I just got my gas pedal fixed, after more than 2 weeks offline. The parts from
Thrustmaster took 7 days to get here. The installation instructions are a bit
scary if you read them. If you blithely ignore them, though, the task isn't
quite so bad.
The instructions tell you to unsolder wires from the pot to change the spring.
Maybe I misunderstood, but there is no need to if you're not replacing the
pot. You only need to take out the screws holding down the L-bracket on the
nut side of the broken assembly. This gives enough play to wiggle everything
off the bolt holding the gears and lever arm. Just pay close attention to the
order the bushings need to go back in.
There is one potential trouble spot: the long arm on the spring goes on the
pot; the short side on the lever arm. I decided the other way would work
better, and ended up having to take it all apart again to get it right. It
seemed a great idea to put it in backwards; the long arm bumps into the inside
of the housing top when you press down on the gas. This actually stopped the
travel at a reasonable point; it should've worked to prevent future breakage.
Unfortunately, the first time I stepped on the gas with my foot, the spring
jammed hard into the side of the housing and stayed. The spring might as well
have not been there. Take some advice: this doesn't work. (Maybe if you
thicken the back wall about 1/8", this would work. The spring arm is just long
enough to get jammed without actually stopping travel.)
I got to thinking as I crawled under the computer desk to re-run the cables;
this isn't much fun. I have over $600 worth of Thrustmaster stuff sitting
in, on, under, and around my PC. Every one of them needed repair or
adjustment within 6 months of purchase. How can something so solid looking
need this kind of maintenance? (It was the bench time that convinced me to
give up RC helicopters.) My 6 year CH Mach series joysticks, though, are as
good as the day I bought them. I guess the wimpy little stumps don't invite
abuse the way a PFCS does.
Mike.
