2 years sat on the drive. Engine Great. Clutch stuck.

If the clutch plate was stuck on the flywheel the effect would be as a permanently engaged clutch. Unless you've got the vehicle up on stands and/or the gearbox/transfer box in neutral and/or propshafts removed which I'm sure you would have mentioned, you'd be moving. I don't think that you've got that - can you confirm?

If the pedal came back up it suggests that all the linkage from the release mechanism back to and including the slave is functional.

Sounds that you've got a clutch hydraulic problem. Is the pedal returning fully to the top? - it should not be possible to raise it manually any further than the rest position. Is the pedal return spring present and functional?

What could be happening is that the pedal is not coming fully back and thereby not returning the fluid to the reservoir (the piston in the master cylinder has not uncovered the return hole to the reservoir). The failure of the pedal to return could be the lack of the spring or stickyness in the master cylinder.

Thanks for the reply. The Series was ticking over out of gear. I've not tried starting it in gear or slamming it into gear while running, so no, it's not moving. The clutch normally sits engaged unless the pedal is pressed, how do you work out from this that it's not stuck?

Yeah, this bit is strange. I'm wondering if the hydraulic system had lost internal pressure and the master was not sealng and pumping oil on the down stroke. On the up stroke it re-pressurised and became solid.

Yep, that's all working. The pedal returns to it's normal position, with the spring. It's in it's top position but stuck solid.

Not sure how to diagnose that. I still think it seems to point to a slave cylinder or clutch mechanism problem, but I'll try to test that.

Cheers for the ideas, David

It's difficult to diagnose what is actually wrong from what you say but if, as Dougal says, the master cylinder is not completely returning (as rusted on it's pivot) you could get a build up of pressure, but as the pedal is solid I would think it's more likely that the slave cylinder piston is sticking so that the pressure plate cannot push back the slave and if so, then the master may be returning and taking another full stroke and the clutch arm and slave rod is hitting the bellhousing and then the pedal will go solid on the next stroke as the excess fluid will then have nowhere to go. If the flexible pipe is disintegrating internally or the metal pipe is damaged, you may get the same effect if it is restricted enough to hamper the flow. This will only be true if the master cylinder is moving freely. When you removed the slave cylinder, was it easy to push the piston back. If there is anything wrong with the release bearing carrier, like if the bearing is seized with being unused for a while, then the plastic carrier could have instantly melted to let the arm move back to hit the bellhousing with the same result.

Martin

Chock the wheels, put the transfer box in neutral, engage 2nd on main box, thump it into low ratio (don't rev the engine)... it'll make a horrible noise and jump forwards about 3 feet but it'll free off the clutch. Just be very ready to kill the ignition...

That's a point, it was very difficult to return, we had to hammer it back in with a drift. I suppose the whole system should move fairly easily.

This morning we tried running the engine, putting the transfer box in low and knocking it into second gear (as suggested by PeteM). Nothing happened, there was no drive. Meaning that either the clutch was permanently disengaged, or one of the gear boxes was stuck in neutral. Perhaps the slave is stuck and holding the clutch open as you suggest.

Tomorrow we will try taking the slave back off and testing to see if the clutch is engaged correctly without it in place (probably by starting it in gear etc).

Thanks for all the ideas, David

If , as you say, you had to hammer the slave piston back in, that is definitely your problem, and after your initial pump it will be holding the clutch disengaged. Remove the slave cylinder but leave it connected to the pipe, then pump the piston right out. Once removed clean out the cylinder with either a small wire brush, wire wool or fine emery with a thin oil then check that the piston is free in the cylinder with the rubber removed. Then refit the rubber and reassemble with rubber grease or clutch fluid making sure you've got the rubber the right way round. It's a good job the clutch was disengaged when you knocked it in gear, that's a good way to knacker the box.

Martin

Ooooh eck. I've got a copy of LRW or one of those that spends about a page saying how it's the easiest way to free 'em off... and I've done it myself loads of times since. I must be lucky..

.. having said that, mine's auto.

There you go, reading crap magazines, or are they looking for work? But you didn't advise the OP to hold the clutch down whilst trying to smash the gearbox........ but then again, how did you come to the conclusion that the clutch linings were stuck off the OP's description?, not a lot of thought went into that, as with the LRW's pages. If you have done that 'loads of times' then you must have a lot of vehicles left standing for quite a while, and it must keep gearbox repairers in employ. Some folks are beyond help. :-)

Pah. Last time I did it was with a Rangie Classic that someone had ruined by fitting a Perkins lump to. Same symptoms, but it worked fine on that.. (although I did have the clutch pressed down)..

Might not have been LRW, but it was one of the 'beard and bobble hat" Landy magazines - they're all the same to me.

As for keeping gearbox repairers in employ, no. I blew the one in my Range Rover up by putting far too much torque through it, and then replaced the box myself.

Replacement autobox cost me a fiver :-) I love ebay ;-)

Oi, Perkins were a good engine in their day but I must agree, it will spoil a Rangie. Can't beat those V8s but with the mileage I used to do, they cost a fortune to run. Now I'm using one with a Tdi, sounds a bit like a tractor on tickover but quiet enough when rolling, performance is reasonable, and more to the point, it's economical, 29/33mpg depending on use.

Love that description lol

I remember that not long since, I was going to offer you one at the time as I had a couple lying about; still have one. You did ok with that :-)

Many thanks for the advice. You were spot on Martin, the slave cylinder was rusty inside. The piston had moved forward, jammed in the corroded cylinder and held the clutch open. After removing the slave it the clutch was properly engaged again. It's clean again now, so fingers crossed for it al working when I refill the hydraulics and bolt it back on.

Glad to help mate.