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1G Quick question about spotty clutch disengagement

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XC92

Proven Member
1,561
356
Jul 22, 2020
Queens, New_York
The saga continues. The car's driveable now, albeit with issues I still need to address and yet more restoration work to be done. But I was able to drive it to get new tires put in (Michelin A/S Pilot Sport 4's), then pass inspection this week. So it now has a sticker and I can park it on the street.

Anyway, the popping out of 1st gear issue remains, no reason for it not to as transmissions don't fix themselves just by sitting around. It's not quite as bad as I recall, sometimes staying in 1st long enough till I need to shift to 2nd, but it's definitely there. But, my question is about something else.

It seems that initially, I can shift between gears w/o issue, 1st gear notwithstanding, including reverse. But after around 5-10 minutes, gears start to grind even with the clutch pedal all the way to the floor. I know that I still have some adjustment to do under the dash with the pedal, and maybe have to replace the master cylinder and line, but I don't think that's it, at least not entirely.

Could this be happening because, as the car warms up and I engage the clutch normally to shift, the clutch fluid heats up, and residual air and moisture in it expand and make the hydraulics more spongy than they are when I first turn on the engine, and it's no longer able to fully disengage the clutch? It's in the 30's and 40's here nowadays, so the fluid's going to be cold upon startup.

Or is it something else? Again, bunch of issues to deal with, but I'm trying to isolate this one issue.
 
Your trans fluid heats up. Its easy to figure out if clutch is disengaging. A little harder to see if the synchro are actually doing the job. Aymchris are probably worn. I wouldn't count on anything working right given it pops out of gear. Wouldn't hurt to adjust the clutch. 10 min fix. If you know it disengaged after adjustment then the problem is inside.
 
I think you should try to eliminate the clutch and clutch hydraulics as the cause, as a first step.
If you drive the car until it is warm and you are starting to get some gear grinding on shifts, then do this. Stop the car, car in gear, engine just idling (foot off the gas), clutch to the floor, then get a feel for how much pedal travel you have up from the floor before clutch drag starts to drag down your engine revs. Should be able to bring the pedal up from the floor about an inch or pref a little more than an inch, before it drags down your revs any.
It sounds though like you might have worn out synchros and maybe they sort of work when cold but get worse when the trans is warm.
My first transmission replacement on my car was in 2005 and it was because we were starting to get crunchy shifts. But the car had about 130,000 miles on it at the time so we weren't too surprised about it. Yours I'm a little surprised because of the low miles. I wonder if you have some snaggy action of your shift cables or the joints on the ends or those cables. Something like that could maybe happen just because the car sat for a long time.

It might even be that your shift cables (shift cable and select cable) are not adjusted right.
Like on page 21-16 and 21-17 in the FSM.
Actually when you do that adjustment, it's kind of a good way to tell if your cables are moving freely, because you disconnect them at the shifter, but you leave them connected to the levers that are sticking out the top the transmission, and then you move those transmission levers with your fingers, and the cables move with it. You don't have any leverage on the cables that way - it's 1 to 1 between your fingers and the cables.
 
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Didn’t you say in a previous post that you would use some sacrificial trans oil, and replace it after a few hundred miles? Is that still the case and you’re still on the temp stuff? Perhaps the “proper” gear lube will help.
 
So the consensus is that clutch fluid doesn't become spongier after the car warms up and the clutch has been engaged and disengaged a bunch of times, if it has any air or moisture in it, and it's going to be as spongy upon starting up the car as it will be miles later, and that the cause of this issue of decent shifting initially with grinding starting several miles in is due to something else, like the trans or trans oil, or maybe shifters?

I've only put around 30-40 miles on the car since putting the trans back in with the "sacrificial" oil, GL-4 EP90, which I understand is a bit thick or heavy for winter driving. Could that be part of the problem, its being somewhat thick or heavy for winter temps, masking these issues at first but allowing them to manifest themselves upon warming up?

