Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi All,
I have just re-awoken the +2 after a winter in a warm garage. Trouble
is, the stick that normally jams the clutch pedal down had come loose
and the clutch is stuck.
What is everyones favourate method of releasing a jammed clutch?
I have tried warming the engine and then starting it in gear with no
luck .
Any suggestions greatly recieved (the car is stuck out on the drive at
the moment.)
Cheers
Tim

I almost hate to post this due to its' absolutely ~brutal~ nature, and hopefully someone else will have a much more elegant solution, but...

This has happened to me on one occasion, and short of pulling engine/gearbox, this was the all-or-nothing answer: Push start the car in first, and after you have it to 3k or so, push in the clutch and slam on the binders... I know, Iknow, iKnOw.... BRUTAL. But it worked.

The sound it makes is equally unnerving...sorta like a shotgun blast. This was learned from an Alfa owner who did it -every- spring!!

I hope there's someone out there with a better method.

Tim When this happened to me I jacked up / well supported on timbers, the back end, - start up in gear and with the clutch pressed down, alternate reving up and applying footbrake. It worked ok, but you need both feet & a brush handle! If it had "come off the timbers" life would have got very interesting very quickly.Tony

I agree with the 'Tony' method, I have jacked up my +2 and done it this way about 4 years ago. I also removed the bottom splash panel from the gearbox/engine to see the bottom of the flywheel and sprayed WD on it as I turned the prop by hand, probably caused a bit of slip but that burnt off quickly.

regards

L

I read a letter in Practical Classic about this and their response was to get the engine ticking over until warm, then switch off the engine, put the car into 2nd or 3rd gear, stick your feet hard on the brake and clutch and then start the engine.
My +2 had been garaged for 8yrs with the clutch solid when I bought it, so I tried the above. I selected 3rd, turned the key it released with a bang and it?s been driving fine since.

Colin

I had this happen to me on my plus 2 once. I started the car in first and drove it around the block and kangarooed the car (dab the accelerator rhythmically and you will get one going soon enough). That freed it off after a short while.

After trying some of the brutal methods above I got scared !!!
now I've got a 6mm hole drilled in the bellhousing. not enough to cause stress in the (heavy steel) bell housing but enough to get a screw driver in ... if/whenever clutch sticks can prize plate apart with screw driver.

Mark, Windsor UK

Hi all,
Well, the clutch is now free, and Berni29 & DrEntropy win the prize..
short trip around the block after 200 yds, "bang", and the clutch has released...
Will now be storing it with the clutch presssed in!
Cheers all,
Tim

Tim,
Glad to hear your clutch is now free but there is a "school of thought" that says its not a good idea to store your car with the clutch depressed. The reason being that you are leaving the hydralic system with pressure on the seals in the master cyl. and slave cyl. also pressure in the clutch hose, this cannot do the seals & hose any good. The clutch pressure plate diaphram would also be under pressure which could lead to premature clutch problems.
If I do no not use my cars for any length of time, every two weeks I press and hold the clutch pedals down for +- ten seconds, this seems to work for me.
Regards Brian. :rolleyes:

Stored my S4 all winter with out the clutch held in. Like the previous post says every couple of weeks I press the clutch a few times. Not as difficult as it sounds as I spend the winter tinkering so it is just a case of remembering to use the clutch every time I pull the cover off the car to do something else.

Hi guys,
Thanks for the advice...
I did used to leave my Spitfire with the clutch depressed over winter..
Seemed to be fine althought the hydraulics where in tip top condition..
Cheers
Tim