My recently purchased 73 2.0 (the fixer, not the wife's 914 driver) has been sitting a number of years and the clutch is stuck. Clutch pedal is almost to the floor. I verified that the clutch cable, pedal cluster and the clutch tube running through the body are intact. The clutch arm is at about the half way position, not touching either side of the opening in the tranny. Brad Mayuer suggested I try rapid 1st gear accels and decels to see if this would free it up. It didn't work, but since the motor mounts are toast, I'm not sure how much shock I can actually apply to the clutch by doing this since the engine was bouncing up and down. I'm sure the neighbors thought this was hilarious, especially after the engine lid opened by itself....."No, really, I'm doing this on purpose...."

I'm thinking of trying to install some (grade 8?) bolts and spacers as solid motor mounts, as I don't want to destroy new stock engine mounts doing this again. Or should I go ahead and yank the trans to see what is going on?

Any and all tips / tricks / advice on how to unstick the clutch without removing the trans would be greatly appreciated.

I have had a few stuck clutches on cars that have sat for long periods of time.
I have started the car in first gear and then pushed the clutch in and out.
BUT you have to have the car on a long driveway or somewhere that is safe to do this. Because it will lurch forward and want to take off.
It may not work the first time. Turn the car off and try again.
It may come down to pulling the trans.
Good luck
CCLIN914NATION

Somehow I'm not understanding what's stuck... The clutch won't disengage?

No, the clutch won't engage. I can start the car in first gear, but I can't push the clutch in. The clutch pedal 'at rest' is already to the floor (well, almost).

If the clutch won't engage, how are you driving it? I'm honestly confused.

Sounds to me like your clutch won't DISengage.

When the clutch is engaged, the car goes. Pushing the pedal in should disengage the clutch, right?

Just want to make sure we aren't having that age old semantic confusion between engage and disengage when it comes to clutches.

IMHO, with all of the things you've listed, I'd just go ahead and pull the transmission to check the clutch assembly. Sounds like the disk has bonded itself to both the flywheel and pressure plate with the universal 914 adhesive: RUST. The transmission can be pulled easily without having to drop the engine, also. The biggest advantage to pulling the transmission is the complete inspection of the components. Even if you could free the clutch up without disassembly, things are going to be pretty rough in there and will just continue to deteriorate to the point where you're gonna have to take it apart anyway.

If the car has been sitting for years, there are, no doubt, other issues that you'll be looking into after you've resolved the clutch challenge. And so it has begun . . . .

Best of luck. . . .

Peace of mind says remove transaxle and fix it for good = inspect/replace clutch disk, rusty pressure plate (?), resurface flywheel etc. IF you plan to drive the car in the future this is to your benefit. CAREFUL with bad motor mounts, definetly support the motor seperately with it's own jackstand.

OR maybe PB blaster in the bellhousing hole
OR on the throw-out arm

What the MG guys always did was push start the car and get it going then slam on the brakes. It was a common problem with those cars after that sat for the winter.

However, the pedal wasn't halfway to the floor already. Either someone was in there previously messing with the adjustments to solve this problem, or you have worse issues than a stuck clutch disc. Sounds more like a pressure plate issue to me.

I once got a clutch unstuck on a F-100 by jacking up the rear axle and then I was able to apply braking and accelerating and stay in one place. But the pedal half way to the floor sounds like there is some other issue as others have said. Good luck.

Does the pedal move when you push on it or is it solid and permanently almost to the floor?

Where is the throwout lever when the pedal is almost to the floor? I would think it should be almost to the rear of the window in the bell housing.

How much free play is there in the clutch pedal? The spec is about 0.75" or 1".

I agree that it's a good idea to pull the trans and inspect it, but you can probably make a pretty good guess without.

The pedal is 'solid' / doesn't move any futher when pushing it. The throwout lever is about in the center of the opening / window in the bellhousing. It doesn't feel like there is any free play in the pedal. It seems like I can move the clutch arm a little bit with a pry bar, but I don't want to force it and break something.

Any particular place to aim the PB Blaster stream? Won't the lubricant mess up the friction disc?

How much can you tug / beat on a throw out arm? It looks kinda flimsy to me. What about 'vibrating' it with a blunt bit in an air chisel?

Those 2 are crazy wacky ideas that may destroy your parts - never trust anything you read on the internet!

PB blaster will likely dissolve your transseals/throw out bearing seals/ eat up the plastic bushing inside. You might get unstuck, but the clean up might kill ya. It is not lubricant, it is a mix of seious toxic chemicals. There is a circle on my metal shelf where the residue on the bottom of the spray bottle has eaten through the paint on the shelf completely and is working its majic on anything else it touches.

While the Big F'in Hammer is one of my favortite 914 tools, it can cause unwanted damage too. Replacing the throw-out arm thingy requires removal of the transmission, so....

If you can bench press 100 lbs, you can remove the transaxle yourself solo. I got mine out with the muffler still on! Then your pressure plate is exposed, then you can unbolt it (flywheel lock of some sort helps here) to expose the clutch disk. Instalation is the reverse of removal

I don't know so much about the crazy and wacky stuff but, I would just suggest pulling the tranny and finding out exactly what the problem is.

Problems that go away with a quick fix usually come back quickly in the most unfortunate circumstances...

I'd make sure the roll pin on the clutch pedal lever in the cluster isn't sheared. I've seen this give the same symptom you describe.

about minimizing the tendency to short cut. Especially with these little cars. As you know, they are a blast to own and drive, but they respond better to thoughtful care and feeding. I venture your overall, long term satisfaction with the car will be enhanced by following more conventional automotive mechanical maintenance procedures. Drop the transaxle, take some pictures, post them here, and you'll have your answers quickly. . . .

do as perry suggested first. i personally can't imagine doing a clutch job with the power plant in the car. you're going to need to remove/resurface/replace the flywheel if the clutch disc is gone in prep for the new disc. the bolt for your engine
mounting does'nt sound like a good idea to me.
k

Thanks to all for the replies. I finally got a chance to look at it closely.

Good news: Turns out the clutch isn't stuck.

Bad news: The clutch tube is in serious need of repair. Looks like it broke loose inside the tunnel and has torn inwards about 1/2" from the bulkhead.

I already checked out the classic thread on the clutch tube repair. When I get to it, I'll try to post pics, progress, etc.

Good excuse to buy the MIG welder I've always wanted....