Hey all, My clutch pedal has been clicking/slipping for a while now. I'm driving an Escort mk3 1.1 (1985). So I started a job I wish I hadn’t, the clutch quadrant . I've got it all in bits and had it back together a couple of times (then realised i've missed the return spring or something) but, i'm concerned I havent got the right clutch quadrant. First of all the old one is Black and the new one is White. I bought the Ł3 ones off ebay that say Escort mk3. I also asked the seller if it was right for my Car. He said hes sold tons for mk3 Escorts and had no complaints. I've had this changed by a garage 5 years ago so I have no idea what colour the old one was.
When I fit it to the pedal without the return spring the pawl wont freely "ratchet" down the quadrant. It gets stuck a few teeth in, Is that normal? Or is my old one just worn down as that is free to move up and down on its own.
Also, the cable end seems to not want to go into the end of the new clutch quadrant and when you hold them both together... it looks a little smaller. I'm sure I could modify it but I'm starting to think i've got the wrong part? Can't find anything on the internet that can tell me what a 1.1 OHV 1985 Escort clutch quadrant should be? The new part number I have is SX 6200 and this is the ebay link. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274796490...UAAOSwAWhgVy~r

Any help welcome as i've got the pedals in bits / exhausted myself.

 

I had another play with these before and the old Pawl (ratchet bit) and the new quadrant "ratchet" over each other easily but, the new Pawl part seems to be the problem. Also there is a size difference. I put them both on the bake/clutch pedal bar and you can see the problem here.

from looking through Fordopedia there are two types and part numbers . 55mm (6194025 -88AB 7L609 DA ) and 50mm (6186200 - 88AB 7L609 AA ). According to Fordopedia the Black one is the 55mm one which seems to be the other way around here as my Black one is smaller.





Also the cable will pass through the end of this part and not through the white part. Although, when I look back at pictures from this morning the cable was only resting underneath the quadrant anyway.

 

3rd time lucky!! What a horrible job. I filmed it all so hopefully it will help others in the same situation. I'll compile that later. Recived a call from Midnight Motors in Watford today who found me an old copy part that they used to sell back in the day... high tailed it up there to get some great advice and a great part! once home i swapped over all the bushes and parts over to the pedal to find a working ratchet, success!!





I'm not going to lie, putting it back together was a nightmare. Easier with this part though. In the end I set the quadrant/pawl, that rested on the plastic bushes just enough (the old one didnt) to slide the spindle bar through the pedal. Then after a few tries I got the clutch cable through and clipped in (again it wasnt on the old part) then I used a guitar string round the handle of a hammer, though the eyelet of the clutch pedal to pull the return spring into its rightful place, with the nudge of some pliers from behind. After this it was easy enough to fit the brake pedal and clip it all in.







The only other issue I had was getting enough slack on the clutch cable. At first with the Quadrant set to its most neutral position I couldnt get it to reach the gear box. Lots of head scratching and thinking about putting the old Quad back in passed and then after another go it must have moved down the ratchet a bit to where the black quadrant was sitting. Then I had just enough slack to get it on the gear box fork.




I guess this means the clutch is about half way worn? Either way. Went for a drive and it was a lot better! even managed a pretty low powered wheel spin which used to send the old quad into a hissy fit.

I might sound like I want a medal for this job but it was pretty claustrophobic and twinged my back etc so, thought a good write up and video to follow would help others.

 

"I might sound like I want a medal for this job but it was pretty claustrophobic and twinged my back etc"

Any of us that have done a quadrant share your pain - its a naff job. First time I did it (albeit on a mk4), I removed the drivers seat, but then had the raised bit that the seat bolts to in the floorpan f*cking up my back instead. Got better at them over time but hardly in my top 10 of fav jobs!

 

Cheers mate! yeah that beam on the floor really doesnt help things. I found it best lay on my side with my head next the the accelerator pedal, still a crap place to be though. I'm putting a new set of second hand suspension on next week... hopefully thats a bit more pleasant haha.

 

Heres a how to video if your working on a mk3 Escort specifically .

 

Hi,
I found your video absolutely fantastic and didactic, thank you very much for sharing with images and explanations your findings. By the way, is there a reason why you disassemble the brake pedal too? Looking at the video, it suggests one could also shift the rod through the clutch pedal, going towards the gas pedal, which saves the dismantling of the brake pedal. Or is there a mechanical reason why this would not make it?

 

From memory its the shape of the shaft why you have to dismantle the brake pedal too, you can't just slip the quadrant off on it's own.

On the old Transits you can tho! much better design.

 

Never done a LHD one so YMMV

 

Just some insights after replacing the quadrant, pawl and spring kit on a 1988 mk4 XR3i Escort cab;

As suggested above, I removed the driver seat, which helps a lot. I also with the cab top open, as it gets really hot in there when working under the dashboard. Anyway, at least for the LHD mk4, there is no advantage in taking out the dashboard.

Further, at least on the LHD mk4 it appears you can drop the clutch pedal without touching the brake pedal. Just remove the the R clip, spring washer and shift left the clutch pedal with its quadrant and both red plastic guides

Then you can replace the quadrant in place and connect the clutch cable (easier to do with no pedal in there) - I used the 01387 Febi Bilstein kit that appears to be a mechanically identical to the original white quadrant with the Ford logo on it. The kit it is all black (black iso red plastic guides, a black pawl (identical to the Ford one) and a all black quadrant). The quadrant is reinforced all around the hole where the spring to the pedal is mounted. It is a widely available kit that I sourced for just 5,90Euro.

Frankly, the first nasty job is to fit the quadrant on the pedal shaft with the pawl in place because the small spring that ensure the ratchet effect of the pawl in pushing onto the quadrant. I released the pressure on the pawl by temporarily blocking the spring as to make it not pushing on the pawl. Any piece of metal to block the spring from pressing on the pawl that you can remove once the pedal is in place will do the job; And for those that do not remember how to assemble the pawl and its spring, see below the assembly. Left the original Ford, Right the Febi Bilstein copy.

And oh, yes, do not forget to mount the large spring that will later connect to the pedal on the quadrant before you mount the quadrant into the pedal. It does not fit in the reverse order

Finally, after you reconnected the clutch cable under the bonnet, you will have to reconnect the large spring going from the quadrant to the left side of the pedal. I unsuccessfully tried to use different type of electric wire to pull on the spring and guide it into the triangular hole on the side of the pedal; look for example below. I also tried to use tie wraps, which all have broken just before the spring matched the aperture in the pedal.



Finally, I successfully used a combination of the 2 hooks:



The large one I used to pull the spring far enough as to be able to temporarily block the spring onto the aperture (see picture below). You will need a relatively important force to be exercised for this so a large tool is ideal for this



Then I used the smaller hook, that is mainly not as thick as the large. Being rather thin, the smaller hook makes the final adjustments possible to let the spring lock into the aperture. Just in case, here are the precise sizes I have used (all metric centimeters);