I'm going to bleed it again anyway. Brake fluid is cheap. I'm using Valvoline DOT3 btw, if that matters. It's what I've always used in my brakes and they work fine and heat up way more.

But, whether or not this helps, clearly I need to also do these pretty soon:
  • Fix whatever issues exist with the clutch pedal assembly
  • Take a look at the shift cables and connectors and fix/replace those as needed
  • Possibly replace the master cylinder
  • Fix whatever trans issues there are
  • Drain the "sacrificial" oil and put in proper oil
Just trying to eliminate one of several potential issues, and a relatively minor one compared to these others, before proceeding to deal with them, which I will. It's really a combination of cold weather and being kind of burnt out after 6 months of repairs and restoration that keeps me from taking these on right now, and I do have another car for DD needs.

Btw, not to hijack my own thread, but is one way to tell if my clutch pedal assembly needs to be either replaced or welded being able to pull on the pedal after it's come to a rest, more than a mm or two? I've mentioned elsewhere that this is the case. We're talking around 6-10mm IIRC.

Also, the top pedal height at rest (but before being manually pulled further up) is around 146mm, which is way less than the FSM spec of 176-181mm. The MC rod bolt is pretty close to its end.
 
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I think you're chasing a ghost you already know exists. You know the trans is bad. Just don't rip on it. Shift it slow or double clutch/rev match as much as you can until you can fix it. What you're suggesting, bleeding etc won't hurt but seriously we already know you have issues inside the trans. You're on an easily adjusted stock clutch and you didn't change the step height. I doubt its clutch and by now you should have been able to rule it out. Put it in 1st or 2nd, rev the piss out of it and hold clutch to the floor. Car should not move. If it does clutch is not disengaging. If you find that clutch is disengaging then problem must be in the trans
 
I know the trans is bad, i.e. has issues that absolutely need to be resolved before I start putting real miles on the car, and until then I won't drive it any more than necessary, to avoid making whatever issues exist with it and elsewhere worse, and possibly create new issues, which basically means only driving it to test non-trans issues and fixes. Otherwise it can stay where it is for as long as necessary (well, until the end of January 2022, or perhaps sooner if they decide to repave the street which we're overdue for), until I get around to fixing the trans issues.

I'm just trying to see if there are other issues outside the trans that also need to be addressed. I know I need either a new flywheel or to properly resurface and step the existing one (btw it's not a stock clutch but an SBC Stage 2 DD, which is an upgrade). It looks like my pedal assembly's got issues that also need to be addressed, and the shift and select cables need new connectors by the trans and possible shifter. I might also need a new MC. And so on.

And I did the put the car in gear, press the clutch pedal to the floor and rev the engine test, and it passed. But I only did this upon turning on the engine, not after driving it a few miles, when I start seeing these disengagement issues. If it fails this test after things have warmed up, then what I'm trying to figure out is if it's definitely the trans, or possibly something else. That's all. With cars or really anything this old, it's rarely just one thing that's not working right.
 
I've only put around 30-40 miles on the car since putting the trans back in with the "sacrificial" oil, GL-4 EP90, which I understand is a bit thick or heavy for winter driving. Could that be part of the problem, its being somewhat thick or heavy for winter temps, masking these issues at first but allowing them to manifest themselves upon warming up?

SAE 90 is thick for the transmission. If it is 75w-90 then that isn't very far off, but straight 90 is pretty far off.
Should be 75w-85 in the transmission according to everything I see, including in the Red Line recommendation for 1992 Eagle Talon Tsi, and dealers like MAP who sell Mitsubishi fluids for our cars.
Red Line also says it should be GL4, because it is less slippery than GL5. So with GL4, the synchros can hook up better. Their "MT85" is what they recommend, and it is 75w-85 GL4.
But if that was very much of your problem right now, I think it would be worse when it's cold and get better when it's warmed up!
So I think it could make a difference but not really solve the actual problem, to put 75w-85 GL4 in it.
 
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Well, just replace anything in question there and you should be good just take your time it'll be alright.
 
