Clutch Bite Point - Won’t Start

[bmc69]

Thanks for that context Paul!

For me, I like having it. For one reason, my kids love crawling around and playing in the Bronco and despite their age, they know how to start a car. I always park manuals in gear with the e-brake on (old habits), so it's worth the peace of mind to leave the interlock functioning. No issues now with the beefy push rod.

Just to note in passing...in all my years of owning and building EBs (more than a dozen EBs over almost 40 years)...I've never seen one with that clutch interlock - any clutch interlock - added. Since its probably your first EB...I can see why this threw you for a loop until you figured it out...LOL. I can see why you appreciate the feature..I've had a bunch of kids too. ;-)

 

[DirtDonk]

Absolutely perfect for your situation! Definitely keep it.
With the new beefy rod, does it still need to go almost to the floor, or is it activated in a pretty natural position that you don't really need to tweak it further?
Beefy rods are good. Before we made ours, I bought a new one from the Ford dealer.
They were out of stock on the Bronco rods, but had one for an F150 that I took home. It was definitely made of larger diameter stock, but had one of the bends in the wrong direction so I cut it and twisted it to fit the EB pedal brackets.
Still in there 40 years later.

Granted, not a lot of miles were put on it in that time, but I don't expect it to give up the ghost anytime in my lifetime!
You should have the same results. And have the benefit of it it ever does wear out, just replacing a pin instead of the whole rod assembly.
A nice bonus.

Paul

 

[Jc.av8r]

Absolutely perfect for your situation! Definitely keep it.
With the new beefy rod, does it still need to go almost to the floor, or is it activated in a pretty natural position that you don't really need to tweak it further?
Beefy rods are good. Before we made ours, I bought a new one from the Ford dealer.
They were out of stock on the Bronco rods, but had one for an F150 that I took home. It was definitely made of larger diameter stock, but had one of the bends in the wrong direction so I cut it and twisted it to fit the EB pedal brackets.
Still in there 40 years later.

Granted, not a lot of miles were put on it in that time, but I don't expect it to give up the ghost anytime in my lifetime!
You should have the same results. And have the benefit of it it ever does wear out, just replacing a pin instead of the whole rod assembly.
A nice bonus.

Paul

The rod is adjustable and I had to shorten it to a desired length. The clutch engagement point is now higher off the floor and it's made shifting smoother as well. I think I was just barely getting the clutch disengaged before with the limited throw in the pedal.

Everything is improved!

 

[DirtDonk]

Improvements all the way 'round then.
By the way, regarding the clutch fork tip of the actuating rod. While you're messing about with things, inspect the fork itself closely, where the rod tip meets up.
The little divot/recess in the fork where the tip pushes on it should not be worn all the way through. There is probably a small hole there originally if I remember, but it should not be very big. Maybe the mooshed up tip has messed up the fork too, which could be why the previous owner went to great lengths to mess with the tip of the rod.
At the very least, clean and smooth out the recessed area that accepts the rod, and then grease it up to keep things moving smoothly while minimizing wear and tear on this high stress point.

It's kind of a "semi-regular maintenance area" that is often neglected. Or just plain forgotten about while living daily life.
Lots of those little areas on older vehicles like ours. Not like the "set it and forget it" life of a modern vehicle.

Paul

 

[Steve83]

My '83 Bronco w/factory NP435 was built w/o any clutch or neutral switch, so Ford didn't consider it necessary even then. In '83, the only clutch switch was for the optional cruise control (which my Custom didn't have).