LTX and LSX Putting LT1s, LS1s, and their variants into Third Gens is becoming more popular. This board is for those who are doing and have done the swaps so they can discuss all of their technical aspects including repairs, swap info, and performance upgrades.

3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

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Old Mar 3, 2010 | 08:30 PM
  #1  
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3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

Why is everyone always posting about the hassles of fitting brake and clutch pedals from a 4th gen? It's so much cheaper and easier to get these from a v6 third gen. I see it in thread after thread, but it seems everyone just enjoys extra work and extra spending with NO return on investment. If you have a really good counterpoint, this is the place for it. TIA.
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Old Mar 3, 2010 | 09:38 PM
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Re: 3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

With the LT1 T56, the 4th gen pedals are great so they do not over extend the clutch and make noise.....like mine.

The LS1 is not like that i dont think and is fine with the stock pieces.
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Old Mar 3, 2010 | 10:07 PM
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Re: 3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

in my case the fourth gen pedals were provided with the swap i bought- so i installed them. Overall it was probably just as easy as a third gen set- pedals in general are annoying regardless of year. All you need to do to fit the fourth gen set is drill three holes, all doable with a cordless drill and some muscle. Big deal? no. Whichever set is most readily available is what i would go with, although i have never tried a third gen set.

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Old Mar 3, 2010 | 10:51 PM
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Originally Posted by kthxbai
in my case the fourth gen pedals were provided with the swap i bought...
Ditto. I asked if they would include them and the clutch MC, and they tossed them on the pallet no extra charge.

Finding 3rd gens in a JY around here isn't easy. There are a couple of places that "specialize" in them, and charge accordingly.
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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 02:16 AM
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Car: 1991 Trans Am
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Re: 3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

For my car, the LT1 pedals bolted right in with ZERO issues. Even used the 4th gen gas pedal. I'm really not sure why more people don't go this route to be honest.
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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 02:32 PM
  #6  
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Car: 1987 Camaro IROC-Z
Engine: LS1
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Re: 3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

Originally Posted by 1bdbrd
For my car, the LT1 pedals bolted right in with ZERO issues. Even used the 4th gen gas pedal. I'm really not sure why more people don't go this route to be honest.
isn't there a problem with the brake cylinder not going into the pin on the pedal?
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Old Mar 4, 2010 | 03:04 PM
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Re: 3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

The advantages/disadvantages between both sets has been discussed a few times. Probably in build threads.

As someone that has used both sets...here's my 2 cents on the subject. Take it or leave it.

4th gen pedals: They dont bolt right in. I dont care what anyone says. You need to elongate that upper bolt hole, and that was sort of a pain. The support bracket for the master cylinder is a joke. Its WAY too flimsy. The 4th gen firewall seems to be more sturdy to fight the firewall from moving during clutch engagement. Also, on my set at least, the brace didnt fit against the fire wall perfect. The gas pedal fits...but I dont want to have to remove the entire thing just to remove the gas pedal...or remove the gas pedal to get at the clutch/brake. And if Im going to cut the 4th gen pedal off, why not just leave the 3rd gen one alone? I THINK if you are using the 3rd gen booster you need to drill the holes out...but I dont know because I ditched my stock booster.

Here's the one plus...the master cylinder rod end fits onto the 4th gen clutch pedal perfectly. Thats it imo. I know some have had less trouble than me fitting them, but I tried them in two different cars and had no luck. So I gave up on em.

3rd gen pedals: They bolt right in...100%. Whether you are using the 3rd gen brake booster, or the 4th gen unit. The braces for the master cylinder are BEEF. They are metal rods that once you tighten things down, dont move at all. They support the firewall very well. After all, you just drilled a bunch of holes in that area, one being a rather large oval if you did it correctly. Also, my master cylinder rod lined up with the body better with the 3rd gen pedals...could just be coincedence there though.

