I've got a strange one for you guys.

On one of my runs at Fontana, this part (the saddle/washer shaped part) fell out of the dash. I found one half of a spring when I stopped, the other half was underneath the floor mat...



Broken parts...

Looking at another 350Z, we found that these parts appear to come from above the clutch pedal *assembly*. There's no markings on the opposite face except near the edge. The spring appears to be all there, just in two pieces. It moves on the other 350Z when the clutch pedal moves -- but it's well above the clutch master cylinder.

This part doesn't show on the clutch pedal assembly in the FSM. Looking at some clutch assemblies on eBay, I don't see where the part is on those (because it appears to be a separate piece above the firewall side of the clutch pedal assembly).

So I turn to you, sages of 350Z wisdom. What part is this? How do I replace it?

 

Uh oh- I think that's part of the warp nacelle. It controls the anti-matter reaction and ...I have no idea what those parts are.

Whatever it is, the fact that the spring actually broke under tension is interesting.

 

Clutch pedal return spring? (Doesn't look like it as this appears to a compression spring, not a torsional one.)

Clutch pedal pivot? (As above...?)

Neutral safety switch spring?

Cruise control switch?

Hmmmmm...... David might be right.... warp speed Mr. Sulu....

 

Can’t help you here

 

So, in to know what this is.

As a matter of fact, something that would help EVERYONE here is if someone posts a problem, gets a bunch of answers, it'd be SUPER NICE AND HELPFUL to the my350Z community if that person could at least come back just once to let people know EXACTLY WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS!!! (And maybe a thanks to those that tried to help.... but that's asking for a generational deficiency change, sadly.)

(This isn't directed at you, PDX, just a platform for a Public Service Message, laff.... )

 

A few thoughts.
1 A quarter in pic would help with scale.
2 The closest thing I found was gas pedal return, but mine has much longer extensions.
3 If I'm guessing size correctly, too small for clutch pedal return. Perhaps air recycle door which is on pass side. It's not stated if seats are manual or electric.
4 Has anyone worked on the car? Evaluate what does not work and go from there.

Weird. If everything works properly I suggest foreign object. O2.

 

I have my OEM clutch pedal assy laying around and it definitely looks thinner in gauge than the return spring in that, although later models such as yours may have a revised design.

What gets me is that in order for these pieces to fall out, there definitely has to be other broken parts somewhere. That upper retainer cant just fall out unless a nut comes loose, a rod/bolt breaks, etc. Keep us posted.

 

And a missing E clip.

 

Figured out where it likely came from...

The clutch pedal assembly *does* have a pretty hefty return spring. The spring and centering rod seems to be missing from mine (I don't *remember* ever picking up a spring from the driver's footwell, but :shrug.

I'm *guessing* that the saddle comes from the "fixed" end of the spring, as the "free" end (the pedal arm side) has a pretty deep saddle that also appears to fit over a rod of some kind. The saddle size seems to be about the same size as what I'd guess the pedal return spring would be but there mystery is how it would have just "shown up." It would mean that the pedal return spring would have either shattered (unlikely), or that it "just got missed" (also very unlikely), or it broke at some point and I never noticed. It's also possible that it could have happened at the mechanic's when the clutch and flywheel were replaced.

Anyway, I think I have my answer -- the small spring is in there to make sure that there's always compression on the bigger spring, and my clutch pedal return spring (the bigger spring) is missing. So I've got another clutch pedal assembly on its way...



Clutch pedal return spring - suspected source of mystery parts.

I'll confirm once I have the new-to-me assembly here and can compare.

 

So who had "pedal return spring" on the odds sheet? Oh, right, it was me. Hahahahaaaaaaa.

Interesting. I've been losing sleep over this so please confirm. But yeah, that truly is interesting, a backup to a return spring.... hmmm.

 

It's a helper spring for your clutch! I have helper springs from Eibach being used with the 2812 Konis in a road race application.