I thought the same thing about the fluid should be worse when cold, but get better when warm, but perhaps that’s overly simplistic reasoning. Not knowing exactly what the issue is, and how the fluid affects it could lead to an erroneous conclusion. As long as you’re not driving much and going easy with the shifts, you can see how it acts later with proper fluid and/or a rebuild on the synchros and whatnot.
 
SAE 90 is thick for the transmission. If it is 75w-90 then that isn't very far off, but straight 90 is pretty far off.
Should be 75w-85 in the transmission according to everything I see, including in the Red Line recommendation for 1992 Eagle Talon Tsi, and dealers like MAP who sell Mitsubishi fluids for our cars.
Red Line also says it should be GL4, because it is less slippery than GL5. So with GL4, the synchros can hook up better. Their "MT85" is what they recommend, and it is 75w-85 GL4.
But if that was very much of your problem right now, I think it would be worse when it's cold and get better when it's warmed up!
So I think it could make a difference but not really solve the actual problem, to put 75w-85 GL4 in it.

The EP90 is temporary. I put it there as cheap "sacrificial" oil to replace the old fluid I drained out of the trans and t-case when I took both off to replace the clutch that I intend to drain again and replace with the good stuff after I remove both again to rebuild the trans, that will hopefully "clean out" both from some of the gunk that's accumulated in them over the years. I have several bottles of Mitsubishi and Redline gear oil for that when it's time.

I actually just did the same on the rear diff yesterday, put in cheap GL-5 to clean out the gunk that's also built up there. The old fluid was gray metallic colored and hadn't been replaced in 15 years (over 6 of which the car hadn't moved, though). It'll be replaced with Redline too. In fact I might drop the rear diff and prop shaft then to give them both a good cleaning, derusting, painting and lubing to go with all the other prettying-up I've been doing under the car.

In any case, I don't think it's the oil that's causing this, although it might be making whatever is causing it worse (or not). The trans definitely needs work but what I'm experiencing seems to be coming from upstream of the trans, which the trans issues are making worse.

My guess is that the pedal assembly needs to be taken out and either replaced or welded, and I'm experiencing the infamous pedal assembly play issue that happens with a lot of 1G's as the D-ring connection wears down. I think it's this because when the clutch pedal is released, I can still pull on it an additional 10mm or so, or nearly half an inch. This is a classic symptom of a clutch pedal arm that's not properly locked onto the pedal shaft.

So a decent amount of pedal motion does nothing, and once it starts disengaging the clutch, it's lower than it should be. The fact that full disengagement is a lot lower than it should be (I haven't measured it but it's way less than 55mm) further supports this conclusion. I've already replaced the slave and bled it properly, and yesterday bled it again to make sure, with no air whatsoever. The lines and hose also look good, and there's no evident leaking at the master.

There's also this:

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It's supposed to be a bit towards the driver's side, right? But this seems a bit too much, no? Beyond possible pedal assembly, master cylinder and line/hose issues, could this also be due to a worn fork and pivot ball, and if so replace both or just shim the pivot ball with a washer, since the car still has under 78k miles?

But at the very least I think I need to fix or replace the pedal assembly, and replacing the master as a precaution might not be a bad idea either. This is apart from having to drop the trans again and fix whatever's going on there. I might also need to adjust the cruise control nut and master rod nut to conform to spec after this is all done.

While I'm at it, it might also be a good idea to replace the line (I assume that a SS braided line is the way to go, right?). All told this will cost me more than I'd hope to spend, but if it gets me a properly working drivetrain again, it'll be worth it. I can stretch this out till spring since I wasn't going to rebuild the trans till then anyway. Too cold! Plus tackling the trans will take a while.

I wonder if the trans developed problems and/or the clutch prematurely wore down due to this pedal issue, and it was the main source of all these issues?

Also, as a temporary fix before I tackle these issues, would letting the master rod out a bit enable somewhat higher disengagement so the gears don't grind after I've driven the car a few miles? And I still can't figure out why driving it a few miles does this. Is that likely the trans issues manifesting themselves once the trans oil's started to warm up and flow freely? If so, wouldn't that mean that putting in heavier oil than recommended, especially in winter, buys me a few miles every time I start up the car, before the grinding begins?
 
