Hi All, I think the dreaded pedal box has finally struck my Polo. I have been concerned for a few months that gear selection was occasionally difficult and the clutch pedal creaked and was lower than the brake pedal but after adjusting the clutch cable a bit all seemed ok.Due to family problems the car has not been used much then when i was on the way back from the shops the other day it went again. I have tried to get the lower dash panel off (the one with 3 screws) to have a look at the box but for some reason it just will not move? With some difficulty ( i am not young enough to bend double anymore lol) i have managed to get a camera up by the pedal and if what it shows is the bracket it looks to me like the spot welds have broken ( i also found a small piece of broken metal on the carpet) .It would really be helpful if someone who has dealt with this problem could just confirm that’s what the photos show and a rough idea of what it’s lightly to cost me to have it fixed in the Birmingham area so i can try to avoid getting ripped off. Any help gratefully recived.Thanks for your time. Eric

Hi All,... I have tried to get the lower dash panel off (the one with 3 screws) to have a look at the box but for some reason it just will not move?.Thanks for your time. Eric

Hi

The panel above the pedals. Once all the screws are off, just pull it towards the seat.

Hi vwfan3,Thanks for the reply, thats what i thought was the way to get it off but after undoing the screws and giving it a pull it looked as though it was trying to take the whole dash with it lol. Now you have confirmed it i will go back and give it a much harder yank and see if that moves it.Hopfully then i can see enough to confirm it is the pedal box thats causing the problem.If it is a local garage has quoted £283 parts and labour which seems a lot of money but have no idea if thats the going rate? Any way thanks for your imput its appreciated.

The pedal box was around £65 a year ago, but once you remove it you might fing you can do a weld repair on it :)

Thanks for that nige8021,thats about the price i thought it would be.To be honest 10 years ago it would have been off the car, welded up and back on the car by now instead of which i am stuck trying to find a mobile mechanic to come and do it for me or horrors of horrors have to pay garage prices,oh well old age comes to us all i am afraid.lol

The only difficult bit of the removal is drilling out the shear bolts for the steering column, but I know what you mean about getting old, I bought another car rather than swapping a headgasket !!

Thanks for that nige8021,your statement has just made my day and cheered me up no end lol

Theres alternative fix here on the site, its under the faqs, I tried to link it for you but cant do it on the phone, just search under alternative pedal box, good luck :)

The sheer bolts can be removed without any drilling. Get a big punch or chisel and a lump hammer and knock the sheer bolts around. Once there loosened by a few turns you can get a stud/bolt remover and wind them out the rest of the way. Once that's conquered it's not too bad. The clip on the back of brake pedal can be a bastard too but that can be broken off and replaced without the release tool.