Soft Pedal Conversion

[FurioKid]

Has anyone got the parts involved for the soft pedal conversion?

Anyone??

[Ian S]

Volvo have the parts.

I suppose you'll want the numbers.

Then the correct question is "does anyone have the part numbers for the...." :)

Shame the articles is not here.

But....

Here's my 2004 version:

Here are the Volvo main dealer part numbers for the longer clutch lever:

Fork V03455952
Bracket V03424195
Nylon Cap V03467278
Brass Bush V03455957
Flange lock Nut V00971098
Flange Bolt V00946329

Clutch pedal stop plastic block from Renault 6006 003 944 £1.28inc.

The nut and bolt could be bought elsewhere cheaper I guess but they fit exactly and it saves bother to just get them Volvo.

Parts cost is about £23.

[Ian S]

The nylon bearing is fitted while the clutch is out. The arm is fitted to the gearbox when the new clutch goes in. The extension bracket is fitted to the bell housing mounting point where the large round clutch cable sheath end used to fit up to and through. The bush goes through this large hole to hold the bolt that clamps the bracket in place.

The extension of the release arm compared with the standard one is: Long lever; 62mm from tip of release bearing end to pivot and 225mm overall, Short lever; 60mm and 160mm overall. So the long lever is 65mm longer. The bracket is necessary to extend the sheath end to about the same distance so the cable can run straight into the sheath. (For those who want to calculate the total leverage ratios the clutch pedal is 230mm from just beyond the centre of the rubber foot to the centre metal pivot, then about 50 to 55mm from the pivot to the top where cable runs through.)

The Nylon cup is a replacement pivot bearing that the clutch release lever sits on inside the bell housing. The old one will probably have worn. The new one was quite a bit higher on mine. The old cap can (while the gearbox is out of the car) be easily removed by working the open end of an about 12 to 14mm spanner behind it and gently levering. The new one just pushes on.

The arm cannot be retro fitted from the outside afterwards as it's too big to go through the hole in the bell housing. So is the standard arm by the way.

In the car you will need to take off the 'clutch pedal stop' and hacksaw some off the height so the pedal sits higher and therefore starts to de-clutch sooner. Otherwise you will find that the pedal has to be pushed through the carpet to get the gears in. The pedals stops vary in height so you will have to experiment. I took about 1mm off mine. Best done with the plastic stop held firmly in a vice. I tried a Dremel cutter but it just melted the plastic and made a mess. The hacksaw is quick and easy. Another way is to replace the plastic block with a bolt and nut with washers as shims. The bolt is inserted from the pedal side through the washers and pedal box. The nut is then fitted and tightened. This gives adjustable exact height positioning. A rubber bump stop is required to stop the tapping sound as the pedal hits the stop. Adjustment is by adding more washers. Thanks to Diluni for this method.

You can just connect the cable to the pedal, if it was disconnected, then, in the engine bay, pull the cable end over and onto the clutch release lever. It's easy. The pedal stop can then be adjusted for height with the hacksaw and refitted. It is best removed by pushing the pedal away with one hand, and with pliers in the other, pinching and pushing of the pedal stop block clip part (that pokes through from the pedal side of the metal) until it drops out. To refit just push the pedal away again, locate the block clip into the hole and squeeze. The quadrant may need to be pulled forward to release the self adjusting mechanism which will, upon releasing the quadrant, settle to the correct height. At least that's what happened on the cars I've done.

I like my conversion very much indeed. After all these years of a excessively heavy pedal it would have been about intolerable with the heavier Volvo clutch and standard release lever but instead, even compared to standard, there is less (seems like no!) effort. The only downside is that the pedal sits a little higher and it's travel is a bit further but this is no problem. Another benefit is that it should make the clutch cable last longer due to the reduced strain on it.

Note: this conversion is not compatible with some intercoolers. As far as the author knows so far: GTTuning double capacity = no. Standard 5GTT = yes. Pace = yes. K-Tec larger capacity = yes, clearance = 5mm. Any intercooler that is deeper than the standard by more than a few mm, perhaps beyond 10mm max, will not fit as it fouls the longer bracket and possibly lever too.

[FurioKid]

Sorry for posting it in the wrong section but wasn't sure if anyone on here had those parts

Thanks very much for your help :)

[Scoff]

It's worth putting that in the article section too Ian ? (I bet you already have and I'm going to looks like a clown because I didn't check.. :) )

[Ian S]

No I haven't yet.

I though about it but hopefully FL1 will be giving us access to the 2007 version any day.

I'll have to ring them again.

I'll add it to the list.

[FurioKid]

All the part numbers are the same apart from the nut and bolt which have been super seeded.
Over night ordering on them all and the total comes to £28.14 :D

[paul b]

all these parts are used as standard on early reanult lagunas......
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k168/paulb69_2006/lag.png

[Ian S]

That's just two of the parts: the arm and the plastic bearing.

I think I had listed in the article the Renault part numbers for what they had.