help! clutch won‘t disengage…

TomInCologne

TomInCologne

Senior Member
help! clutch won‘t disengage…

okay, managed about 30mls before…

the clutch pedal fell to the floor, clutch won‘t disengage but i can see the ‚clutch bearing‘ move in and out when i move the pedal…

i noticed before that the clutch did not want to disengage, i heard some grinding whilst changing gears.

the adac/rac/aa is on its way but it will be some time before they arrive…

what has likely happened?
is there anything i can do right now?




Edit:
1 week later, Solution: The clutch arm was broken! The bearing hub was moving in and out but still, the link between pedal and clutch was broken. If this happens to you, really thoroughly check the clutch arm. See the photos of the broken arm later on in this thread.
 
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Re: help! clutch won‘t disengage…

i can see the release bearing hub moving in and out when i move the pedal. very light movement on the pedal.
 
Re: help! clutch won‘t disengage…

I don't think there is anything you can do on the road.

There are two likely issues: The lever on the arm that sticks out of the clutch housing may have broken. This is a weak area in the Model A due to a change in the pin. You can see the crack spread when you step on the clutch. Otherwise there is something wrong with the mechanism that pushes on the throwout bearing (clutch bearing). Either a pin has broken or something else. It could be the bearing itself.

The last possibility is that there is something wrong with the pressure plate itself.

There is something broken that has caused a shift. This will cause the throwout bearing to move but not press on the pressure plate fingers. Is it possible that the adjustment nut has stripped?
 
Re: help! clutch won‘t disengage…

i don‘t think one can see anything useful here but…
 

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Re: help! clutch won‘t disengage…

can one ‚overpress‘ the clutch pedal or adjust it so badly, that the pressure plate goes too far in and won‘t come out again?
 
Re: help! clutch won‘t disengage…

TomInCologne said:
okay, managed about 30mls before…

the clutch pedal fell to the floor, clutch won‘t disengage but i can see the ‚clutch bearing‘ move in and out when i move the pedal…

i noticed before that the clutch did not want to disengage, i heard some grinding whilst changing gears.

the adac/rac/aa is on its way but it will be some time before they arrive…

what has likely happened?
is there anything i can do right now?
Click to expand...
Is your shaft collar and pin still intact?
 
Re: help! clutch won‘t disengage…

TomInCologne said:
if that was the case, would things within the clutch, like the release bearing hub, be moving?
Click to expand...
As per post #4 Broken pin or worn threads! you stated the pedal went to the floor? A pin or something has broken loose.
 
Re: help! clutch won‘t disengage…

I hope I'm understanding this correctly, but it sounds like the clutch plate is always engaged, even when the throw-out bearing is pressing on the pressure plate. This happened to my Ford tractor before, and when I reached out to the tractor forum, it was a somewhat common issue. I'm not sure if it has to do with heat, or something else, but the clutch plate gets bonded between the flywheel and pressure plate. I tried prying and tapping, nothing would break the bond. Someone said to spray brake cleaner fluid on the clutch plate where it's sandwiched between the flywheel and pressure plate and it finally separated. I never could understand how this happens, but I guess it's such a perfect seal void of air and it becomes monolithic.
 
Re: help! clutch won‘t disengage…

Something has broken that has caused a shift in the adjustment. Things can still move, but , as J Franklin said, not enough to disengage the clutch. Look at the "clutch activating arm" shown in the drawing in post # 9. This arm commonly breaks.
 
Re: help! clutch won‘t disengage…

Common problem for the clutch arm to break. I had to drive home in second gear. Stop signs were not fun, luckily my car is 12v and I can start the engine while in second gear.

I replaced mine with one of the longer ones, makes it easier to disengage the clutch.

47081886014_266cdc6b8b_z.jpg
 
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Re: help! clutch won‘t disengage…

If all the externallevers and pins are okay I would tend to agree with Tom Endy and assume a spring has come free and is wedged in the pressure plate. It appears you should be able to use a borescope to verify this. I would remove the spark plugs, disconnect the batttery, and manually index the engine a little at a time. If a spring has moved then you know you will have to bite the bullet and replace at minimum the pressure plate assembly. The Nova style looks like the way to go.
 
Re: help! clutch won‘t disengage…

Could the trunnion nut be so worn that it's affecting the pedal? LRF
 
Re: help! clutch won‘t disengage…

well, i made it home but the car is in a garage in Leverkusen. I cannot do that repair in my little garage so i have to find a professional to do the job.


Do any of the german members here know a good place in the Leverkusen / Cologne area?


I am pretty sure the problem is not in the link between the pedal and the hub but somewhere after that. The idea that the pressure plate is sticking to the flywheel or is pressed against the flywheel due to a spring in a wrong position makes a lot of sense.
 
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