Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: shootingsight on Tuesday,August 27, 2019, 05:02:06 PM
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My pedal assembly was rusted solid, but after some torch, some penetrating oil, and lots of working back/forth, I finally got it freed up well enough that it will be re-used, rather than spending a lot of time trying to refabricate something from scratch.
Question, how to lube it? I could dunk it in a pan of oil as a minimum, but am looking for a cleverer solution (more clever) to inject grease in there. I think even a small zerk fitting in the outer sleeve is too long, unless I weld a collar on the outside of the outer tube. Or maybe fab a bolt-on collar that will force grease into a joint before I remove the collar ...
Does anyone else feel this need, and has anyone else solved this problem? Or is it a problem?
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I was also thinking I could drill a hole all the way through the outer and inner tubes, then rotate the pedal 180 degrees so the drilled holes do not align, and pump grease into the inside tube after plugging one end. It'd waste a little grease, but not much.
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I haven't felt the need to do that but I'm not sure it isn't a good idea (enough negatives for you?!). I have seen where one guy did put a grease zerk in his but I'm thinking he either took his apart and installed the zerk before he reassembled it or he might have made a new assy. on his own.
I would rotate the brake pedal 180° and then drill the hole for the zerk all the way through both tubes. Then rotate the brake pedal back and inject the grease. Of course, you'd want the zerk where you could get to it with the pedals in the car. I think that's what you're proposing, right? You'd probably get a little grease to squeeze out the end. You'd want to be prepared for that. On the other hand, I doubt you'd ever need to reapply any grease.
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My pedal assembly was in a sad state also . Many years ago I removed the assembly and took it apart. I still have it bagged up in that state . I can post some pics tomorrow.
Serge did a you tube video on his rebuild. It may be worth checking out.
Dakazman
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Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DMYA8ojESo
He's building an S1 but what he did should translate pretty easily.
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I fit grease zerks to my fabricated pedal assembly.
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I too have grease nipples on my fabricated pedal assembly - Worth doing in my opinion
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This is the current state of my pedal assembly. Just as bad as I packed it up. It will give you an idea of the dimensions of the materials that your going to drill thru.
My attempt is going to spread the spacing out a bit more to accommodate my extra wide feet.
If I fail Pegasus racing may have a suitable expensive replacement.
Dakazman
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After tearing into the pedals I found the brake lever section is sleeved with a 2 bushings. Extending Approximately 1/2” from both ends. If you drill into the base stay more to the center of the arm. Or assemble. So you get into that slight cavity.
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The pedals rust if the screens leak. This also damages the dashboard.
Moral of the story, make sure your screen does not leak, or keep it in a garage and don't drive when it rains.
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I got my pedals freed up. Overnight soaking in penetrating oil and a lot of elbow grease going back forth for an hour, gradually increasing the distance it would travel. So now it goes full circle, albeit with a slight crunchy feel from the rust in there.
OD of the sheath is 1", OD of the inner tube is 3/4", allowing for a gap, somewhere around a 0.100 thick wall.
I found a source of grease fittings that are made to pound into a straight hole, rather than screw in. It takes a 3/16" hole, and the shank goes in 3/32, so just shy of the 0.100. I can cut the hole with a 3/16" end mill, so it won't go through the inside tube. I'll post pics once it's done.
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For myself, if it was rusted solid, it’s done. The fact it is crunchy in there still is further proof. I rebuilt my own using the old pedals welded to new tubing and shafts.
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I disassembled my pedals, media blasted them, painted the external parts and heavily sprayed the internal parts with graphite. Works great.
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I just lubricate mine lightly with an oil can. It's not a task that needs doing often.
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Just “almost “ finished my pedal assembly mod / rebuild.
http://www.lotuseuropa.org/LotusForum/index.php?topic=2058.630
I posed a question there on where your pedals are when you drive. Another question is which way would you like the pedals shifted?
Dakazman
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There's not a lot of room to work with. On a LHD car the throttle and brake both have to fit to the right of go the steering shaft.
