DIY: Accelerator Pedal Replacement on an Air-Cooled Porsche 911
Replace your old accelerator pedal so it doesn’t break and ruin your next spirited drive.
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Your air-cooled Porsche 911 has a floor mounted pedal cluster assembly with a separately mounted plastic accelerator pedal. The accelerator pedal is attached to the accelerator cable via a push rod with a ball socket on the back of the pedal. It is bolted to the floor via a hinged base molded into the pedal. The factory pedal is very durable but if the ball socket or hinge cracks and fails, the accelerator will simply flop around and not actuate the throttle cable. Taking a few minutes to replace it is cheap insurance against being stranded. This DIY will show you how.
Model Years Applicable:
All Porsche 911 cars up to 1989.
Tools Needed:
Parts Needed:
- Early accelerator pedal P/N 90142301001 (1975 and earlier)
- Late accelerator pedal P/N 91142311103 (1976 and later)
Procedure
Step 1: Remove Pedal and Floor Board
Remove the driver side floor mat. You will see a floorboard surrounding the 3 pedals and covering the pedal assembly.
Behind the plastic throttle pedal is a rod with a ball-socket. Hold the rod steady with one hand and with the other hand pull the pedal towards the back of the car to pull the ball out of the pedal socket. Remove the two bolts holding the pedal to the floor. The pedal is now free.
Remove the floorboard around the pedals. There’s a single nut at the bottom of the floorboard holding it in.
The whole pedal cluster is now exposed.
Step 2: Inspect Pedal and Pushrod
Turn the pedal around and inspect the ball socket on the backside. Also inspect the hinge near the bolt holes. If there are any cracks on the ball socket perimeter or the hinge, the pedal must be replaced.
Clean floor around the pedal assembly as there is usually debris that gets caught in here under the floorboard. While you are in there look for additional problems.
If you find any broken pieces of pedal assembly bushings or if there is excessive play in your clutch and brake pedals, that is a clear sign that you should rebuild your pedal cluster in the near future.
If you find the floor around the pedal assembly wet with brake fluid, plan to replace your master cylinder as soon as possible as this is a safety concern.
Step 3: Reinstall Floor Board and Pedal
Re-install the floorboard and secure it in place with the nut.
Bolt the accelerator pedal to the floor finger tight. Smear a bit of lithium grease on the ball and firmly press it into the socket until it snaps in place. It may take considerable force on a new pedal but it can be done by hand.
Check that all the pedals operate correctly through their travel and that they do not bind or stick.
The accelerator pedal installation is now complete and should serve you well for many years like the original did.