Help! Clutch won't disengage

[pyounts]

1973 Series III - I'm not a mechanic and am not sure what to do. The clutch is stuck and I can't put it in gear when the engine is running. If I put it in gear, push in the clutch and try to start it - it moves with the starter. The clutch just ain't working. I tried rocking it while in gear but had no luck. I'm not sure if I should try getting more aggressive with the rocking or what? Any suggestions?

[SafeAirOne]

Read:

http://siteground237.com/~gunsandr/showthread.php?598-Stuck-Clutch

and

http://forums.roversnorth.com/showthread.php?9902-Clutch-plate-stuck

[Boston]

Been stored for a long time?

[pyounts]

Yeah, maybe a year since I drove it.

[pyounts]

Well, I guess the best advice is to put it in 4th gear, start her up and drive around with the clutch held down. Hopefully the clutch plate will break free at some point. It's worth a try!

[SafeAirOne]

Well, I guess the best advice is to put it in 4th gear, start her up and drive around...


Be careful of the "jack it up, get the wheels spinning and jam on the brakes" method--It mght work, but I can attest from personal experience that doing something like this could possibly break teeth off the ring gear in the diff (though I did it unintentionally with a wheel lifted while off-road driving).

[akrvr]

Yes. Get more aggressive! I had the same thing happen after prolonged sitting. I pulled the trans and replaced. It happened again the next year. This time I put it in low range, 1st gear and started it. With the clutch fully depressed I repeatedly guned and eased off accelerator. The vehicle will lurch forward and then slow down repeatedly and hopefully at one point, the engine will rev but vehicle will not lurch. You're free! Put it in 4wd to distribute strain on axles before you do this and make sure you have lots of straight raod and no traffic.

[artpeck]

Sorry to ask the obvious but do you know if the master and slave cylinders are working versus the plates are stuck? It is possible you have a failed hydraulic system. Check the fluid level etc. seals fail all the time and sitting they can become cracked and hard.

[4flattires]

^^ +1

Climb under that dang thing and see if the linkage is on the slave cylinder is moving when the clutch pedal is pressed.

Oh, and post back in 5 minutes so my beer will remain cold.

;)

[pyounts]

I haven't had time to try these ideas yet but hope to soon. Keep them coming if you've had this problem.

[rsmithfn]

Very same thing happended to me. I assume the clutch master and slave are ok. First of all the get the rover heading toward wide open spaces/ Place it in 3rd or 4th gear and start turning the engine over. As it starts moving forward pat the gas pedal up and down vigorously and every couple of seconds push the clutch pedal to see if it is working. Tool me 30 seconds to get it free. I'm told that this is not uncommon if you let the Rover set for extended periods of time. Oh, I can't take credit for this. Steve at Rovers North told me how to free the clutch