Stuck Clutch

[surfguitar58]

Pulled the cover off the car for my first drive in about a week and found my clutch is stuck in the engaged condition. Pedal, cable and linkage are operating normally. The knowledge base shows this has happened to others on a fairly regular basis. The easiest to try solution suggested on the knowledge base is to try starting the car in 4th gear and let the starter break the clutch loose. I tried this a couple of times to no avail, fearing for my starter and ring gear with every attempt. Does anyone have a reliable non-threatening solution to this problem? (Possibly) relevant information: 1973 TCS, 352 4-speed trans 85 deg F ambient temp, humid, ~8 days since last use, Uranus turning retrograde.
Tom

[BDA]

I used to hang around the Lotus distributor in New Orleans and this happened regularly. The cars spent a lot of time in the hot humid New Orleans weather till they sold - which could be more than a year. I think I remembered that the wrench there would start it in first gear - I don't think the engine has enough torque to move the car from a stop in 4th gear. He would drive around the block accelerating and pumping the clutch till it broke free. Usually, it would break free before the first corner or shortly after but I think I remember that one time, it took a couple of trips around the block. There shouldn't be any problem with your ring gear and for an occasional stuck clutch, it shouldn't hurt your starter - at least I never heard of any starter problems related to it. I can't think if any other way to fix it without taking the clutch apart.

BTW - I don't specifically remember why but starting up a "stuck" car is the only thing that makes sense - Occasionally, the wrench would hook two batteries in series (to get 24 volts) and jump the car! I don't recommend it but it didn't seem to hurt anything.

[EuropaTC]

Yep, it's not an unusual problem Tom and just driving the car with your foot on the clutch whilst alternately accelerating then braking is a fairly common solution, but of course you need strong nerves, plenty of space and no other traffic to get in the way !

I've never had the nerve to try that myself and over the years I've honed it down to two options. The easiest is to simply warm the car up to working temperature and let a few heat cycles get into the assembly.   Then, when the engine is going to fire up instantly I do the "start it up in gear with clutch pedal pressed".  It helps if the car is pointing out of the garage, just in case....   

If that fails after a couple of heat cycles then my next option always works but entails a lot more hassle. I get the rear wheels off the ground with the car secure on axle stands, front wheels chocked for good measure. Then start the engine, the rear wheels rotate and it's just a case of braking hard and sharply while keeping the throttle on, very much the same as BDA's mechanic driving around the block only less stressful on my nerves !  That has never failed to move a clutch on either the Elan or Europa, both of which get the same problem occasionally now I don't use them over winter months.

Brian

[jbcollier]

We also did this all the time.  Warm up the car thoroughly.  Point it in a safe direction, get in the car and start it up in first.  Depress the clutch to the floor and hold it down.  Go sharply on and off the throttle until it breaks free.  Works every time.

[surfguitar58]

Thanks for the advice guys. BDA, you have me convinced the problem is temp/humidity related (hence the frequency of the problem in NOLA.) I was about to try JBs approach, but I managed to unstick the clutch rather easily by putting the car in gear with a telescoping broom handle on the clutch pedal and push/pulling the car back and forth until it broke free. I might add the car had been in the sun when the clutch froze and cooler and in the shade when it broke free, supporting EuropaTC’s thermal cycling observation. Hmmm.
Tom

[BDA]

My BDA sat on an engine stand for almost twenty years waiting for me to put my car together. I was afraid I would have to worry about a stuck clutch but I didn't. The engine was stored indoors the whole time and that's why there was no problem.

Jacking up the rear of the car and running the motor to warm up everything is probably a more efficient and "gentle" way of doing it, but I don't want to think about the possibility of it falling off its stands!