Seized Clutch

[MiniChips]

Hi guys I'm new here and you all seem so knowledgeable I thought you may be able to advise me. My clutch has seized after being left standing for about a year. I've tried penetrating oil on the slave but no luck so far. After that didn't work I took the pipe off the master cylinder to check it wasn't that but no when I reconnect it the pedal is soft. Will I need to bleed the system. and is it best to take the slave off to try and free it off the car. Cheers.

[Snake the Sniper]

If my mini is anything to go by, the bit that's probably seized is the shaft that goes through the clutch housing. Unbolt the slave and see if there's any movement on the shaft. If not, that's the culprit. There are a few ways of freeing it. A big hammer and WD40 works, and I've been told pouring coke on it will release it too. If there is movement, and since you've said the master appears to work, the slave is stuck and I'd just be tempted to go buy a new one, rather than trying to fix yours, unless it's just jammed. Either way, as you've guessed the system will now need bleeding because you've removed the pipe. But it's not a hard job at all.

[intrepid]

In case it helps this was my problem earlier this year..

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[MiniChips]

So leave the clutch housing on for the time being? Will there be enough room to get a hammer down to it with the brake servo in the way its all pretty tight.

[Snake the Sniper]

If you can't get directly to it with a hammer, just try wiggling a long bar about between the stop on the push rod and the cover. That should be enough to tell you whether it's stuck or not.

[annodomini2]

I have seen slave cylinders rust solid if they've been stood for too long.

But as they say, check the lever arm first, if you have the slave off, you should be able to pump the pedal and see if the piston moves to the end of the slave.

[holmesy9]

needs new oil often