Stuck clutch.

[Oxnard Montalvo]

My '38 Special sat for a year and now the clutch will not disengage. The pedal goes down with lighter than normal pressure. Help.

"WHY... WHY... WHY ME?" - Nancy Kerrigan.

[Pete Phillips]

This happened to me on a 1950 Chevrolet Bel-Air that had been sitting in a garage for a year or more without being driven. The clutch would not disengage. I jacked up the rear end, so the rear wheels were off the ground, started the engine, and blocked the front wheels so the car would not move. With the engine idling, the rear wheels will turn slowly. Make sure you have it idled down (no fast idle from the choke). With someone else sitting in the car and ready to work the brakes, I released the floor jack quickly. The rear wheels hit the ground, and the clutch released immediately. I believe it was just rusted to the flywheel a little, and the sudden shock of the wheels hitting the ground caused the clutch to release. This can be a little bit dangerous, so it is important for a second person to be in the car to control it, in case the clutch does not release, though most likely the engine would stall immediately if the clutch did not release when the wheels came down. In my case, the car had been backed into the garage, so it was facing the driveway and had room to roll if the clutch did not disengage.

Anyway, it worked for me, and the clutch worked fine after that.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338