The peg for the master cylinder rod end on the 3rd gens is too big. This is a decent problem. If you are using the stock 4th gen master cylinder, you can drill out the bushing and make it fit. Kind of a pain, but not bad. If you have an adjustable however, you cant drill out the rod end without a bunch of trouble. Its a spherical ball, and it just wont happen easily. So your only option is to either turn down the peg so it fits, or replace the peg. My method was to knock the stock peg out, and weld in the 4th gen pedal's peg. Yes it left the 4th gen pedal set's clutch pedal worthless, but it stunk anyway. Ive seen guys use bolts, or other things from the hardware store. So its not hard.

Anyway...those are my thoughts on the two. I got my 3rd gen set off the boards here for pretty cheap. And I saw at least 4 or 5 sets on ebay when I was looking. So you can get em, even though I know its getting tougher.

J.

P.S... my experience was with LS1 pedals...so not sure if the LT1 pedals are different. They could be.
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Old Mar 5, 2010 | 01:19 AM
  #8  
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Car: 1991 Trans Am
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Re: 3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

Originally Posted by ghettocruiser
The advantages/disadvantages between both sets has been discussed a few times. Probably in build threads.

As someone that has used both sets...here's my 2 cents on the subject. Take it or leave it.

4th gen pedals: They dont bolt right in. I dont care what anyone says. You need to elongate that upper bolt hole, and that was sort of a pain. The support bracket for the master cylinder is a joke. Its WAY too flimsy. The 4th gen firewall seems to be more sturdy to fight the firewall from moving during clutch engagement. Also, on my set at least, the brace didnt fit against the fire wall perfect. The gas pedal fits...but I dont want to have to remove the entire thing just to remove the gas pedal...or remove the gas pedal to get at the clutch/brake. And if Im going to cut the 4th gen pedal off, why not just leave the 3rd gen one alone? I THINK if you are using the 3rd gen booster you need to drill the holes out...but I dont know because I ditched my stock booster.

Here's the one plus...the master cylinder rod end fits onto the 4th gen clutch pedal perfectly. Thats it imo. I know some have had less trouble than me fitting them, but I tried them in two different cars and had no luck. So I gave up on em.

3rd gen pedals: They bolt right in...100%. Whether you are using the 3rd gen brake booster, or the 4th gen unit. The braces for the master cylinder are BEEF. They are metal rods that once you tighten things down, dont move at all. They support the firewall very well. After all, you just drilled a bunch of holes in that area, one being a rather large oval if you did it correctly. Also, my master cylinder rod lined up with the body better with the 3rd gen pedals...could just be coincedence there though.

The peg for the master cylinder rod end on the 3rd gens is too big. This is a decent problem. If you are using the stock 4th gen master cylinder, you can drill out the bushing and make it fit. Kind of a pain, but not bad. If you have an adjustable however, you cant drill out the rod end without a bunch of trouble. Its a spherical ball, and it just wont happen easily. So your only option is to either turn down the peg so it fits, or replace the peg. My method was to knock the stock peg out, and weld in the 4th gen pedal's peg. Yes it left the 4th gen pedal set's clutch pedal worthless, but it stunk anyway. Ive seen guys use bolts, or other things from the hardware store. So its not hard.

Anyway...those are my thoughts on the two. I got my 3rd gen set off the boards here for pretty cheap. And I saw at least 4 or 5 sets on ebay when I was looking. So you can get em, even though I know its getting tougher.

J.

P.S... my experience was with LS1 pedals...so not sure if the LT1 pedals are different. They could be.
I used LT1 pedals since I still have the L98 in the car. But when I modified them the bolt holes it took me 1 pass per hole with a slightly larger bit and maybe 5 minutes of my time. To me it was harder to take the stock pedals out than it was to do anything else.

