I guess I've been driving too much, and not doing enough maintenance. I still need to do the tuning suggestions from RapidRobert, but had to check into a brake lamp that has been staying half-lit for the past few days.

Couldn't get that fixed, but went out for a drive anyway.
Making a left at a stop sign, heard a clank, clutch pedal goes to floor, car stops in gear, engine dies.

I'm thinking tow truck.

There wasn't a lot of traffic, so I got out, lifted the hood, and noticed the Z-bar no longer over the ball stud (picture). I was able to get the car out of first, pushed it backwards closer to the curb, and when I looked back at where the car was I saw the clutch linkage rod, clip, and washer on the street.

I had a 9/16 wrench with me, so was able to lay on my back with my feet out in the traffic and get the rod back in. Drove home. Could have been a lot worse.

Does anyone have any suggestions for fixing the mess in the picture tomorrow? Is it pretty straightforward?

Thanks....

1. Replace any worn parts like the ball studs, stud seals and ball stud bushings. On my 73 I let the bushings fail and kept driving it. Eventually it wore a ridge in the z-bar. I cleaned it packed it with J-B Weld, and honed it out when dry for the bushing to fit. I drove it another 50K miles but kept the bushings greased.

2. Make sure the motor mounts are good in case over torquing made the bar come loose.

3. Make sure the retaining clip is seated properly in the groove of the ball stud bushing on the outside ball stud.

4. Make sure it's all greased up really good. Later models have a grease fitting in the z-bar.

Thanks - should I bother looking in my Service Manual also?

If I unscrew the outer ball stud first, will the Z-bar come on out?

I hope I can do this in no more than 2-3 hours....

You should be able to pull it out after popping the outer ball. New bushings are available from the dealer. They are the same parts used on my 1980 D150.

Grease 'em up and pop 'em back in. Be sure to check those motor mounts as mentioned above.

feets - thanks.

I just remembered that I bought this kit last year.

Cool Belvedere. Twin Turbos?? Awesome.

Is it just me, or is that pretty far out of allignment (ball stud to tube angle)? Make sure you check the inner surface of the z-bar tube for damage. I had one all gouged out inside because the nylon bushings wore out long before I got around to servicing the assembly.

You are correct sir, the left ball stud is cattywampus.

Or, it was yesterday when I took the picture.

I noticed when I bought the car (6 years ago) that it was angled forward and down, and I should have fixed it before now. The problem was that the U-shaped-slot where the left ball stud goes has always been twisted.

To straighten the alignment of the new ball stud, I took the old left one, since it is slightly longer, and installed it backwards in the spot where the right one was.

Then from the wheel well, I put a 3/4 inch deep well socket on the stud, with a cheater bar over the socket, and pulled down and forward. That straighted out the U-slot, and now the new one is aligned properly.

I'm on a break now, watching Strasburg pitch and having a Heineken, but need to get back out there and hook up the clutch pedal rod.

I wish someone had mentioned about the snap ring on the Z-bar that has to go through the tiny holes and engage the slot in the nylon bushings for the left ball stud. That was a pain.

They just pulled Strasburg - I should be out driving on the beltway right now. Just like when the Super Bowl is on, there is no traffic right now - everyone is inside watching Strasburg and the Nats.

Quote:

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To straighten the alignment of the new ball stud, I took the old left one, since it is slightly longer, and installed it backwards in the spot where the right one was.

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Boy, I must have been feeling that Heineken when I wrote that.

I meant to say that I took the old right one (the longer one) and mounted it backwards (so the ball sticks out into the wheel well) where the left one goes....

Anyway, all done, time for a test drive.

I had this issue too. I found my car had the 318 bell housing on it, not the proper 340 one.
This move the engine side ball stud for some reason.
For the rebuilt kit, as long as everything is straight.