Peterbilt 386 Stupid Clutch Design

Injun

Rabid Squaw
Premium
No idea whose brainfart the clutch through the floor, pivoting forward so only 6'6" people with 60" legs can operate it without turning sideways and getting a huge, painful callous on the fourth toe of their left foot, but I hope whoever it was got the reward of being pilloried and burned at the stake.

Is there any remediation for this mess? Like a thick pad to attach to the pedal or some recall to turn it into a step-down-on-it clutch that goes through the firewall like a normal truck?
 
No idea whose brainfart the clutch through the floor, pivoting forward so only 6'6" people with 60" legs can operate it without turning sideways and getting a huge, painful callous on the fourth toe of their left foot, but I hope whoever it was got the reward of being pilloried and burned at the stake.

Is there any remediation for this mess? Like a thick pad to attach to the pedal or some recall to turn it into a step-down-on-it clutch that goes through the firewall like a normal truck?
Those things pissed me off too. If you move the seat forward so you can pin the clutch pedal to the floor, then the steering wheel is right up against your chest.

This is the guy they measured when they designed that cab:

1450-work-1.jpg
 
No idea whose brainfart the clutch through the floor, pivoting forward so only 6'6" people with 60" legs can operate it without turning sideways and getting a huge, painful callous on the fourth toe of their left foot, but I hope whoever it was got the reward of being pilloried and burned at the stake.

Is there any remediation for this mess? Like a thick pad to attach to the pedal or some recall to turn it into a step-down-on-it clutch that goes through the firewall like a normal truck?
yes, seriously, blocks on the pedal(s)....or i just found "extensions", but those from what i see, are for cars.

here are some for big trucks



 
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Loosen the pedal off and rotate so its straight up and down. It lets you push away from yourself rather then straight down
I did that, but @Duck and @GAnthony are right. I have to slide forward on the seat and turn sideways to push it to the floor. I'm not itty-bitty, but I'm no brute, either. I'm 5'4". The angle slides my foot inside my shoe, so my fourth toe gets a nasty, painful callous next to the nail bed that makes me limp if I don't constantly sand it down or wear sandals. If I tie my shoes tighter, the pressure on my arch is unbearably painful.

It's a horrible, ergonomically incorrect design. I wish I could meet the engineer so I could ask what the purpose was supposed to be and then bitch-slap his dumb ass back to the first second this disaster popped into his mind.
 
yes, seriously, blocks on the pedal(s)....or i just found "extensions", but those from what i see, are for cars.

here are some for big trucks



It's apparently a common complaint. That's a 386 clutch.
 
No idea whose brainfart the clutch through the floor, pivoting forward so only 6'6" people with 60" legs can operate it without turning sideways and getting a huge, painful callous on the fourth toe of their left foot, but I hope whoever it was got the reward of being pilloried and burned at the stake.

Is there any remediation for this mess? Like a thick pad to attach to the pedal or some recall to turn it into a step-down-on-it clutch that goes through the firewall like a normal truck?
It's a shitty design. I am just over 6'3" and with the seat so I am comfortable with the wheel and the other pedals, I struggle to nail the clutch to the floor.

Not as bad as my little Brazilian friend who is like 4' nothing. If he can see over the dash, he can't reach the clutch. If he has the seat down to reach the clutch he can't see over the dash. :rolllaugh: He refuses to drive the truck.
 
I don't know y'all are complaining about,I'm 5 11 and can reach it just fine. Better than the KW system,the KW one is a pain in the ass to fix. It had a spring issue and you had to lift up on clutch to get the jake to come on,it also squeeeeeeeeeeeked. The 379 has the same clutch.
 
I don't know y'all are complaining about,I'm 5 11 and can reach it just fine. Better than the KW system,the KW one is a pain in the ass to fix. It had a spring issue and you had to lift up on clutch to get the jake to come on,it also squeeeeeeeeeeeked. The 379 has the same clutch.
Can you pin the clutch all the way against the stops? That's how you activate the clutch brake so you can get it into gear without grinding it.
 