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1/2” on the pedal play was less than mine, and when I took it all out, the end of the clutch pedal rod and the hole in the arm had only the slightest amount of play. I can see why people weld it. I decided not to, but bought a knock-off 2g MC for the longer adjusting rod, and put it in the new 1g Mitsubishi MC That I got to replace my leaking one.
I replaced all the plastic bushings in the pedal assembly (2 clutch, 2 brake). Ended up replacing my brake MC as well, since it was showing signs of leaking, and I had the old one out to remove the pedal assembly. The FSM makes it look like you can keep the booster in, but I couldn’t wrestle the pedal bracket out with it in.
Also, I would think if your pivot was worn, the arm would be canted to the pass. side, as the distance would be shorter.
 

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Aha, so your "D" is much less than 55mm? (page 6-5 FSM)
Then you need more pedal travel - that is you need more pedal height "A" (page 6-5).
Once you have more "A", then you should be able to adjust the master rod a few more turns out of the clevis without losing entirely the pedal free play "C" which you still need to have a little of (0.25"). When that is done you should have more "D".

You've already found that your A measures a lot less than what the book says it should be.
So I think it's pretty clear you need more A.

To get more A, you could adjust the clutch switch, or remove it entirely. I think I would remove it because we had a question before about what was keeping the pedal from coming all the way up, and it might have been that switch. So you could eliminate one possible cause for that by just removing that switch.

I know you don't have many turns left on the master rod. Maybe 2, from what I remember of your picture a few days back. But 2 might be enough to tell a difference.

In your picture in post #11, the fork is farther off center than I would expect with all new clutch parts. Shimming the pivot ball would move the fork even farther to the driver side. The position you have is more like I would expect if the clutch disc is worn down a lot. But that I don't know, I don't think I've ever seen a picture of fork position when the disc is worn out. For all I know, it could be that your pressure plate is designed by SBC to put the finger tips "out" farther, which would do this.
But as far as I know, the fork position "at rest" is determined by only a few things - the position of the pressure plate fingers (which changes with disc wear), the thickness of the throw-out bearing, the flywheel if it has been ground, and the position of the pivot ball. It's got nothing to do with the slave cyl, master cyl, or pedal assembly. There is a small amount of force put on the fork by the little spring that's in the slave, and that holds the fork and the slave piston in the "ready" or "at rest" position.
 
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I'm going to try all of these and other suggestions elsewhere, but I'm also wondering, for those measurements taken with respect to the firewall, are we talking about the actual, metal firewall, or with the carpet on top of it, which is probably around 1/4" or so thick, maybe slightly more, so around 5-10mm? If it's the former, should I just add the thickness of the carpet, or is it best to just peel it back since the carpet is compressible?

There's always much "implied" stuff that the FSM leaves out and which even the best of advice-givers forget to mention because they take it for granted!
:aha:

Also, I assume that with a 6 bolt '92 AWD Turbo with less than 78k miles and no racing or super-hard driving, I don't have to worry much about crankwalk with respect to all this, right?
 
Actually, that upper “clutch switch “ is the one that allows cruise control to engage. If the car isn’t equipped with cc, then there is only a bolt. The switch that contacts when the pedal is pushed all the way down allows the starter to turn, but it can be removed and then the starter will activate regardless of pedal position (including in gear, though almost no car enthusiast would make that rookie error).
 
I'm going to try all of these and other suggestions elsewhere, but I'm also wondering, for those measurements taken with respect to the firewall, are we talking about the actual, metal firewall, or with the carpet on top of it, which is probably around 1/4" or so thick, maybe slightly more, so around 5-10mm? If it's the former, should I just add the thickness of the carpet, or is it best to just peel it back since the carpet is compressible?

