Can someone tell me what this spring is for? Found it on my drivers side floor mat the other day. Nothing seems to be wrong in that area (pedals and steering). As you can see part of it is broken off. It could have just broken or just happen to fall out now. Thanks

 

clutch pedel return spring bro

 

That's your Clutch Pedal return spring - there is another piece that looks like a mirror image to that somewhere floating around in your car. It's common for that to break. It probably isn't *really* needed - I know several people who have broken that spring and never had it replaced for 10's of thousands of miles.

 

Thanks for the help. Should I worry about replacing it? Is it a difficult job?

 

Amen.

 

i hear its a big bitch to replace, thats the reason why people dont bother putting it back. i hear alot of people say its ok without the spring, so i guess its safe to say u dont need it

 

That's just 1/3 of the spring. The other 2/3 is probably still attached to the pedal, just working at 1/2 strength.

 

Bigman1 on RWHP.US fond this pic for me. You can see where it goes at the top of the clutch pedal. Anyone have a part number?

 

It is like $40. Went 20k without it, but since I was in there.....

 

10278874

 

Ordered the spring today for $32 and two bushings for about $1. Here's a small how to write up and a pic of the rest of the spring just before I removed it.
They didn't have the illustrtion mentioned in the article.

hAutomotive IndustryIndustry: Email Alert RSS FeedService Slants
Motor, Nov 2005 by Rosario, TomE-mail Print Link GM

Scraping noise from clutch pedal. GM reports that some 1998-2002 Camaros and Firebirds may give off a weird scraping sound when the clutch pedal is depressed. If nothing unusual turns up underneath the car, chances are a damaged or broken clutch pedal return spring is the cause of the noise. A new, beefier spring (Part No. 10278874) is now available to put an end to the ruckus.

To install the upgraded return spring, begin by unsnapping the left lower portion of the trim plate bezel from the instrument panel. Next, remove the knee bolster, followed by the lower insulator panel. Remove the fuse box retaining screws and push the box aside. Continue by removing the clutch start switch, leaving its connector attached. Now remove the clutch actuator rod clip and rod from the pedal. Disconnect the three-way electrical connector from the side of the steering column.

Related Results
Service Slants
Foreign service

At this point, you should have an unobstructed view of the clutch pedal assembly. Using the illustration at right as a guide, locate the nylon inserts at the two end points where the return spring is attached to the pedal assembly. If they're missing, check the carpeting carefully because the new spring won't fit properly without them. If you can't find them, you must replace the entire clutch pedal assembly; the inserts are not available separately!

If the nylon inserts are just where they should be, install the right leg of the new return spring into the bracket hole on the pedal assembly. Now rotate and swing the flat portion of the spring into the pocket in the pedal, as shown in the illustration. Using a needle-nose pliers, insert the other leg of the return spring into its corresponding hole in the bracket. Reconnect the three-way connector at the steering column, then the clutch actuator rod and clip at the pedal. Reinstall the clutch start switch. To complete the fix, reinstall the fuse box, lower insulator panel, knee bolster and trim plate bezel, then check for proper clutch pedal operation.

 

...Its not as easy as the factory write-up makes it out to be. Just make sure you set aside a good 30-45 minutes for your first time and make sure there are no small children or other people are around who might be offended by foul language. Its a bear to get the last spring leg in.

Having a very long pair of needle nose pliers (12") on hand will help tremendously with this last step!