DeTomaso Mailing List: April 99, Message #34

Doug Seed In wrote:

>only problem was a li'l pin that fell out of the clutch linkage ass'y rite as
i
was leaving work to head home.  panic at first, as the pedal went all the way
to
the floor, w/no engagement of any sort!  then i saw this li'l pin on the floor
mat, crawled under the dash w/a flash lite, found out where it was supposed to
be, & popped it back in.  i'll have to investigate a more permanent install on
this.  

>>>This pin is supposed to be secured by a couple of snap rings.  If the pin
wears, the snap rings can fail to remain in their grooves--or, the snap rings
themselves can age and fatigue.  Pretty simple fix, really.

While you're in the neighborhood, check the condition of the hole in the
clevis (the U-shaped hoozit that is threaded onto the master cylinder pushrod,
and is acted upon by the clutch lever shaft.)  Recently Jack showed me that
this is another underengineered part, and the hole can wear into an oval,
leading to lots of slop in the clutch.  

Jack has already or is about to publish an article in the POCA newsletter that
I just put together, which clearly shows this wear pattern.  A replacement
clevis is available from the vendors.

And regarding your question about the clutch effort reduction kit--this was
fitted on Panteras considerably later than yours (L-models) and was available
to retrofit onto earlier cars.  The kit consists of the most amazing Rube
Goldberg monkey-motion linkage, it consists of about 20 parts!  Included in
the package (apparently) is a new clevis.

The package is extremely expensive however, relative to what you're actually
getting.  Surf on over to the Pantera Parts Connection website
(www.panteraparts.com), check out the appropriate section and you'll see the
kit displayed inside a bubble on the page.  Part number is 04028A.

If you haven't already done so, get yourself a factory shop manual, TSB's and
a factory parts book--you're lost without 'em!

Mike