There's always much "implied" stuff that the FSM leaves out and which even the best of advice-givers forget to mention because they take it for granted!
:aha:

Also, I assume that with a 6 bolt '92 AWD Turbo with less than 78k miles and no racing or super-hard driving, I don't have to worry much about crankwalk with respect to all this, right?

I've wondered the same thing about "A" and "D" where you are supposed to measure to the "firewall".
For A I'm not too worried about it because I see A mostly as something you tweak to get the D you want.
But when I said before that my A is 7 inches, I meant to where my 12 inch machinist's scale ends up when it sinks into the carpet under mostly its own weight, I'm pushing on it only a little. That is a thick rigid scale, so it's a little heavy and there's no "hook" on the end like a tape measure would have.
The "D" I do similarly, but also do a different way for confirmation, because I think what is really important about D is how much pedal travel you have from there to all the way down. For that I figure the pedal "thickness" is 1 inch. Subtracting that from 2.2" leaves 1.2" for minimum travel to the floor, from the "D" postion. That's why I keep saying that you should have at least 1.2" travel from all the way down, to the "start of engage" point. If you can do it that way you don't have to worry about whether to include the carpet or not. But like we've said before, it's hard to measure that 1.2" directly.

Yeah I don't think you are going to have crankwalk. It's possible but I would be really surprised if you did.

What kind of throwout bearing did you put into it? I mean was it a Mitsubishi OEM or what?
The Mitsu part number as far as I know would be MD749998.
The pic you showed of your fork position reminded me of the fact that you can buy a thicker throwout bearing which would position the fork like you showed, but the one I know of is aftermarket and it is pretty special. It's the Competition Clutch "Conical" throwout bearing.
 
It was technically not an OEM throwout bearing, but rather an NSK, but I'm pretty sure that they're one of the suppliers who make the OEM bearing. It has a resin inner sleeve and was way nicer than the cheapo one that came with my clutch kit (btw why do they do that if you're paying over $300 for the kit?), and IIRC I read somewhere that it's really the same one.

Anyway, I'm less concerned about my 28 year old car perfectly matching the FSM specs than I am about proper engagement and disengagement, not just on startup but after the car's been driven and is warm. I'm pretty sure that my issues with engagement 1/2" or so off the floor is due to a combination of a bad pedal assembly, dying master cylinder, old and unresurfaced flywheel, worn or bent fork, worn fulcrum, and possibly ballooning hose. It's an old car and showing its age, and I probably have to replace or fix them all. It'll cost me more than I wanted to spend but it's either that or 6 months of work and a lot more money down the drain.
 
Actually, that upper “clutch switch “ is the one that allows cruise control to engage. If the car isn’t equipped with cc, then there is only a bolt. The switch that contacts when the pedal is pushed all the way down allows the starter to turn, but it can be removed and then the starter will activate regardless of pedal position (including in gear, though almost no car enthusiast would make that rookie error).

Not sure what you were responding to but I knew that. Perhaps I typed the wrong word. I do that a lot. I'm going to try to see how much more I can push the pedal back and see if that buys me some time before dropping the trans again and fixing all these issues properly.
 
We’re on Boost suggested removing the switch to gain more distance to the firewall, or at least that’s how I read it. Then you responded that you would try all his suggestions. I’m sure the other suggestions are worth trying, just wanted to make it clear what that one would entail.
I decided that simply swapping in the 2g MC adjustment bolt would solve my worn pedal rod/arm issue, rather than welding. I think the welding would be better if you plan for it, and get the required bronze shaft bushing. Adjust the clutch per the Jack’s video after bleeding. Perhaps repeat the bleed/adjust routine if it doesn’t seem like new. If problems persist, then maybe its in the clutch itself, and not the pedal/hydraulics linkage.
 
It was technically not an OEM throwout bearing, but rather an NSK, but I'm pretty sure that they're one of the suppliers who make the OEM bearing. It has a resin inner sleeve and was way nicer than the cheapo one that came with my clutch kit (btw why do they do that if you're paying over $300 for the kit?), and IIRC I read somewhere that it's really the same one.

