How can I introduce this? Why not just say that after some time the Vanagon clutch and brake pedal assembly wears a bit at certain points and its a bitch to repair in the van.
My ’86 syncro has a squeaky clutch pedal and I know why… the metal arm of the pedal has a hole in it where a pin connects it to the clevis of the clutch master cylinder slave rod, and this hole wears into an oval over time. The pin also gets worn. The result is a less than smooth and silent clutch pedal.
I happen to have a complete assembly taken from my dearly loved ’82 westy that I could work on and refurbish.
On the ’82’s clutch pedal the hole was indeed oval and the pin worn (pic of pin in vise is the original worn one). So I drilled out the pedal hole to make it round again (others have filled in hole with weld and redrilled to stock size), also drilled the clevis hole, and I made a new pin out of some stainless stock. Like an idiot, I forgot to take before pics. But the series of after pics show the disassembled assembly and the whole shebang together again. A close up of the clutch clevis and pin included.
One day I’ll swap it into my syncro (it probably means dash removal, but some rumours of being able to get it up and out via binnacle are about). Maybe before I do that, I’ll swap the brake booster for a larger one from an E30 series BMW (see Herman’s blog linked to the right for details).
Oh I should add, if you are like me and can’t be arsed to pull dash to get pedal assembly out for refurb, or at least greased, then you can try scrootching under the dash to get at the bugger. If you lie across the floor, or half in, half out the drivers door, you can reach up with one hand and feel where the clutch actuating rod/clevis connects to the cross pin. You might have to move the clutch pedal with other hand to really get at it. If you put a blob of grease on your finger you can try to massage it around the pin.
shooftie 
#1 by Ed on November 8, 2010 - 10:18 pm
Great photos Al. I still need to pull the dash on the 91 syncro I am restoring as I have a new heater core and blower motor to go in so when it is apart I will check out these bits too. (like I needed more things to do – not totally sure if I should thank you or curse you for this 🙂
#2 by albell on November 8, 2010 - 10:28 pm
You really will curse yourself if you don’t pull the pedals when the dash is out. The main shaft on the pedals was not worn to any real extent, nor were the bronze bushings on the pedals that the shaft runs through. But the grease was pretty well gone. The brake pedal to clevis connection was not as worn as the clutch connection was, so I just lubed it.
Making a new pin was easy for me as I have a lathe. Otherwise it would have been a more involved procedure.
good luck
ab