Elan Plus 2 Clutch Failure?

[fumesy]

Not a good Christmas break for me!
On Boxing day morning I decided to take my Plus2 to a local classic car meeting.
It was a bit of a cold morning with ice on the roads! I started the old girl up and reversed out of my driveway.
As I pulled off , I lost all drive!
So I pushed her back up the road and wheeled her back into the garage!
I have briefly tried to investigate the problem! The Hydraulic system appears to be working and operates the release arm ok. I have run the engine for a short period but smoke appears from the release arm area , which I'm assuming is the clutch slipping!
Has any one expericed this failure before?
I'm assuming the worst and the clutch has failed. It has only done a few thousand miles and has not been an issue until the fault appeared!

Can anyone point me in the direction of an engineer that could fix it? I'm based on the central south coast (UK)

The car is fitted with a spyder chassis. Somebody advised me the the clutch can be replaced without removing the engine! Is this possible?


Look foward to all your replys!

Cheers,

Fumes

[nebogipfel]

Bit of an odd one! If the clutch is not very old I'm trying to think of something which would cause such a sudden failure.

I do wonder if something else has caused the problem? Something like the rear core plug leaking water onto everything which might then rust or freeze (it was a frosty day) the clutch in the released position?

It just seems very odd in such a low stress situation.

Spyder chassis have a removable crossmember so I presume it is possible. I have not actually done it. Any competent mechanic you trust ought to be OK with the Lotus clutch. It's only an old fashioned Ford after all!

John

[gjz30075]

Does the pedal have the normal spring action resistance? If so, maybe a spring finger or two in the pressure plate broke. If the hydraulics is moving the fork arm, then its time to tear into it.

[types26/36]

If the clutch is slipping to such an extent I would have thought it would have a strong smell of friction material unless it is really soaked in oil or anti-freeze as John suggested, I wouldn't condem the clutch just yet, is it an excessive amount of smoke out of the bellhousing? is there some "free play" on the clutch push rod?
if not loose the adjustment.
Was there a click or clunk? indicating a diff output shaft breaking?
Brian

[fumesy]

Thanks for the replys.

The last time I drove the car was about a week ago. All was fine.
The car has been garaged since , so although it was a frosty morning I don't think the conditions are to blame.
There was no noise when I pulled off (bang/rattle etc) . The nearest I could describe it would be like the car jumped ot of gear. As I free wheeled to a halt there was a small amount of smoke coming from under the bonnet. As I discribed before, when I returned the car to the garage and started it a small amount of smoke appeared to be coming from the area of the release arm.
It didn't smell as akrid as other clutches I have smelt and initially thought it was burning fluid.
I have looked at the slave cylinder today. It doesn't look in the best of condition, but does move the release arm. Is there a chance that this may not be returning fully?

I still think the issue is with the clutch!

Thanks for the advice and comments

Fumes

[storrar54]

I dont know if you have sorted out your problem yet, I had a similar difficulty with my plus2. I lost all drive after pushing the clutch pedal down with a "click". After the car was towed home it all worked again to reoccur when backing the car out of the drive again.
It turned out to be the release bearing tube being worn and binding on the layshaft and jamming the clutch off, it then unjammed by moving the car in gear. If I had realised this I could have tried rocking the car in gear to get it to snap back. Instead I fitted a new tube from Voigts, problem solved. The same thing used to commonly happen to Autin 7s apparently.
Storrar54