Anyway, I'm less concerned about my 28 year old car perfectly matching the FSM specs than I am about proper engagement and disengagement, not just on startup but after the car's been driven and is warm. I'm pretty sure that my issues with engagement 1/2" or so off the floor is due to a combination of a bad pedal assembly, dying master cylinder, old and unresurfaced flywheel, worn or bent fork, worn fulcrum, and possibly ballooning hose. It's an old car and showing its age, and I probably have to replace or fix them all. It'll cost me more than I wanted to spend but it's either that or 6 months of work and a lot more money down the drain.

I have a brand new MD749998 sitting right here and it does say NSK and Japan on the back side. (Pic attached).

The inner sleeve of it is black, and I thought maybe it was anodized metal, but it is a hard plastic that is apparently filled with some anti friction material like moly or graphite or whatever. Probably just like the one you got. The FSM does mention this, saying that if your release bearing has a resin sleeve, don't put any grease on the sleeve.

The bearing I have in the pic here was mangled in shipping (crushed out of round) so since it's unusable anyway, I cut into the inner sleeve a little bit with a knife, just to verify that it's not metal.

Anyway it's a beautiful piece and I imagine it's the same as the one you got.


Yeah, the master cylinder and the rubber hose, if those are 29 years old, it's time for them to go. Changing those wouldn't be a waste and might help. But we still don't know why the plunger on your cruise control switch is sticking out so far. I think you need to figure out if that is why your pedal doesn't come up all the way all by itself. Like we talked about in posts #47 and #48 in that Fidanza thread. LOL. That was a Fidanza thread.


If the welding you are talking about is welding the master lever (part #17 on page 6-7) to the clutch pedal shaft, I would really avoid doing that if you don't have to. It seems to me like kind of a last resort. I don't know why it would be necessary if you are using a clutch that is near stock in terms of the pedal pressure.


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We’re on Boost suggested removing the switch to gain more distance to the firewall, or at least that’s how I read it. Then you responded that you would try all his suggestions. I’m sure the other suggestions are worth trying, just wanted to make it clear what that one would entail.
I decided that simply swapping in the 2g MC adjustment bolt would solve my worn pedal rod/arm issue, rather than welding. I think the welding would be better if you plan for it, and get the required bronze shaft bushing. Adjust the clutch per the Jack’s video after bleeding. Perhaps repeat the bleed/adjust routine if it doesn’t seem like new. If problems persist, then maybe its in the clutch itself, and not the pedal/hydraulics linkage.

Well, so far I know for sure that there are serious trans issues that have to be fixed, and most likely serious pedal play issues, most likely due to the bad "D" hole design that seems to happen to all 1G's eventually. Both have to be fixed or else why bother. But I might as well replace the MC & line while I'm at it, for insurance. And yes, definitely bronze bushing.
 
I have a brand new MD749998 sitting right here and it does say NSK and Japan on the back side. (Pic attached).

The inner sleeve of it is black, and I thought maybe it was anodized metal, but it is a hard plastic that is apparently filled with some anti friction material like moly or graphite or whatever. Probably just like the one you got. The FSM does mention this, saying that if your release bearing has a resin sleeve, don't put any grease on the sleeve.

The bearing I have in the pic here was mangled in shipping (crushed out of round) so since it's unusable anyway, I cut into the inner sleeve a little bit with a knife, just to verify that it's not metal.

Anyway it's a beautiful piece and I imagine it's the same as the one you got.


Yeah, the master cylinder and the rubber hose, if those are 29 years old, it's time for them to go. Changing those wouldn't be a waste and might help. But we still don't know why the plunger on your cruise control switch is sticking out so far. I think you need to figure out if that is why your pedal doesn't come up all the way all by itself. Like we talked about in posts #47 and #48 in that Fidanza thread. LOL. That was a Fidanza thread.


If the welding you are talking about is welding the master lever (part #17 on page 6-7) to the clutch pedal shaft, I would really avoid doing that if you don't have to. It seems to me like kind of a last resort. I don't know why it would be necessary if you are using a clutch that is near stock in terms of the pedal pressure.


