Clutch stuck

[Rhubarb]

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Ok, I think that says it.
The clutch is stuck on my camper van, just as it was to go for it's yearly test. It hasn't been anywhere this year. Those that know me will know we haven't had a good year and weekend trips had to be put on hold. So besides the odd jig up and down the drive it hasn't moved since last winter.

So with the cars, when this happens we push it onto the road, shove it in gear and drive down the road and 'release'. The clutch springs free.
Can't really do that in the camper, it's too big and shoving it up and down the drive is about as much as No1 son and me are happy to do.

A friend says to jack up one wheel, jump in, put it in gear with a foot on the brake and drop it off the trolly jack. The jolt should free it.

Well?

[Twitchin Kitten]

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Is your friend looking to get you killed?

[LKTraz]

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Best bet would be to get under and try to work the shift fork with a pry bar.


Is it that it won't disengage?

[Rhubarb]

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It has 'rusted' on I have been informed since it was last use, at the beginning of the year. Oh, it's a geared (stick-shift) not an automatic.
Yes, Joan, Paul has been trying to get rid of Mark since school on cycles/motorbikes/carsand boats!

[Twitchin Kitten]

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I would try and take LKTraz's advice and not Paul's! Paul's way will get that jack either stuck and damage some working part under the vehicle or pop out and kill someone as the truck is coming off the jack!

[LKTraz]

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It has 'rusted' on I have been informed since it was last use, at the beginning of the year.

What?

Clutches don't just "rust" and surely don't degrade in a matter of months.

I have had vehicles sit unused for 5 or more years and never had a problem with the clutch.

Ok......

A clutch assembly consists of:

Flywheel face.
Clutch disc.
Clutch plate.
Throwout bearing.

The flywheel is connected directly to the rear of the engine crankshaft and this transfers the rotational horsepower from the engine.

The clutch disc is a metal disc with friction material (similar to brake pads) attached to both sides and sits in between the flywheel and clutch plate.

The clutch plate is a metal housing with multiple spring "fingers" at its center. These springs force the disc and flywheel together which then "transmits" (hence the term transmission) engine power to the driven axle(s) and allows the vehicle to move.

The throwout bearing slides on a shaft called the spline and is connected to the shift fork. The fork is connected through linkage to the clutch pedal.

When the pedal is depressed the throwout bearing presses against the springs and thereby releases the tension which lets the disc separate from the flywheel and interrupts the transfer of power.

When the clutch is released the springs once again force the disc and flywheel together and power is once again supplied to the driven axle(s).

The entire assembly is sealed inside the bell housing and protected from dirt, grime and moisture.

That being the case......rust is unlikely as a cause of your problem.

[Rhubarb]

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Hey!
You're preaching to the converted here
I know how a clutch works I've replaced a few in my time in our old Saabs and finished the job of sliding the engine back in while hubby cooks a meal.
The plates are metal and they do rust really badly here on the coast. we have a friend who left her car in a carpark on the sea front while she went to India for 6 months. The engine had so much salt in it the car was scrap (the body was about to drop off the chassis anyway).

We are going to try the pushing it down the road theory and pray to the saint of mechanics that something happens.

Wish us luck (to miss the wall at the bottom of the hill mostly)

[LKTraz]

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Is there anyone with a vehicle having enough power to tow it rather than you trying to push it?

This would be a bit safer I think.

[Rhubarb]

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Sorry not to get right back. No1 son has put the camper on hold. We have a friend with a garage, so he is going to come over and see the problem and charge us a cuppa.
Even so it looks as if the camper still will be stationary because we can't go anywhere while Philip is in hospital or more so when he comes home! What a waste.
I'll tell you the outcome.

[Rhubarb]

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monday was a Bank Holiday here so we decided to move all the vehicles around to make space for Philip when he comes home. Our neighbour Dave helped drag the camper out of the drive with his 4x4 and once it was started they pulled it up and down the road to much amusement of Jack across the road leaning on the wall.
Thankgoodness we only have a few neighbours.
Anyway- Plan B its back in the drive and Dave is bringing some Polish lads over who work for his father in the garage (road haulage) to see if they can fix it.