Clutch or Gearbox?

[intrepid]

I have a 97 Rover Mini Cooper with a 1.3i engine. The car has not been used for several years. The engine runs but the clutch does not work - the strange thing is you can select all gears but not pull away - not something I would expect for a seized clutch.

Any ideas?

[crankshaft]

How does the clutch pedal feel? Does it have what you think would be normal resistance?
To start with, maybe a few good jabs of the pedal will free things off.

[fastcarl]

if you can run the engine then depress the pedal and select a gear , then release the pedal and do not move off you have almost certainly tore the centre out of the clutch plate.

carl

[eccles]

i bought an MG metro many years ago for a song because it had similar symptoms (owner thought the gearbox was shot)..... turned out to be nothing more than a CV joint gone.

if you are feeling brave start the car up, put it into gear, let the clutch up. get someone to look under the bonnet to see if one of the drive shafts is going round, if it is then its a CV joint.

[intrepid]

Thanks for your suggestions - I will be having a go this coming weekend and will let you know the outcome.

The most likely sounds like fastcarl's idea.

Cheers

[intrepid]

I had the car apart today and found that the clutch arm was fully extended thus disengaging the clutch. The slave cylinder was full of fluid and hence any pressure on the pedal was trying to push the arm beyond the stop which is why it felt hard and did not move.

Removed the slave cylinder, cleaned it up, reset the throw-out stop and hey presto...all working perfectly!!

What a squeeze working on these cars - I had forgotten just how compact the engine compartment is.

Cheers for the suggestions.

[dogfather]

great news mate glad you got it sorted there is nothing worse than having a mini that you cant play in. ive just got mine fixed today this makes me the happiest man of the week