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Well obviously my TOB is already installed so I can't take a look, but I'm pretty sure it's this one, and yes, it was quite nice-looking, as parts go. I got it from RockAuto for a really good price, around $25. Last one they had I believe. So no issues there. And yes, it would be wise to replace the MC & line, as a precaution, and I'll probably do so.

But I strongly suspect that it's mostly a clutch pedal and trans issue, unrelated but combining to wreak havoc with shifting. And for all I know the bad pedal assembly might have caused the prematurely worn previous clutch and some of the trans issues. I hear that taking out the assembly's not fun, but considering the work I've already done and the work I need to do on the trans, I don't mind. You have to do what you have to do.

None of this explains the low max pedal height. It might be easier to see what's up if I remove the lower dash cover, ducts and steering column. Perhaps something got bent over the years, or perhaps I recently bent things when I worked on the steering joint assembly and maybe pushed or pulled too hard. I do suspect that the pedal play explains why my cruise control stopped working back when the car still moved. The pedal didn't push enough against the cruise switch, so the cruise wouldn't engage.

As for welding, what I've read is that replacing the lever arm will restore proper pedal movement, but the poor design of the "D" hole just means that over time the same issue will reemerged, and that the only way to prevent it is to install a new lever arm with bronze bushing AND weld it. I don't weld so I'd have to take it to a place. I probably won't keep the car long enough for that to happen to me, but why pass it off to the next owner?
 
I think the worn arm ( “D” hole) and not enough adjustment on the MC rod would explain the low pedal height. My car had play at the D hole joint, but a brand new arm did not fix it, it was the “D” end shaft (male part of fitting, not the hole itself). In truth, it’s not a “D” with one flat side, but more like a double “D”: a hole with two flat sides. That means all the torque bears on two corners. Should have been made as a splined fitting, and would never loosen!

and to be clear, the bronze bushing Is only necessary because the plastic one would melt during welding. If you weld, a new arm would be a waste. I replaced my plastic bushings as a maintenance move, but the play was small to begin with, and didn’t change noticeably with new ones (~100k mi. odo)
 
Yeah, it looked more like a double-D or rectangle with the short ends curved than a D. It's a stupid design. I'm guessing they just used the setup from a less powerful car and didn't account for the higher pressure plate pressure let alone all the mods owners would do.

Anyway, are you saying that the double-D on your clutch pedal shaft wore out? I.e. the male part. I thought it was the female part that usually wore out. Weird.

I'll probably put in a bronze bushing there even if I don't weld just in case I decide to weld at some point. It's not that much more expensive.

I'm starting to think that most of my driveline issues stemmed from this poor design, clutch that wore out prematurely, notching shifting, popping out of first, grinding gears. For all I know it killed the slave and master took, putting more stress on them than necessary.

Any other weak links in 1G DSMs I should upgrade before they cause serious damage?
 
Might be a good time to upload a picture I got from @Brando_DSM about a year ago, when I PM'd him with some questions about welding the master lever onto the end of the pedal shaft. He has some really good pics in a thread but this one pic is not in the thread. This shows a proper weld on that joint, and you can see the flange of the bronze bushing right below the lever.

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There are some other good pics in his thread, one in particular that shows a closeup of the joint with 2 flats up close before welding, so you can really see what you got there.
Thread is here: https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/1g-dsm-clutch-pedal-assy-bronze-bushings-all-5.520182/

There is an old thread that you may have seen, pretty good thread, by Street Surgeon. He welded his and then figured out that his main problem was actually the clevis pin hole in the master lever. It was elongated a lot, and I suppose the pin was shot too. Here's his pic of the master lever with worn out hole for clevis pin:

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Up until a few months ago you could buy a new master lever for $40 from MachV Motorsports.
They don't have them anymore. Getting harder to find.
But the Mitsu part number is MB599879

Street Surgeon's thread is here:
https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/1g-clutch-pedal-welding-bushing-how-to.156805/
 
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