[grannyjone]

I have recently changed from a Ford Focus with the suspended type accelerator pedal to a VW Golf with a hinged to the floor type pedal. After a few weeks I started getting (right) heel pain when driving. No matter what foot position I try, it often hurts if the heel is touching the floor. Anyone got any suggestions?

I tried going to Clarks and buying shoes with good heel support, yet the driving is still hurting my heel. Get no heel pain at all when walking or anything else it's just the driving.

I had no heel issues with the previous car.

[Snowball]

No easy answer to that. I have been exclusively driving VW cars with this type of accelerator pedal for over 14 years (a Golf and two Tourans), and have never had a problem. I have suffered walking difficulties on occasion due to foot pain (old age!), but even this hasn't given problems when driving. My feeling is that you have a paediatric problem that is causing the pain, and changing to a car with this different accelerator assembly is coincidental.

[smudger]

When I used to own my Bedford T.K. lorry, all the pedals came straight up out if the floor, the clutch was so hard, I had to virtually I had to stand on it, and the brakes, they needed both feet!.........................There were no rubber grommets around them and the cold wind would go right up your legs!........................The heater was right beside my left leg, so after a long drive, my left leg was burnt with the heat, and my right leg had "frost bite"..................If I jumped down from the cab straight after stopping, I couldn't even stand and would fall over!...

[Motman]

Bedford TK. Now you're talking! I did my apprenticeship at a Vauxhall/Bedford dealer. I knew them inside out. Engines/gearbox/axle overhauls - mostly repaired, rarely replaced. Cylinder head overhauls including valve guides, radiators, water pumps, rotary fuel injector pumps replaced, spill timing, Gearboxes taken out on my knees to change clutch, calliper transmission brake pads, King pins that you repaired and reamed out the bushes by hand, shackle pins, adjusting the tappets (screw and locknut type) that you had to adjust with the engine running, cold start fuel drip-feed and pre warmer, fibre steering couplings, steering boxes, steering column top bushes - you name it, I did every single job on them and loved 'em. Loved em! I was a proper 'expert'.

Smudger, I know exactly what you mean about the pedal draft rubbers. What was yours - a 220 or a 330? We had a flat back TK recovery truck with a 220 four pot engine and it was truly gutless and that was before you loaded a broken down CF ice cream van on the back!

[Santa]

I once had a tour round the factory where they made them. Back in those pre-computerised days, It was amazing to see how all the various parts - chassis, axles, engine, cab, all came together in the correct sequence.

Many people think that these production lines run with just a single model for so many, then change to another. It's not like that at all - a buyer could specify all variations of the above and they would come down the line; each one different to the next. Even the military ones were mixed with the others.

I too drove them back in the day. They were the first trucks to have the tilting cab, and the luton van (that's one with part of the body over the cab) I drove had a special lifting floor in the bodywork to enable the cab to be tilted. No good at all if you broke down when loaded.

[Motman]

I dont remember the TK ever having a tilting cab. The later TL's had them with the Detroit V8 Diesel engine. The Ford D series had tilting cabs long before the Bedfird TL's did.

[Santa]

You are right that the D series Ford (I drove those as well) had a tilt cab earlier. But the TK did as well "The TK was the first Bedford to feature a tilt-cab, making routine work on the running gear much easier to perform. But a Bedford was far from being a machine that majored on technology. http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/fact...-tk-tl-series/

I also remember the weird parking brake that acted on the drive shaft. If you put it on before being completely stopped, it would rock back and forth quite alarmingly. They had tiny mirrors too, so the D series, with huge flat mirrors on either side was a huge improvement.

[Motman]

Reading that link, I think the TK only gained the tilt cab when it evolved into the TL but that was after I had left the Bedford dealership in 1979. I can remember accessing the engine by lifting up the side flaps on the corner of the cab. I did loads and loads of engine work and it ALWAYS involved removing the cab - disconnect electrics, unbolt steering coupling, remove gear lever gaiter, remove clutch and brake pedals, disconnect accelerator pedal, undo the four bolts that held the cab onto the chassis, remove windscreen and lift cab off using our fork lift. As apprentices, the first thing we did when a truck came in was check out the rear parcel shelf for the drivers collection of, ahem, specialist magazines!!! Lol.

[Santa]

You are probably right... It was 50 years ago :) The best truck I drove back then was the Thames Trader - when the M1 opened, with no speed limit, I could zoom up there at a steady 80 mph.

[Snowball]

In my younger days I was friendly with a guy whose family owned a private coach company. When I had finished my apprenticeship, he said that if I obtained my PSV licence (go to the then corporation bus company - I could always pack in and go back into my trade afterwards), I could earn some extra cash driving to the coast at weekends, and take my family along if there were vacant seats.
So I went along and enquired and, after a short interview, was taken out on the road to test my skills on a Leyland double decker. Nothing special about the bus for training purposes - two inspectors just stood in the passenger area, at the open sliding window that was behind me. I only had my car licence and the experience was quite scary. No power steering in those days (1956) - just a brute of a large diameter steering wheel which needed handling with hard work.
But I passed this test for acceptance as a trainee bus driver. However, the pay was so abortively low that I took it no further. Occasionally, I see this model bus at special occasions and it brings back the memory of my one and only experience of handling a double decker bus that was far removed from the modern service buses. The bus drivers must have worked physically hard for their wages in those days.

[Santa]

Power steering - that was for wimps. We did have vacuum assisted brakes, but that was it. Some trucks I drove (but not for long) didn't even have heaters.

[smudger]

If I remember correctly, my TK was a Luton model, and I think it had 5 cylinders, it was a bugger to drive on a windy day, you were always adjusting the steering, as it used to "wander" all over the place?.......,,,..........I sold it to a couple who had horses, they converted it to a horse box.

[Motman]

Smudger, I think your mind must be playing tricks. Never heard of a 5 cylinder Bedford.

[Snowball]

I once drove a flat-top diesel (can't remember the make) but when I came to switch off I couldn't find the decompressor, so I had to stall it each time. When I told the owner he started laughing, then showed me - decompressing was achieved simply by LIFTING the accelerator pedal.

[smudger]

Quote.........."Smudged, I think your mind must be playing tricks. Never heard of a 5 cylinder Bedford."Ah! I must have mixed it up with the other lorry I used to own?..............When I moved down here I hired a modern 7.5ton truck, and it was just as easy to drive as a car!..................A big difference to that old Bedford I had all those years ago.

[ficklejade]

Going back to the OP's problem, I had a problem with "upstalks" as I call them rather than the hang down variety of pedal, when I was driving a variety of cars on test. I was only in 20s/30s at the time, but had had a totally unrelated back strain injury. I found that adjusting my seating position helped a lot. Try experimenting (without exacerbating any other problems you may have) but if that doesn't work, go to the Doc's. Good luck.

[Adeeb]

Heel pain while driving, especially with hinged floor accelerator pedals, can happen due to constant pressure on the heel and limited foot movement. Sitting in the same position for long periods can also strain the foot and ankle muscles.
One helpful step is adjusting the seat position so your leg stays more relaxed and the foot doesn’t press too hard on the pedal. Taking short breaks during long drives to stretch your feet and ankles can also reduce stiffness and discomfort. Wearing supportive and cushioned footwear while driving may help reduce pressure on the heel.
If the pain continues, gentle foot stretches and strengthening exercises can improve flexibility and support overall joint health.