it several months ago, and it is working fine. I spent about an hour under the dash today trying to pinpoint the cause of this click. It doesn't seem to be coming from the cable or quadrant. Everything is aligned properly and not binding or rubbing on anything.
I did notice that the clutch /starter interlock switch is a little bit wobbly. The mounting screw is tight, but you can wiggle the actual body of the switch around pretty easily. Is this normal, or is it broken? It works fine.
It actually seems like when I depress the pedal it sets or loads something, and the next time I start to depress the pedal it releases and causes the click. Could it be something inside the switch?

sirr0bin · Nov 25, 2005

mine does the exact same thing, but with a steeda quadrant. it does not seem to effect performance, but if I push the pedal down past a certain point (right near the floor) it makes a noticable click

interested in seeing what the cause would be, I can't figure it out for the life of me

HISSIN50 · Nov 25, 2005

My old FMS adjustable cable and SVO single hook used to play games like that. I would get an occasional click and maybe a little squeak afterwards (this was normally only on the first few clutch pedal pushings of the day).

Does it happen almost all the time? If so, I would want to make sure it is not your firewall flexing.

Good luck.

1990LXDropTop · Nov 25, 2005

My UPR quadrant/cable do the same thing, but only when my car has been sitting for a while? Maybe the first 3 clutch pedal presses will click, but that is all.

89lxsport50 · Nov 25, 2005

HISSIN50 said:
My old FMS adjustable cable and SVO single hook used to play games like that. I would get an occasional click and maybe a little squeak afterwards (this was normally only on the first few clutch pedal pushings of the day).

Does it happen almost all the time? If so, I would want to make sure it is not your firewall flexing.

Good luck.

It happens 98% of the time. It is really driving me nuts. I checked the firewall for flexing, and that's not it. It is kind of deceiving, because you can push the pedal all the way down and it won't click. The next time you push it it will click right at the top, with very little pressure applied. If you continue to depress it and then let it back out, it clicks right before you take your foot off the pedal. You would think I could feel it pop with one hand feeling around the assembly while working the pedal with the other hand, but no luck.

HISSIN50 · Nov 25, 2005

89lxsport50 said:
It happens 98% of the time. It is really driving me nuts. I checked the firewall for flexing, and that's not it. It is kind of deceiving, because you can push the pedal all the way down and it won't click. The next time you push it it will click right at the top, with very little pressure applied. If you continue to depress it and then let it back out, it clicks right before you take your foot off the pedal. You would think I could feel it pop with one hand feeling around the assembly while working the pedal with the other hand, but no luck.

I gotcha and I agree - if it is right at the top of the pedal travel, it is not flexing probably. The first thought that comes to mind is to double check how well the cable is inserted into the tang on the quadrant. It almost sounds like the cable's ferrule is binding up and clicking as the quad starts to go through its arched path. I think (but never confirmed) that was a dynamic on my old set up (The SVO quad is about twice as long as a normal single hook quadrant).

For giggles, I would make sure the cable goes right down the center of the FWA boss (if you contort enough to cause about 10 cramps at once, you can see the cable going through the FWA hole in the firewall).

Good luck with it (It is just going to take more tracking down - I hate that stuff).

89lxsport50 · Nov 25, 2005

HISSIN50 said:
I gotcha and I agree - if it is right at the top of the pedal travel, it is not flexing probably. The first thought that comes to mind is to double check how well the cable is inserted into the tang on the quadrant. It almost sounds like the cable's ferrule is binding up and clicking as the quad starts to go through its arched path. I think (but never confirmed) that was a dynamic on my old set up (The SVO quad is about twice as long as a normal single hook quadrant).

For giggles, I would make sure the cable goes right down the center of the FWA boss (if you contort enough to cause about 10 cramps at once, you can see the cable going through the FWA hole in the firewall).

Good luck with it (It is just going to take more tracking down - I hate that stuff).

Yeah the cable ferrule is what I suspected at first, but doesn't seem to be the problem. I confirmed that the cable is in the center of the FWA as well.
I didn't remove the front seat this time and by the time I decided to take a break I experienced 9 of those 10 cramps, and bruised my knee during my ever so graceful dismount. LOL. It's hell getting old.

What do you think about the switch being a bit wobbly? The screw is tight, but you can wiggle the switch around easily. I would think it should be more stable than that, but I have never examined it before.

HISSIN50 · Nov 25, 2005

89lxsport50 said:
What do you think about the switch being a bit wobbly? The screw is tight, but you can wiggle the switch around easily. I would think it should be more stable than that, but I have never examined it before.

Do you mean the clutch safety switch (and/or CC switch)? Mine hardly make any noise (I only could hear them while checking them out with my head down there and the car off). The CC switch activates as soon as the clutch pedal starts being pressed IIRC. But the safety switch requires the pedal being buried to work, so the CC switch would probably be the more likely to make noise at the top of the pedal travel.

With my click, I could feel it reverberate through the clutch pedal - it was a hard click (not like a switch closing). Is yours a hard click? If so, dont forget to make sure the other end of the cable is not clicking on the clutch fork. Mine would a little if I did not have a hair of preload on the cable (as I slammed the pedal down, since there was a hair of freeplay or slack in the cable, when the fork-end of the cable slammed into the fork, it made a little noise. But it was just noise - no vibration or click that I could feel through the cable.
For my point of reference, mine was such that I thought my cable was getting ready to snap. I say that in case your click is a lot 'lighter' than mine was.

Good luck.

89lxsport50 · Nov 25, 2005

HISSIN50 said:
Do you mean the clutch safety switch (and/or CC switch)? Mine hardly make any noise (I only could hear them while checking them out with my head down there and the car off). The CC switch activates as soon as the clutch pedal starts being pressed IIRC. But the safety switch requires the pedal being buried to work, so the CC switch would probably be the more likely to make noise at the top of the pedal travel.