As far as the bracing, once I got the pedals in and the line hooked up to my spec stg 3 clutch, I watched the firewall while someone pushed the pedal. I didn't see any movement at all.
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Old Mar 5, 2010 | 04:09 AM
  #9  
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Car: 1989 Iroc
Engine: LS2
Transmission: GTO T-56
Axle/Gears: 4:th gen Auburn with 3:73
Re: 3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

Anyone that had any experience with the GTO pedal assembly?
I´ve just started the LS2/T56 swap into my L98/TH700 -89 Iroc. And I did get the entire pedal assembly from the JY. I know that I will need the gas pedal for sure, but I dont know about fitting it and the other 2 pedals in the car yet
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Old Mar 5, 2010 | 06:35 AM
  #10  
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Re: 3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

Originally Posted by 1bdbrd
As far as the bracing, once I got the pedals in and the line hooked up to my spec stg 3 clutch, I watched the firewall while someone pushed the pedal. I didn't see any movement at all.
Like I said, that was just my experience with them. I tried everythign to get the firewall to stop moving. But the master cylinder rod would actually go from being lined up to crooked due to the firewall pushing in. My car was rust free, and never wrecked before then. I was at the point where I was going to weld angle iron to the wall to stiffen things up. But then I got into an accident haha.

On the LT1 pedals, did you have to modify the top hole? Or do they match up to the thirdgen mount? Opening up a couple holes doesnt bother me...it was everything else that made me not like them.

J.
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Old Mar 5, 2010 | 01:57 PM
  #11  
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From: Kansas City
Car: 1991 Trans Am
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Re: 3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

Originally Posted by ghettocruiser
Like I said, that was just my experience with them. I tried everythign to get the firewall to stop moving. But the master cylinder rod would actually go from being lined up to crooked due to the firewall pushing in. My car was rust free, and never wrecked before then. I was at the point where I was going to weld angle iron to the wall to stiffen things up. But then I got into an accident haha.

On the LT1 pedals, did you have to modify the top hole? Or do they match up to the thirdgen mount? Opening up a couple holes doesnt bother me...it was everything else that made me not like them.

J.
My car is not the cleanest car in the world so I fully expected some firewall problems. I was really shocked to see that it was just as solid as they were in my 94.

I actually dont remember about the top hole. I think it fit in just fine but I didn't put the nut on it. It was hard enough getting that one loose, let alone tightening it back down. All that I had to modify was the 4 from the brake booster and all that's holding the pedals in are those 4 and the small one near the gas pedal. This seemed to hold it there tight enough to hold them still so I am not too worried about it.
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Old Jun 11, 2015 | 11:28 AM
  #12  
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Car: 92 Firebird--02 Grand Prix GTP 2Dr
Engine: Poncho 400--3.8 Supercharged
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Axle/Gears: Open 10 bolt 3.42--Internal 2.93
Re: 3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

Is it possible to just swap the actual clutch pedal from a 4th gen to a 3rd gen pedal set? I've been wanting to look for one locally but without result. Id buy a cheap set from ebay if I could go this route.
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Old Jun 11, 2015 | 03:09 PM
  #13  
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Re: 3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

I looked into swapping just the clutch pedal, and the problem then becomes the thru bolt for the pedal assembly is not the correct size....

I prefer the 3rd gen pedals to the 4th gen pedals. I have run both, and just recently swapped back to the 3rd gen pedals and am very pleased with the results.
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Old Jun 11, 2015 | 08:27 PM
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Re: 3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

Ive had both and when installed I cant tell a difference beyond the ABS cast into the pad

I prefer to match pedal types to the master cyl Im running. This skips the peg problems people run into
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Old Jun 22, 2015 | 08:44 PM
  #15  
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Car: 92 Camaro RS
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Re: 3rd gen pedals vs 4th gen?

My thirdgen and my donor (01 SS) are both manuals so I have both sets of pedals to choose from. From what I gather, sounds like it's easiest to use the thirdgen pedals as long as I switch out the peg with the 4thgen pedals? On the other hand, I could probably fabricate the peg and then sell the 4thgen pedals! MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA

BTW, it wasn't any fun pulling the pedals out of the 4thgen. All 3 pedals being one piece I had to pull the steering column. Haven't pulled the thirdgen pedals yet. If/when I do I'll try to snap a few pics of both sets side by side.
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