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Sudden and complete clutch failure

To: "Spitfire List (E-mail)" <spitfires@autox.team.net>
Subject: Sudden and complete clutch failure
From: "GIBSON,PETE (A-England,ex1)" <pete_gibson@agilent.com>
Date: Fri, 5 May 2000 11:48:50 +0100
My clutch has suddenly given up!  There I was, driving into work as usual,
 stopped at a roundabout, go to put the car in first and discover that my
 clutch is permentanly engaged.  I made it the last few junctions into work
by
 shoving Daffy violently into gear at low revs, then hitting the throttle to
 avoid stalling, and double-de-clutching on all my changes - not very good
for
 the gearbox I know, but that needs to be replaced as soon as I can afford
it
 anyway.

Symptoms - the clutch still 'feels' normal, i.e. the same level of pressure
is
 required to press it.  The clutch does not disengage at all, even slightly.
 When I got to work I checked the reservoir, it still has the same level of
 fluid as when I checked in during my routine checks yesterday.

This is mainly a question for UK listers, as I need an answer by lunctime
 today, so unless any of you Americans are out of bed very early you will
get
 this too late!  Is there any chance that this is something I will be able
to
 sort out myself (at least a temporary bodge), in no more than, say, 1 1/2
 hours (extended lunch break!), without the use of anything more than a
 reasonably comprehensive tool kit and the usual bits and pieces (nuts,
bolts,
 bits of metal) that lie around in a workshop, plus what can be purchased
from
 the motor factor round the corner?  Or should I just bite the bullet and
take
 the afternoon off work and limp Daffy over to my nearby friendly Triumph
 specialist, and beg them to drop everything to give me a couple of hours of
 their time to fix her?

I need advice, and quick!

Richard Gosling and Daffy (not in good shape today!)

P.S. Please e-mail answers directly to me (Gosling_Richard_B@perkins.com),
as I
 subscribe to the digest, and I can't wait that long for an answer!

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