Clutch issue

[motogman]

Driving my 81 SC this morning after a few miles the clutch pedal went down and did not return. Pedal is about an inch off the bottom, clutch does not disengage and no return.

I lumped it home and have not had time yet to start the inspection... But I am interested in any commend & thoughts on what it could be and what to look for.

Thanks

[Peter Zimmermann]

Most likely one of three things...

1. The roll pin that attaches the clutch pedal arm to the pedal assembly cross shaft sheared off.
2. The throwout bearing release fork broke
3. The clutch cable broke

There are other remote possibilities, such as the throw out bearing pulled loose from the pressure plate, or the forward anchor/connection point for the clutch cable, at the pedal assembly, failed, etc.

Did any unusual noises accompany the failure?

[landrover88]

all of the above

[motogman]

Thanks Peter...

I did not really hear any noise - no pops, no warning, no unusual symptoms. I had made several stops and was coming up to another 4 way and the pedal just went down with no activation.

You can move it pretty easily by hand and it doesn't feel like it is trying to move the cable... so my first guess is door number one - the roll pin.

I won't get a chance to look farther until tomorrow...

[motogman]

Arg...

I finally got a few minutes to get it up in the air and get under the car with someone to operate the clutch. The cable appears properly attached and the pedal rotates the shaft properly. The cable is not broken.

When operated the lever arm and omega spring seem to operate properly and the shaft appears to pivot properly.

This would seem to suggest Peter's item # 2 - throw out bearing release fork or some other issue inside the clutch/release area.

Does anyone see anything I am missing or have other ideas?

I think this might mean an engine drop which is not something I wanted to do this year.... Arg.

[dentist90]

I've had two of your scenarios happen to me, the TO bearing slipping off the pressure plate and the clutch fork breaking. They felt different to me before it happened.
When my TO bearing let go it was sudden, like you describe. The only warning I had was a bit of clutch shudder on takeoff in 1st. This was because it was beginning to let go on one side first so the pull wasn't even.
When my clutch fork cracked I found it would take more and more pedal to get the clutch to release. I thought maybe my cable was stretching so I adjusted the cable. It was better for about two days and then happened again. Not a sudden failure.
My money is on the TO bearing breaking or slipping out. Sounds like you have no choice but to separate the engine and tranny. Opportunity to replace clutch parts I guess. Rebuild the tranny maybe? I mean... while you're in there

[motogman]

Thanks dentist90... this description of the two failures makes sense and mine was certainly sudden. Seems like an odd problem to have the throw out bearing slip out of the clutch fingers but I will find out when I get the engine out. It will be a few weeks before I can get to it unfortunately.

The "while your in there" syndrome has me worried.

[JCFL]

Hello, same issue has just happened to me, with 82 SC. Was there a resolve to the problem ? This week, I was driving in my neighbourhood, and the clutch pedal stayed to the floor when I pressed to pull out of 2nd gear. I have verified and the cable is not broken, nor is the helper spring (new from last year). It was a sudden happening.

I should add that previous to this happening, when the car would be idling, there would a whining noise coming from engine area. This whining noise would also happened when driving, I adjusted the fan belt a few times with no changes. However, when the pedal went to the floor and did not return, the whining stopped at the same time. Could the two be related ? Pedal cluster bushings seem fine. Thanks for your help.

[JCFL]

I should add that the clutch was changed about 35,000 miles ago.

[Quicksilver]

Originally Posted by motogman

. . .
Seems like an odd problem to have the throw out bearing slip out of the clutch fingers but I will find out when I get the engine out.
. . .

I always tell people "It works right up to the point where it breaks."