I'm starting a new thread because the title more accurately reflects the discussion....

After carefully studying all of the advice in the previous threads pertaining to this topic, I decided to attack this job this morning. My plan was to go with Gus' Option Two, which involves leaving the existing brake pedal switch mounting bracket in place and just changing the actual switch housing and electrical plug. In preparation, I dropped the ragtop and removed the drivers seat to give me maximum working room since I'm 6-foot-7 with broad shoulders and huge hands....

Until you stuff yourself underneath that dashboard in an attempt to do this job, you don't really understand the task you face (especially if you are larger than a skinny ten-year-old kid). I took my smallest flashlight with me, wedged myself upside-down into the floorboard opening as far as I could, peeled back the insulation, saw the black electrical plug cord, and followed it with my eyes up to the switch....

The lower 8mm nut on the switch is readily accessible. But as others have said, to get your tools up to the upper bolt, you have to work blind going only by feel. I have a three-eighths inch socket wrench to which I have to attach my one-quarter inch adapter, and then attach my 8mm socket. So with the adapter and socket fitted to the wrench, the head of the tool takes up just under 2.25 inches of space. I tried for at least 20 minutes to get that 8mm socket squarely on the upper nut. Remember, I'm working blind and there's no way to change that when I've got my hand up in there trying to put the socket wrench on the nut. No matter how I twisted, turned, backed off, moved up, or moved down, I could not do it....

So I shimmied out from underneath the dash and crawled out of the car to give my back and shoulders a break and think about my approach. After a couple minutes to give my bloodstream a chance to return to my lower extremities, I decided to crawl back into the floorboard with my 8mm box wrench (open on one end and closed on the other). It is 5.5 inches long. Try as I might, I could not fit this box wrench onto the upper nut, either. Having to work blind has a lot to do with preventing me from fitting the wrench on the upper nut, but my huge hands are not helping and I feel as if shorter tool handles would be much better for this application as well....

So what tools have you guys used to successfully perform the Option Two (change the switch on the existing bracket) job? Right now I'm dead in the water but I do not intend to give up until I can try every tip you can offer....

 

Sometimes you gotta breakdown and buy another tool. So a 1/4 ratchet drive and 8mm socket will have a head length of about 1 7/16 inch or 36 mm.

A well-stocked Sear tool department will also have flex couplings or angle drives for 1/4 ratches. This is in case the axis of the stud (where the nut goes) is not the same as you can thread the nut.

If it is difficult to get the nut started onto the stud, try a short piece of tubing that the nut will fit inside of. The tubing will hold the nut and allow a bit a flexing, if the axis of the stud is not the same as the nut.

To keep a nut in a socket while you position it, you can use a magnetic insert, or a piece of vinyl tape. The black electrical tape works well. Just lay a piece over the socket opening and press the nut in. It should hold it very well, and only enough to hold it. once the nut is tight on the stud, you can pull the socket off the nut without much effort.

Sometimes you can see what you are doing, if you have a mirror. If you can get your hands up under the dash while kneeling on the ground at the door, a mirror laid face up on the floor board can sometimes save a back. You might need a light to shine up under the dash as well.

Other times, removing something from the dash can make an opening that allows you to see into the darker areas. If you can see your target and its location, you can imagine the path that your hands will take to get there. Also, removing a vent, coin box, ash tray, or smaller panel can provide another way of entry to the area of work.

When I have to work under the dash, I give myself a few minutes to relax and get acclimated to the position I am in. When I look up, that is towards the front of the car. When something is far away, that is toward the top of the dash. Right is left, and other things like that.

If you got money to blow, consider the flex camera inspection units at harbor freight. They are not cheap, but they let you put your "eye" where your head would not fit. Mine was $150 with coupon, but it sure beats ripping a head off a block or digging out pipes or ripping out a floor looking for water leaks.

For safety's sake, wear tight fitting rubber gloves (cheapo type) and some sort of eye protection. You just know something is going to fall into your face working under the dash.

 

I just borrowed my neighbor's quarter-inch socket drive, so my 8mm socket snaps onto it just fine. Although that cuts the width of the tool down considerably, I have still been unable to line it up and get it to work. My huge hands are eating up so much space up in that area, I don't think there will be enough room for ANY tool to work....

If I can convince my wife to help me, I may have to go with Gus' Option One (changing the entire switch/bracket assembly). At least when you do it that way, you can easily put the tool on the nuts next to the master cylinder....

 

Update:

DONE!!

But we had to go with Option One, replacing the entire switch and bracket assembly....

The key turned out to be running bamboo skewers with fishing line taped to them through the two bolt holes from the engine compartment down into the floorboard, then pulling the two lines all the way through and tying their ends to the two new switch bracket studs....

The other key turned out to be putting my wife on her back underneath the dash, and me working the fishing lines from the engine compartment, pulling the new switch bracket up into place with the fishing lines. From there, it was all about yelling instructions to my wife on which way to move the bracket - "just a fraction towards the house, now towards the street, okay, now just a hair towards the fence...." using landmarks instead of right, left, up, or down since she is opposite me and upside down as well....

Finally, after about 30 minutes of positioning and instructing, BAM, the studs popped through the holes and I yelled at her to hold the bracket tight up against the firewall while I started the first nut. Didn't worry about cutting the fishing lines until I cranked the first nut down tight. As she continued to hold the bracket in place, I cut the lines, started the second nut, and cranked it down tight. She climbed out of the floorboard a little woozy but none the worse for wear....

Her work colleague friend has a 2004 XK8. She's now saying that when her friend's brake pedal switch goes bad, the two of them can change it (both females in their late 50s)....

A big thanks to Matt, Gus, Graham, and George (on the phone with me this afternoon prior to my deciding to drop Option Two and go with Option One) for all the assistance, tips, and tricks suggested. We could not have done this without all of you....

 

The skewers work great, I changed my switch out in about 15 minutes with the seat in place using that method. Glad it worked for you...

 

I managed to swap out my bracket pretty painless - certainly much less pain that I had expected after reading the posts. I left a flashlight on in the hood to give me 2 points of light to aim for when installing the new bracket. I was able to insert the bracket studs based on the lights and then wedge the switch into its proper place against the brake pedal. This held the assembly in place while I pulled myself out from the foot-well and put the nuts onto the bracket to hold it in place. It only took about 5 minutes, and 4 minutes of that was getting myself into and out of the foot-well. I'm 6' tall, so I didn't get a huge advantage there. I am willing to admit that I may have been lucky on my first try and don't look forward to trying the process again any time soon.

 

You definitely hold the record for fastest/easiest XK8 brake pedal switch replacement. With my broad shoulders and huge hands, there's just no way I could ever be the person working from the floorboard side....

 

We have all seen the "ask a mechcanic now" pop ups, I believe the forum needs an "ask George now" pop up!

Congrats Jon and Jan, and the whole xk team.

 

I can honestly say replacing that switch was no fun. The use of the fishing line was a great idea and certain to be used by others.