Stuck Clutch

[khansmith]

Originally Posted by xlr8or

Dragging the car, floor it with the clutch in, etc....Is it that hard to pull the trans? Why put that kind of abuse on the drive train. Just pull the trans and bell housing. By the time you pull the pressure plate off you will know what the problem is.

Thank you for your input.

I not only have to pull the trans but I have to remove the blow proof bellhousing (which does not have an inspection plate which would give me access to the clutch) in order to access the clutch. I am far enough along in my build (cockpit constructed, etc) where I have to remove the trans and bell housing from underneath the car. I have no access to anyone to help me (been building myself) and don't have a way to get the car high enough off the ground to make this a one man job (feasible with two, however). Additionally, since I am doing this by myself, I don't have the option to drag the car either.

I called southern automotive again today (always great customer service!) and spoke to Bill (the owner) directly. He advised me to remove tranny, bell housing to remove the pressure plate. He also said that he has seen this before and that I would see the clutch sticking to the fly wheel. He advised me to be very careful when prying off the clutch (As not hurt the friction material) and to sand both the clutch and the fly wheel after removal with 250 grit. Even suggested a very light coat of WD 40.

Bill also felt that the pull type slave cylinder that I am using is inferior to the push type. I have a push type but I have drilled out the dimple to accomodate the pull type threaded rod and pull ball.

Anyway, I am going to try the pry bar then if that fails, it is time to call my local mechanic so I can get this car up on a rack.

I wanted to thank everyone for weighing in.

[Excaliber]

I feel your pain man! I live by myself and getting help is sometimes a problem. You know one of those 'spouses' are kind of handy to have around once in awhile, all though I hear the up-keep is rather hefty. Might be cheaper to hire a wrench...

[xlr8or]

Not being familiar with the Hurricane, is the trans tunnel removable? On my car with tunnel removed you can pull the trans from the top. Much easier than laying on your back and muscling it out.

[jopper]

I have had to remove the trans. and bellhousing on my car quite a few times.
What I have are a set of 4 jack stands mounted on top of a square pc. of 2x10. I used perforated straping material to hold them down. The 2x10's have 4 casters directly underneath them where the legs of the jack stands are.
This holds the car high enough to work comfortably under it. Then I bought a transmission jack from Harborfreight.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=39178.

This should work for you, and you'll always have the jack stands for future use.

Good Luck
Jerry

[CobraEd]

Just reach in there where the fork would go thru the bellhousing and spray the whole fricken thing down with WD40. Then once it is unstuck, spray the whole thing with brake cleaner to wash all the WD40 off again!!


You can thank me later!!!!!!

.

[khansmith]

Originally Posted by xlr8or

Not being familiar with the Hurricane, is the trans tunnel removable? On my car with tunnel removed you can pull the trans from the top. Much easier than laying on your back and muscling it out.

Unfortunately, no, the tunnel is connected to the fiberglass tub. We do have a nice trans x brace that comes out with four bolts...but only nice with a lift!

[khansmith]

Originally Posted by jopper

What I have are a set of 4 jack stands mounted on top of a square pc. of 2x10. I used perforated straping material to hold them down. The 2x10's have 4 casters directly underneath them where the legs of the jack stands are.This holds the car high enough to work comfortably under it.

Hmmm this sounds very interesting yet I am having trouble picturing it. Do you happen to have a picture of your contraption? I have jack stands already (actually I have about 6) but seems all I am missing is the square 2x10, casters and perforated strapping material.

These are the situations where I wished I had a 4 post lift....l

[khansmith]

Originally Posted by CobraEd

Just reach in there where the fork would go thru the bellhousing and spray the whole fricken thing down with WD40. Then once it is unstuck, spray the whole thing with brake cleaner to wash all the WD40 off again!!


You can thank me later!!!!!!

.

Hmmm....very controversial suggestion. What happens to all that WD40 and brake cleaner that accumulates at the bottom of the bell housing>

[jopper]

Here ya go. I have used these for almost 10 years with no problems



Jerry

[Jac Mac]

Khansmith,

This has always worked for me--do it in a safe area; ie open parking lot.

Have a helper Lift rear wheels clear of ground on hydraulic floor jack from rear of car. ( you will require an ultra low race type jack for a Cobra ).

Now with car in topgear or whatever is 1 to 1 ratio if you have tremec etc start and run the motor up to about 3000 rpm with your foot on the clutch pedal ( it will pay to warm up the engine first in neutral before attempting this ) --- now have your helper drop the floor jack & car onto the ground while the car is running- you MUST keep your foot on the clutch pedal and a bit on the throttle to maintain that 3000rpm during the procedure. You must also be prepared for a bit of a wild ride if the clutch doesnt free at the first attempt, but it has always let go for me on the first try. There is an element of risk in that you could tear the center out of the clutch, but if it dont work your going to be doing that anyway.
I discovered this when I worked in a repair shop that always seemed to have long term projects and virtually 1 out of 3 cars had this problem. Never ever let on to the Boss what I did, he used to tell everyone how quick I could do a clutch job on any make of car!!
Make sure both you and your helper have a clear understanding of what you are doing.