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My recollection is that the gap between the clutch and the gas pedal is thin, so if you have wide shoes, getting your foot in between them to operate the brake is not easy. Hence I would move the clutch pedal slightly to the left.
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I think I’ll keep this assembly stock setup . After working on rebuilding this unit took 20 plus hours I have a new appreciation of why they ask big$$$ for custom assemblies. I need to get the car up and running first. I can always come back and reinvent the wheel.
Dakazman
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I need to get the car up and running first. I can always come back...
Dakazman
I hear ya, man! There are many possible upgrades I'd like to consider. But important to get the basics working right for now.
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I was in the same boat Dave. Kept modifying or customizing along the way and many times had to remind myself, you really want to get the car on the road at some point. So I only focused on making improvements/enhancements that would be more difficult once the car was together.
Never the less, your doing great work!
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When I drove Glen's Europa from LOG he and I had no place for our left foot ?
I took my Europa out to get ready for Watkins Glen this weekend and I have more room for my left foot ?
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Thanks you the pictures Bruce . From the picture it looks like your brake pedal comes straight up and the clutch stop is on the outside of the clutch pedal. I’m wondering now if mine weren’t modified previously. I did place the pedal inside the car to weld in the stop for the clutch so it wouldn’t hit the forward wall and noticed the stop bolt mount was brazed in at a useless angle. As soon as I mount my gas pedal assembly I’ll try to sit in car and test. Lol that’s a picture in itself.
Dakazman
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I don't find a clutch stop on the stock S2 pedal assembly. I wear size 13 shoes (European 46), about the largest you could operate these pedals with. At that size, only a shoe like a sneaker has a a narrow enough sole to fit over the gas pedal betwen the brake and the central tunnel. I still find a spot to rest my left foot to the left of the clutch pedal.
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BobW, I can’t tell from the picture..., but the clutch stop may be under that rug to the leg of the pedal. It may be wise to check out he condition of the pedal mount bracket , mine might have caused a severe accident.
Dakazman
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There's no stop. There is also no projection on the pedal lever that would hit a stop. The pedal will go down until the leading edge of the lever touches the floor carpet. If there's a stop there it's inside the pedal tube, but I've never had that apart. My clutch is adjusted to take up near the top of its travel, so I'd not normally push it to the floor.
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Thanks for checking Bob. Now that you posted a picture of the pedals as others have I found my mistake. It will be easy to fix and will give me a way to spread the pedals more .
I put the short tube by the gas pedal , so I’ll add a few washers to shift the pedals to my liking.😀
Dakazman
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I added press fit grease nipples. I found these at McMaster-Carr https://www.mcmaster.com/1102k53 (https://www.mcmaster.com/1102k53) you drill a 3/16 hole, I used an end mill rather than a drill, so it cuts through the outer tube, but not through the inner tube, and these have a little barb tip that is a press fit with a hammer (use a socket as a driver tool). They seated well, though in retrospect, I should have added some loctite to be sure.
When I started pumping grease in, it was green grease, but it came out brown from all the rust in it. So I pumped a little more till I started seeing green come out. Seems to have worked.
While I was at it, I found a source of traction tread. https://www.mcmaster.com/6979t11 (https://www.mcmaster.com/6979t11). I wrapped it on a small propane tank to curve it, then cut out pieces that matched the pedals and welded them on the edges. Other than making it painful to drive in bare feet, these ought to be excellent anti-skid and I don't need to add the rubber pads on the pedals. The rubber pads not only wear out, but they are slightly wider than the pedals, and I want all the room between the pedals that I can get. Welds are not pretty, but I was doing it while holding my breath, as this was galvanized stuff, and you don't want to be breathing zinc fumes.
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/gcrmu46tsb8x2p4/2019-09-07%2016.40.22.jpg?dl=0)
(https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/ps3vvtp4ymr51ji/2019-09-07%2016.38.20.jpg?dl=0)
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You did a great job and I’m sure it will last another 50+ years. I have been using gripthread tape for the pedals of a Hyundai tiberon instead of the rubber. All open vechicles on airport grounds have your
Type pedal.
Dakazman