Seized clutch. Any long term damage?

Tom W

Tom W

Active Member
I came to use my P6 for the first time in about 6 months yesterday. The car hasn’t been started for about 4 months. Shameful I know, but storing the car away from home, winter, and lockdown restrictions all conspire.

I was alarmed to find the clutch had seized. Fortunately I was able to free it off by starting the car in gear with the clutch pedal depressed. This took a few attempts, so it was obviously reasonably well stuck. The car is stored in dry (but unheated) garage, so I’m surprised it stuck.

Afterwards, it seemed to drive normally, with no judder or awkwardness changing gear. Am I safe to assume there’s no long term damage done?
 
Shouldn't be any problems. I used to lay my 3500S up every winter and most years the clutch stuck, I just freed it off and carried on as normal.
 
Thanks. I’m not sure the method of freeing it off is too kind, but it was needs must this time. I think a breaker bar on the crank pulley nut, whilst an assistant is standing on the brakes would be gentler.
 
I just used to run mine up to temp, crank it on the starter in gear with my foot on the clutch then drive like that until it freed off. Sometimes it took a while. Even though it was a 3500S I even used to do it in reverse, which is pretty brave with one of those boxes.
 
My Elan clutch would stick every winter, sometimes the only way I could free it was to warm the engine in the garage then push the car onto the street, start it in gear and drive it up the road with the clutch down going on and off the gas. This could take up to a mile away from home before it let go. The rubber donuts in the driveline protested somewhat. Recently it has not been so bad, I don't know why.
The surfaces soon scrub up, if it does not judder don't worry about it.
Some years I used to wedge the pedal down with a stick, I stopped that after one year I took the stick away and the pedal stayed down ! bloody master cylinder had stuck.
 
I had to use reverse. The storage is down a long thin drive, with the garage at the end and the car parked nose in.
 
I've had the clutch stick on numerous cars, over the years. I use the same method as Harvey, foot on clutch then start in gear, usually they free once the car has moved just a few yards. I don't see how it should do any damage, I've never had to be rough - the loads are only similar to going off throttle when in gear, etc.
 
After having tried all the usual methods to free off my clutch which I’m sure is not too good for the drivetrain, these last few years when storing over winter I have held the clutch pedal down and placed a piece of 1” x 1” long square box section between the slave arm and the alloy gearbox housing, then released the clutch pedal, not had anymore issues since.
There was once or twice before using the box section method that no matter what I tried I could not get the clutch to release. I ended up getting under the car and using a hacksaw blade and while someone pressed the pedal down I was able to slip the blade in between the driven plate. There is a convenient slot/hole at the bottom of the bell housing that allows limited access. I turned the engine over slowly and inserted hacksaw blade again and repeated at different positions which eventually freed the thing off. I found this method much kinder for the transmission.
 
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Some photos of the slot and the piece of box section held alongside the clutch slave arm. Perhaps someone has added in the slot in the gearbox at one time, but boy was it handy. The angle of the box section is held towards the arm as it is angled, sorry but was difficult to hold and take photo at same time.

 
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I've seen plenty of holes cut into the bottom of 4 pot manual bellhousings (to remove the assorted parts from inertia starter bendix failures) but that's the first one I've seen on a V8. You're probably right about why it's there.
 
Slightly neater than the spare LT77 bell housing I had where someone had attacked it with a lump hammer. Wish I hadn’t skipped it after finding out trying to obtain a replacement was quite expensive.
 
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