With my click, I could feel it reverberate through the clutch pedal - it was a hard click (not like a switch closing). Is yours a hard click? If so, dont forget to make sure the other end of the cable is not clicking on the clutch fork. Mine would a little if I did not have a hair of preload on the cable (as I slammed the pedal down, since there was a hair of freeplay or slack in the cable, when the fork-end of the cable slammed into the fork, it made a little noise. But it was just noise - no vibration or click that I could feel through the cable.
For my point of reference, mine was such that I thought my cable was getting ready to snap. I say that in case your click is a lot 'lighter' than mine was.

Good luck.

Well, I was refering to the clutch saftey switch with the plastic rod running through it. I didn't realize there was another switch connected to the pedal. By "CC switch" do you mean cruise control?
I have heard of cables clicking on the fork, but this is definitely coming from inside the car. It is not a real hard click, but I can slightly feel it in the pedal. It is about as loud as the click you hear when you lock the steering wheel. I may just start taking off one componant at a time, to see if it changes or goes away.

5.02GO · Nov 25, 2005

Throw-out bearing retainer?

I had a pop befor and it was because the throw-out bearing had grooves worn in it and the bearing was catching on them. As i can remember, it was a loud pop though.

HISSIN50 · Nov 25, 2005

89lxsport50 said:
Well, I was refering to the clutch saftey switch with the plastic rod running through it. I didn't realize there was another switch connected to the pedal. By "CC switch" do you mean cruise control?
I have heard of cables clicking on the fork, but this is definitely coming from inside the car. It is not a real hard click, but I can slightly feel it in the pedal. It is about as loud as the click you hear when you lock the steering wheel. I may just start taking off one componant at a time, to see if it changes or goes away.

Yeah, CC = Cruise Control. That switch kicks on as soon as the pedal starts going down.

I agree with you that it should not be a switch (unless one is totally ****-eyed and binding). I would have to do as you plan to - just start going through everything a piece at a time and see if you can find it. having a helper would really help. Good luck.

89lxsport50 · Nov 25, 2005

Thanks for the help. Have a good night.

CobraWannabe · Feb 28, 2006

Last year, my cable started to stretch a little bit. I found the adjustable cable, quad, and fwa for a little over $100, so I ******ed it up quick. I was only going to put the fwa and quad on but figured I'd use the new cable as well. Then I read about how all other cables are crap and only FMS cables are best. The cable never sounded right and made a binding noise, but always worked. A month after it was installed, the outer black plastic started to crack. I put zip ties on to hold it. Now, a year later, it just went on me. So....I put the old (stretched) cable back on thinking the fwa will help take up the slack. Well, it worked, but I hear the same clicking now. The only thing I could think of was that the cable was a little off and not staying in the groove on the quad, and just popping back in, making the noise. I can't see too well up in there, but I don't think that's it from what i can see.

Sorry for the long story. I need to know what this noise is also.

p.exeter_bleu · Mar 1, 2006

5.02GO said:
Throw-out bearing retainer?

I had a pop befor and it was because the throw-out bearing had grooves worn in it and the bearing was catching on them. As i can remember, it was a loud pop though.

did the car shift fine after the pop? the reason i ask is because today i was driving and when i went to shift, the clutch made a loud pop, and the pedal was all loose, like if i had broken the cable or something, but then i let it come up and pressed it again and it shifted fine.

wht93gtEd · Mar 1, 2006

I've had this click as well...however, being that I'm 6'5"...it's a real PITA to get under there. Actually, I havent' been under there since I did the swap.

Sometimes I swear I feel the "click" in the steering wheel (if that makes sense) or it could just be me hearing every little click / rattle / squeek in my car.

For a while I was convinced that me pedals were loose; i.e. not attached firmly to the firewall...but that wasn't the case. I have a brand new Steeda quadrant, cable, and firewall adjuster thats been sitting in my basement for about a year now (I bought this hoping to resolve the problem) but I just haven't had the "desire" to fold myself under the dash yet.

Perhaps once it warms up a bit outside, I'll tackle the job.

srothfuss · Mar 1, 2006

Checking in the the Click / feel in the clutch pedal. It just developed this winter but goes away as the car warms up.

SiG'89 · Mar 3, 2006

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the stock clutch pedal come with a height self adjustment? Seems like I heard that there was some plastic piece that allowed you to pull up on the pedal to adjust the height of it.

89lxsport50 · Mar 3, 2006

wht93gtEd said:
I've had this click as well...however, being that I'm 6'5"...it's a real PITA to get under there. Actually, I havent' been under there since I did the swap.

Sometimes I swear I feel the "click" in the steering wheel (if that makes sense) or it could just be me hearing every little click / rattle / squeek in my car.

For a while I was convinced that me pedals were loose; i.e. not attached firmly to the firewall...but that wasn't the case. I have a brand new Steeda quadrant, cable, and firewall adjuster thats been sitting in my basement for about a year now (I bought this hoping to resolve the problem) but I just haven't had the "desire" to fold myself under the dash yet.

Perhaps once it warms up a bit outside, I'll tackle the job.

I still have my click. I can feel it in the clutch pedal, brake pedal and sometimes the steering wheel. It seems to have gotten louder over time, and it happens 100% of the time now. It clicks when you start to let the pedal out, then the next time you start to push it in it clicks. It is like you are setting a spring and when you barely put pressure on the pedal it releases the spring kind of like a mouse trap. The other day I was driving along and hit a bump hard enough to "release the spring" for lack of a better term. The last time I pushed the pedal in it "set" it and when I hit the bump it clicked just as if I had put pressure on the pedal.

Clicking clutch pedal

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