Jac Mac

[khansmith]

Originally Posted by jopper

Here ya go. I have used these for almost 10 years with no problems, Jerry

Very cool Jerry. Now I have a stupid question....how did you get the car on the top of the stands? Do you have a floor jack that lifts over 3 ft?

Khan

[khansmith]

Originally Posted by Jac Mac

Khansmith,

This has always worked for me--do it in a safe area; ie open parking lot.

Have a helper Lift rear wheels clear of ground on hydraulic floor jack from rear of car. ( you will require an ultra low race type jack for a Cobra ).

Now with car in topgear or whatever is 1 to 1 ratio if you have tremec etc start and run the motor up to about 3000 rpm with your foot on the clutch pedal ( it will pay to warm up the engine first in neutral before attempting this ) --- now have your helper drop the floor jack & car onto the ground while the car is running- you MUST keep your foot on the clutch pedal and a bit on the throttle to maintain that 3000rpm during the procedure. You must also be prepared for a bit of a wild ride if the clutch doesnt free at the first attempt, but it has always let go for me on the first try. There is an element of risk in that you could tear the center out of the clutch, but if it dont work your going to be doing that anyway.
I discovered this when I worked in a repair shop that always seemed to have long term projects and virtually 1 out of 3 cars had this problem. Never ever let on to the Boss what I did, he used to tell everyone how quick I could do a clutch job on any make of car!!
Make sure both you and your helper have a clear understanding of what you are doing.

Jac Mac

I would love to do this but I am missing one critical part: The assistant! I am doing this solo unfortunately. That is a cool idea however! Maybe I can bribe someone to help me do something this crazy........"Hey kid? Want to make $10?"

Khan

[jopper]

I have a regular floor jack. I use a 2x4 on it and position it under a crossmember.

[jopper]

My floor jack with a 2x4 on the saddle lifts to 24". You don't want to go much higher because of the max. lift of the trans. jack I recommended.

[MFE III]

psst . . . . the referenced tranny jack is now on sale at Harbor Freight for $59.00!
And Jac Mac, I like your approach. I'll keep that in mind when I first fire up. As I told Khan, I'm fearing that I'll have the same issue as my flywheel and clutch have been assembled and motionless for 9 months.

[Excaliber]

Whilst scanning for some Austin Healey info, came across this link about a 'stuck clutch'. Offers the same advice all ready given here but thought it interesting to find it on a Healey site.

http://www.healeysurgeons.com/admin/...1012053349.doc

If the above methods fail they suggest getting out the credit card and buying parts as required (from them of course).

[DAVID GAGNARD]

I've had this happen to me with my old hunting 4x4, it stayed parked about 8 months out of the year, happened every year.....I'd put in 1st gear, depress the clutch pedal,start it, and hit the gas three or four times, it also helped that I had a 2 acre pasture to do this........

On a 67 Fastback I bought a few years ago, had the same problem, tried the same solution, no luck..... I tried about everything mentioned here and nothing worked, had to pull the trans./bellhousing.... the car had been sitting in a pasture for 10 years, so things were nice and rusty... Took a long screw driver and hammer and had to beat the hell out of it to get the clutch off the flywheel..... once that was done, I lightly sanded the flywheel and clutch disc and re-assembled everything...worked fine after that....

I would try the WD-40 trick first, spray as much as you can get in the bellhousing area and try the remedies again, if it works the WD-40 will burn off quickly, just take it for a short ride and don't get on it so the clutch won't slip, heat and friction will get rid of the WD-40....

When you do get this problem fixed, I'd suggest starting the car at least every 2 or 3 weeks and go up and down your driveway a few times, shifting at least once each time to prevent the clutch from sticking anymore.....that's what I finally did with my old 4x4 and never had anymore problems.......

Good luck and keep us posted.....

David

[Jac Mac]

I would be cautious of trying this method in anything other than the top gear/ or the 1to1 ratio of a Tremec or any 5/6 speed trans. In the indirect ratios damage could easily occur to the gear train.
The reason the drop off the Jack method is successful is the sudden change in speed of the clutch plate/driveline versus the flywheel clutch cover crank assy and their combined rotating inertia. ----Jac Mac

[khansmith]

I'll hit it with the WD-40 tonight and let it soak a couple of days before I try my remedies again. BTW: I have to start the car at least once a week.....I would go through withdrawls if I didn't hear that beautiful 428 FE. Damn...Southern Automotive built me a great sounding engine...too bad New Jersey is going to make me baffle the side pipes....but that is another topic.