Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

system bleeded, at least 3 inches pedal travel (to the floor) under decent/regular pressure - and only 1/2 inch where our slave is! i added another half inch travel by extending the rod by using the long thread with the big nut. i quit because i may be bending something?? in any case: what the hell may i expect!!???? sandy what failed?

Hi Sandy. I assume you have only been doing hydraulic repairs? If the clutch was working before, has it been laid up for a while. I have one car that has an original material driven plate that welds itself to the pressure plate if left for a while. I have tried a couple of solutions for that. Warm the car up and try starting it in gear with your foot on the clutch pedal. Next up, drive it after bump starting it! You need some empty space for this. Thirdly, remove the inspection plate below and between the engine and box. With an assistant whose foot is on the clutch pedal you poke a sharpened screwdriver in the pressure plate , between the bolts and free it! If you have done something more than hydraulic repairs then this may not be relevant. Good luck.
Cheers, Lyn...

lyn - i haven't started investigating BUT i was unaware of the fact that i may get to the flywheel/plate with a screwdriver! thanks ---------------- however i drove home (after bleeding) shifting maybe five times and i had to push the car into the garage, so this immediate sticking is contrary to all of the cases i've read! sandy

I don't know if this applies to this situation as I took a quick read only of your situation.....

If the clutch is stuck to the pressure plate due to the car sitting, I have never seen it fail to come loose if you get to a place with a few feet in front of you...20 at least. make up a piece of 2X4 so you can lift the car from the back with out crushing the tail pipe and lift the car up in the air with a hydraulic jack so that the rear wheels are off the ground just a bit.

Have someone get in the car and start it with car in 1st and clutch engaged. Wheels will be moving because the plate is frozen to the pressure plate. Drop the car on to the wheels. It should break free.

Done this at least 5 times, all successful.

Tony V

Seconded, - never fails.

You can do it with just one wheel off the ground but it makes the diff do a lot of work.

I do it in 3rd or 4th gear as it puts much more load through the sticking plate/flywheel.

Yes, as I recall I do use 4th gear. Puts more load on it and car really just moves a few feet.

Tony

Hi Guy's , never heard of that method! Sounds effective but maybe a bit brutal. Anyway if Sandy has driven it a short distance without problem then the fault must be something else. Cheers.

simpler method:
handbrake on . put it in gear. depress clutch pedal and hold it down . quick flicks of ignition key will engage starter motor in ring gear of flywheel . should be enough torque to break the clutch plate from driven plate .
You will know when it frees as there will be a bang and the flywheel will turn .
if your battery is not so good try removing spark plugs to slightly lessen the load on starter motor

thanks everyone!! my old swiss specialist says that i probably have a bent fork!!! as i elongated the normal distance by holding the rod and turning the big nut another half inch: still no release! sandy

Common problem. You can get an upgraded fork from Burtonpower. Might be worth considering whilst you have it apart.

tvacc wrote:Yes, as I recall I do use 4th gear. Puts more load on it and car really just moves a few feet.

Tony

I have never had the car move at all, not any measurable distance, just a gentle lurch, the first time I was expecting it to rocket away!

In fact there is a strong argument not to use 1st gear, - the torque multiplication, the vehicle will be far more likely to move forward in 1st gear while the clutch unsticks.

...........i can start the engine in gear and while moving i can try pushing the pedal but it just don't disengage!! sandy

That's a pretty hefty peice of metal to bend. I still vote for trying the drop the car method.

I wouldn't without visually checking the free play and throw of the clutch fork, if its not actioning the clutch diaphragm for whatever reason you dont want all that torque being dumped through doughnuts made by gluing recycled plstic bags and dildos to scraps of metal.

ah fogot some of you still have those doughnutty things