The full Monty explanation
The original web site with repair info was dead so I found the info in the internet archive and have brough it here. I also have my own pictures from today that I will share too.
Replacing the Alfa Clutch Pedal Shaft
by Len Leeb
Santa Rosa, CA
[If you notice the clutch pedal in your Spider/GTV gradually dropping lower and lower with respect to the brake pedal, you may have a problem with your clutch pedal pivot shaft. If you're experiencing this, read on. RHH.]
The clutch pedal/brake pedal pivot shaft may be replaced with the pedal cluster in the car, and without opening the hydraulic lines. This is contrary to what the manual suggests, but it works!
Fig. 1. Pedal box hardware
Pull the cotter pin from the pin that holds the clutch lever arm to the master cylinder input shaft. Remove the pin and washer, and the arm, if the weld has broken, will come off. It will help to disconnect the battery as the brake lite will come on when the pedal is moved. It may help to tape down the brake lite switch to keep it out of the way of the pedal.
Remove the bolt and nut that holds the brake vacuum servo to the bodywork. It’s on the inside of the left fender well. Now remove the two nuts and washers securing the pedal cluster housing to the firewall.
From inside the car, remove the two nuts and washers (13mm socket) securing the bottom of the pedal cluster housing--see Figure 1.
Now, working under the hood, rock the master cylinder to loosen the housing from the firewall. There is a sticky gasket between the firewall and the casting. Once this is free, pull up on the casting to get it free of the mounting studs that held it to the firewall. Be careful not to pull too far back, since the brake and clutch lines are still attached.
Pull the cluster housing up until the bolt securing the clutch pedal to the shaft is visible--see Figure 2. Remove the nut part way, until the top of the nut and the end of the bolt are flush. Tap the end of the bolt until it drops down; it will still be held in place by the nut. Reach into the housing, and support the bolt with one hand, while removing the nut and washer with the other. Pull the bolt out.
Wiggle the clutch shaft out of the housing; it may help to use pliers or vise-grips on the end of the shaft. The clutch pedal will drop to the floor, the brake pedal will stay in place.
Installation of the new (or rewelded) shaft is a reverse of the above. First, grease the shaft with a thin film of chassis lube. The clutch pedal must be held in place until the shaft is thru it, the brake pedal will have to be wiggled back and forth to get it into place. Use a flexible-shaft pick-up tool to insert the bolt in the clutch pedal, thru the shaft. A little tricky, until the exact angle is achieved. The shaft must be rotated until the flat lines up with the hole in the pedal pivot.
If rewelding the shaft, be sure to correctly mark its location with respect to the lever arm before removing the shaft. Once out of the car, it is difficult to get the proper angle. Also, be sure to set the clutch master cylinder input shaft to the correct dimension. The book says 5.28" (134 mm) from the end of the cylinder to the end of the connecting pin hole, (nearest the fire wall). Do not measure to the center of the hole!
Note: prop the clutch pedal up to the correct height to be able to mark the lever arm location with respect to the shaft. Make sure the mark does not move between removing the shaft and welding it. (Ask me how I know!)
Fig. 2. Pedal securing bolts
This procedure eliminates the need to bleed the hydraulic system, since it is never opened up. There is enough play in the hydraulic lines to be able to move the assembly a few inches. The whole procedure should take no more than an hour for removal, and a like amount to reinstall.
[This is a good time to peel back the rubber boots on the clutch MC and brake MC and grease the balls at the end of the actuator rods. This makes their operation smoother and quieter. RHH.]
A few Band-Aids for skinned knuckles might help, and some proper Italian automotive words are occasionally in order. I had to use English ones, remembered from my days of owning/working on British sports cars. Maybe my Alfa was over-awed by my command of English colloquialisms!
The hardest part of this procedure is to reinsert the clutch pedal to shaft pin. If the pin drops, it may fall below the car, into the car, or between the firewall and the carpet. In other words, don’t drop it unless you have a spare. [If you do drop the pin, a magnetic pick-up tool can help retrieve it. RHH.] The hood release cable constantly gets in the way, I think if I were to repeat this job, I’d recommend disconnecting it, but don’t drop the hood before before it’s reconnected! When raising the housing from the firewall, the pedals will tend to find their own way up into the under-dash area, binding occasionally on the bodywork sheet metal. (You’ll never see the scratches.)
While I worked alone, it would help to have a second person in the car, moving the pedals for you when you insert the pedal shaft.
[For a second article describing clutch pedal shaft replacement, see Droopy Clutch Pedal, RHH.]