Can you pin the clutch all the way against the stops? That's how you activate the clutch brake so you can get it into gear without grinding it.
Yes I can,it's a little bit of a reach but the clutch brake is worn out anyway,damn steering wheel holders putting it to the floor to shift. Every truck they have has a bad or no clutch brake. I had to slowly pull it into gear. I very much enjoyed the 386,my biggest complaint was the 435 Paccar and 9 speed,run the RPMs up to 1800 to shift up. The boost guage says it doesn't go full boost till 1300.
 
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Yes I can,it's a little bit of a reach but the clutch brake is worn out anyway,damn steering wheel holders putting it to the floor to shift. Every truck they have has a bad or no clutch brake. I had to slowly pull it into gear. I very much enjoyed the 386,my biggest complaint was the 435 Paccar and 9 speed,run the RPMs up to 1800 to shift up. The boost guage says it doesn't go full boost till 1300.
Your dad lets you drive on the road? 🤔
 
Your dad lets you drive on the road? 🤔
Around the yards etc,but you use the clutch in those "offorad areas" I haven't done very much on road driving. Both of us normally don't use the clutch to shift. The reason I know the boost and tons etc,is because he was used to running big 15 liter motors that you could "lug" and still have power. I figured it out and told him,started shifting way higher and it pulled much better. The big cats he was used to could pull from 1,100 up to 1,500. This motor pulls from 1,300 up to 1,800.
 
I don't know y'all are complaining about,I'm 5 11 and can reach it just fine. Better than the KW system,the KW one is a pain in the ass to fix. It had a spring issue and you had to lift up on clutch to get the jake to come on,it also squeeeeeeeeeeeked. The 379 has the same clutch.

Yeah -OK, I was wondering till you said it - my 379 has the same clutch and I don't have a problem with it.

I'm 5' 10" depending on what bank I'm robbing, though it's a little different to the T2000, Cascadia, Columbia, Century, etc etc - I've never complained about it.

Clutch linkages/springs/pressure have anything to do with it?
 
Yeah -OK, I was wondering till you said it - my 379 has the same clutch and I don't have a problem with it.

I'm 5' 10" depending on what bank I'm robbing, though it's a little different to the T2000, Cascadia, Columbia, Century, etc etc - I've never complained about it.

Clutch linkages/springs/pressure have anything to do with it?
I haven't noticed any difference personally,it feels like the same good old peterbilt clutch that personally,I prefer.
 
Around the yards etc,but you use the clutch in those "offorad areas" I haven't done very much on road driving. Both of us normally don't use the clutch to shift. The reason I know the boost and tons etc,is because he was used to running big 15 liter motors that you could "lug" and still have power. I figured it out and told him,started shifting way higher and it pulled much better. The big cats he was used to could pull from 1,100 up to 1,500. This motor pulls from 1,300 up to 1,800.
A Cummins ISX, before DPF, the ones we had were kind of like a 2 cycle dirt bike with that high RPM power band. As soon as they hit 1600 RPM they'd really start pulling.
 
A Cummins ISX, before DPF, the ones we had were kind of like a 2 cycle dirt bike with that high RPM power band. As soon as they hit 1600 RPM they'd really start pulling.
Sure you didn't have a ISX 12 ? The ISXs that we run pull good from 1200 up to bout 1600.
 
If you want to talk about stupid designs,let's talk about international and their zit zag shifter.... The one that makes the middle cup holder USELESS.
 
Sure you didn't have a ISX 12 ? The ISXs that we run pull good from 1200 up to bout 1600.
It was a 15

Our shop turned them up though. Not the HP but the RPM limiter because default it was something stupid like 1550. They turned them up to 1800.
 
It was a 15

Our shop turned them up though. Not the HP but the RPM limiter because default it was something stupid like 1550. They turned them up to 1800.
Yeah the ones the company has are dpf and have like 2100 RPM limits. They are supposed to be 485s,but the 370 N14 will pull with or outpull them.
 

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