Clutch pedal spring

[Hugo]

I have just rebuilt the pedal box on my Series II convertible (converting from LHD to RHD in the process). The clutch pedal spring feels far too strong (without the m/cyl attached) for its purpose. The old spring was broken and looks thinner. I measured the old one at 0.094" and the new one at 0.107", so there's not much in it. The new spring almost feels as though it is 'bottoming out' at full travel, and it is certainly strong enough to make the pedal heavier than it should be, which I do not want. Unfortunately I can't remember where I sourced the springs. Ebay special, more than likely.
Can anybody shed any light on this issue?

[Hugo]

Presumably I'm the only one to have this issue? I'm toying with the idea of fitting an over-centre spring to the pedal, which will serve the dual function of returning the pedal and making the operation lighter. Not an easy thing to engineer though.

[mgcjag]

Hi Hugh....search for pedel springs here or on jag lovers....fitting a spring to the pedel and to up under the footwell has been done by quite a few...usually i think so they dont have to strip the pedal box to repair a broken spring

[Hugo]

Yes, that's easy enough, but what puzzles me is that the new spring I bought seems totally unfit for purpose. Has anybody actually fitted one of the 'proper' springs? It is so stiff it will definitely make the pedal feel heavier, and it feels as though it is set to break before long. Brake spring is just right - just lifts the pedal back up and no more. The stiffer spring wouldn't be a problem if it were on the brake, as it doesn't have much travel, but there's no way I'm fitting the clutch pedal with that two eared spring on there. It's easy for me as I have the pedal box off so I can play with it.
If it were on the car I would just put a tension spring on there and be done with it. But while it's off I can play with a few ideas.

[rossbraithwaite]

Hello Hugo, Have you tried oiling the spring? It is a torsion spring is it not and therfore tightens onto itself and the shaft? Would you be able to measure the force required to move the pedal? This ought to be roughly linear unless the spring is binding up at which point the force will increase rapidly.
Ross

[Hugo]

That's a good point - it wasn't linear at all, and if it had been on the brake it would have been ok, due to the limited pedal travel in normal operation. It did indeed feel as though it was binding up, although I think I would have noticed if it had been. With the pedal box removed from the car, it took quite a bit off effort to hold the pedal box down with one hand and depress the pedal with the other - didn't like the feel of it at all. By contrast, the brake pedal spring is perfect - just enough to lift the pedal back up nicely without taking any effort to depress it. As you can probably tell from the past tense, the clutch spring is now gone! I took it off. As my car is still in a million bits, I have plenty of time to find an alternative solution!

[Hugo]

Just looking at Hutson's eBay history - they have just one negative feedback - for the pedal springs! It's all in foreign so I couldn't understand it, but the buyer didn't sound too happy!