>>A simple way of running the car in gear (and less dangerous)
>>is to jack up the rear of the car and then start the vehicle
>>in fourth gear. Then, with the wheels turning and the clutch
>>pedal depressed, hit the brakes. It worked for me on my
>>TR-3 about 20 years ago. The car sat for about one year
>>and the clutch disc stuck to the flywheel.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions! I'm going to give this method
a try this weekend and will let you know what happens. Wish me luck!
One further fallback that worked for me when the above line of approach
failed (put in clutch, start engine, hope it breaks free...) is if your
bellhousing has any "convenient access ports" [read: holes] that allow
you access to the pressure plate you can slip in a socket on a long bar
and partially unbolt the pressure plate. This allowed enough play for the
disk to break free...I loosened things up maybe 3/16 inch, put trans in
gear, stood on brakes and clutch, and cranked - presto instant working
clutch again. This worked on a Lotus Europa, and sure beat a) pulling the
transmission; or b) breaking something and having to pull the transmission
anyways! Of course, on a Europa, pulling the transmission [OK, OK, trans-
AXLE] is only a 20-minute chore...and it took 20 minutes just to loosen
the bolts, but it was psychologically more satisfying.
-RDH
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