Clutch won't disengage

[CG901]

I probably brought this on myself. I wasn't able to drive the Elan for three weeks. It is out of the weather but we have had lots of rain and humidity. Can this be why I can't get the clutch disengaged? Master cylinder is full and no issues with slave either. All rebuild in the past few years. I seem to recall this happening under similar circumstances years ago. The clutch is new four years ago. Can the friction material adhere to the pressure plate? I've got to start driving again! Thanks.

[mbell]

It pretty common for the clutch to stick when the cars are stored. Probably rust causing the friction material to stick to the flywheel.

Many suggested methods to free them on here. From heat cycling the engine a few times, to dropping it off a jack with clutch down and in high gear.

To free mine (after possibly 20+ years of none use) I warmed the engine up, turn it off, put it in high gear with handbrake on, pressed the clutch down and spun the engine with the starter. It took 1 or 2 attempts until the clutch was free and has been fine since.

[terryp]

On my Caterham, I started the car obviously moving then once the car starts .... moving quicker you slam on the brakes!
Just have to make sure you have some space.!

Terry

[CG901]

Many thanks for these suggestions. I'll be testing them out later this week.

[oldchieft]

Same thing I had a few times when came home from sea, I found that starting the car in 1st gear and driving it withe the clutch peddle pressed down worked.

I got a couple of miles and into 4th gear once, (I can do clutchless gear changes without difficulty, it is a useful get home skill to have.)

Jon the Chief

[Mick6186]

I seem to remember many years ago a method that was passed on to me from an old mechanic was to jack the rear wheels off the ground, start the engine in 4th gear so that the wheels are turning on tick over then depress the clutch and hold the pedal down. The rattling around of the drivetrain frees the clutch. Not sure if an elan drivetrain will stand the abuse though!!!!!
Mick

[Elanconvert]

all of the above should work......have done for me....
although I use my s4 all year round, it somtimes waits a month or more for some love...3 weeks is a very short time for a clutch to stick.......
sometimes a little oil gets onto the surfaces which slightly softens the friction material, resulting in sticking together.......so rear crankshaft oil seal may be dodgy.....

fred

[Chancer]

I seem to remember many years ago a method that was passed on to me from an old mechanic was to jack the rear wheels off the ground, start the engine in 4th gear so that the wheels are turning on tick over then depress the clutch and hold the pedal down. The rattling around of the drivetrain frees the clutch. Not sure if an elan drivetrain will stand the abuse though!!!!!
Mick

And if that doesnt work get someone to let it down very swiftly from the trolley jack while you have the clutch pedal down and the engine revving at 2-3K, that will break the most reluctant clutch and I've had a few over the years.

It sounds frightening but the vehicle wont even lurch forward one inch, you must however have it in top gear, if you tried it in first the torque multiplication coul transmit enough power through a stuck clutch to move the vehicle forward, needless to say the jack operator must stand to one side and/or behind the vehicle.

[rgh0]

I used to have a garage that was damp in cold weather and I had the clutch on my Elan and Plus 2 stick a few times.

I used to jack up the rear on axle stands and run the engine at a fast idle in first gear. With the rear wheels turning, i would put on the brakes hard while depressing the clutch. This slowed the rear wheels quickly and the inertia of the engine that wanted to keep turning would break the clutch free in a couple of attempts. Safer and more controllable than some of the other methods , all of which will work but if the clutch does not break free it may leave you some what embarrassed depending on whats in front of you.

cheers
Rohan

[Chancer]

You are absolutely right, I used the drop method when all of the others had failed, its the most brutal but definitely effective, as I said I have never had a vehicle move forward but there could always be a hydrauilic or mechanical problem that means the clutch plate was still compressed.

[martynbrown]

Our Elan was off the road for about 6 months in 1986, for a re-spray. Inevitably the clutch had stuck very effectively during this time. I freed it off by driving off in first gear then braking hard with the clutch pedal down. The inertia of the engine did the rest, as Rohan pointed out. Full engine torque hadn't been enough to overcome the stiction.

Regards

Martyn

[draenog]

Including me, that's 3 on this forum that's had this problem this year. It's been raining almost non-stop, and I've got a dehumidifier going in the garage continuously to try and keep the damp down

Anyway, FWIW, I tried heat-cycling which didn't work after 2 cycles so being a bit impatient I warmed the car up in neutral and started it in 4th gear (with clutch down, hand brake on). The clutch freed itself on the first attempt

As this was in the garage, before I did this I checked that the clutch pedal was moving the clutch fork at the slave cylinder to eliminate any other fault. I also chocked the wheels to be doubly sure, but it didn't move at all...

[Geoffers71]

.................but if the clutch does not break free it may leave you some what embarrassed depending on whats in front of you.

cheers
Rohan

I'm almost too embarrassed to relate this tale, but maybe a bit of a warning

Some years ago when finishing the restoration of a Europa, the clutch would not release when trying to move the car for the first time. The car was still in the garage and I tried everything, but resorted to trying to start the car with the clutch depressed and first gear selected. Imagine my surprise and horror when the bl66dy thing started The car shot forward giving me no time at all to do anything as it leapt out of the garage onto the drive, where my lovely Elan Sprint had been parked out of the way, or so I thought The Europa mounted the bonnet of the Elan before I had time to apply the brake and came to rest with the nose of the Europa 6 inches from the Elan windscreen. I was in total shock and couldn't move for several seconds. I managed after some time to jack up the front of the Europa and build supports using brick blocks so that I could reverse the Elan out from under. I had the presence of mind to take photos of the two "having it away" as we might say over here, although sadly there weren't any offspring. I could post them, but I'm too embarrassed.
As an aside, the main reason the clutch would not disengage was that Paul Matty had supplied a pressure plate that was ever so slightly too large a diameter.
Moral of story; if you're going to use this method don't select first gear and do ensure there is plenty of room in front of you.
As a footnote, the Elan was relatively unscathed in the circumstances. Everything sprang back into shape and there were a few stress cracks to deal with
Apologies for high jacking the thread a touch.

[reb53]

"Apologies for high jacking the thread a touch."

These will definitely not be forthcoming unless we see photos.......

[AussieJohn]

I drilled a 1/2" hole through the bottom of the bellhousing in line with the face of the flywheel. I prop the clutch pedal to the floor with a lump of wood between pedal and seat. through the hole you can access the plate with a thin screwdriver or similar [ You may need to rotate the flywheel to see the plate ] The plate comes away with no effort. This method sounds messy but works every time. PS I had one stuck years ago and after driving around for 15 minutes with foot on clutch in 2nd powering on and off it didn't release, after pulling the engine the plate just needed a light tap to fall away. A friend of mine told me of this method and after a period of doubting it I tried; it works.