Droopy Clutch Pedal?
by Ed Komzelman
Fig. 1. Pedal box hardware
A pair of phone calls concerning unresponsive clutch pedals prompts a review of Alfa Romeo's suspended clutch and brake pedal engineering. Since 1969/ 1970 the late 105 and 115 series cars (Berlinas, GTVs, and Spiders) have shared the same firewall mounted pedestal arrangement. These cars have the clutch master cylinder mounted on a bracket integral to the power brake booster assembly. The power brake booster is mounted on an alloy pedestal and the clutch master cylinder is mounted on the outboard side of the power brake booster. The brake and clutch pedals are suspended from a shaft mounted inside the alloy pedestal. The shaft then has an arm welded to the outboard end to actuate the clutch master cylinder.
The brake pedal is simply suspended from the shaft, however, the clutch pedal is cinched to the shaft with a taper pin and keeper nut. Depressing the clutch pedal rotates the shaft in the pedestal thus actuating the clutch.
The steel shaft is notched through approximately half its diameter to accept the taper pin. This notch is the weak point in the pedestal set up. Eventually the shaft begins to bind causing it to twist and shear. There are various causes for this problem, mileage, number of shifts, and corrosion enter into the equation, but the other culprits are the springs in the clutch pressure plate. They become rusty and it takes more force at the pedal to engage the clutch hence the shaft eventually fatigues and shears at its weakest point.
Fig. 2. Pedal securing bolts
There are a couple of hints at the impending failure of the shaft. First, the clutch pedal appears lower than the brake pedal. The clutch pedal should be level with if not slightly higher than the brake pedal. Second, engaging 1st and reverse gears seem a tad bit more challenging than usual. When the shaft does shear, the clutch pedal goes to the floor and will not return to its normal height. Shifting becomes a grinding affair. You decide to "help" and when you pull up on the clutch pedal it becomes slack. Now, moving the clutch pedal by hand, you will see no corresponding movement of the clutch master cylinder lever under the hood.
You must remove the entire assembly to include clutch master cylinder, brake master cylinder, power booster and pedestal to effect the repair. Once the entire assembly is removed, the shaft can be welded and put back into the car. The alternative is to let your friendly neighborhood Alfa Repair Shop pull the shaft and recondition it for you.
[For a second article describing clutch pedal shaft replacement, see Replacing the Alfa Clutch Pedal Shaft, RHH.]
Now on to my repairs of today.
Mark the pivot shaft and the arm so that when welded it's in the right position.
Clamped down for some serious grinding to remove all of the old weld on the arm.
A good grinding on both side so the weld will be strong.
Now to grind the shaft a bit.
I put a bevel on the inside of shoulder of the shaft so that I can weld on the inside of the arm where it wasn't welded from the factory.
Some special time with my little friend Mr. Miller Welder. Not pretty welds but they sure are strong!
Weld on the inside of the arm were the shaft enters. Again, not pretty but some grinding will help and also improve the fit.
After some heavy grinding, make sure to check the fit in the box. The arm fits tight so there isn't much room for the weld.
A little bit of paint and it looks 25 years old
View inside of the pedal box where the pivot goes in from the left and the clutch pedal hangs inside.
A little bit of grease on the bushing where the pivot shaft goes in. I also put some on the other end on the box as well as in the brake pedal.
Clutch pedal pulled up into position. Readt for shaft insertion.
Shaft 1/2 way into the pedal box.
Almost all the way in. The arm needs to be rotated down into position.
All the way in and now for the magic trick of getting the wedge pin back in from the BOTTOM!!!
Didn't work with the 90 degree needle nose pliers. Not enough room inside of the box. Now to plan B. Wire
around the threads to fee it thru.
Wire .020 dia. wound into the threads of the pin.
The wire let me feed the easy end up thru the hole and then pull the pin in behind it. Orientation of the flat on the pin and the flat in the shaft is super important.
Clevis pin all lubed up with a new cotter pin installed. Almost reay to go. Clevis pin showed some wear from being rusted in place. I have it on the list of parts needed. Make sure to lube yours once in a while.
All buttoned up and ready to go for a test drive!
This all took about 2-1/2 hours with R&R of the pivot pin taking about 30 minutes each. Fitting and welding took the majority of time. There are options out there for a new pivot and being a cheap Yankee along with enjoying fixing stuff, I didn't but the new one. I may order one for the shelf just in case this pin fails again. It's now welded on both sides where the original was just welded on one side and only on the very small turned down section. The repair is plenty strong and should be fine for the long run.