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Hey guys, thanks to all that replied. I got it to break loose last night by driving it with the clutch pushed in and getting on and off the throttle pretty hard. Im not sure if it came off the the flywheel clean or if part of it stuck but I was able to drive around the neighborhood for a while before I put it back in the garage until the weekend. On a side note, the ups guy brought me these a few days ago. Soon It will look respectable enough to show some "after" pictures.






Hello guys, first time poster here. I normally don't have to ask for mechanical help so this is quite humbling.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post. I'll keep my question as brief as possible. Ive done lots of research so hopefully I covered all the basics already.

Equipment :
1952 M38, original motor, trans (and clutch) and t/c. Sat outside unused for about 40 years before I rescued it. 7000 miles on odometer.

History :
I restored this over the course of several years but have only driven it 150 miles total since 2001. It has been reliable but rarely used. I parked it about 3 years ago and partially disassembled so I could redo some things that I wasn't happy with from the original restoration. I also replaced a few items that hadn't been changed originally.

PROBLEM:
When I parked this rig 3 years ago the clutch worked fine. (keep in mind it sat for 40 years previously and the clutch continued to work) Yesterday when I was finally ready to get him out on the road I couldn't get the clutch to release. I have 1" of free play in the pedal, then I feel the resistance of the pressure plate as I continue to push. The resistance is consistent and feels normal all the way to the floor. However, when I try to shift into any gear I only get gear clash.

Details:
I confirmed that the linkages are adjusted correctly and that the long tab on the clutch cross shaft is near the transfer case/transmission.
I removed the floor pans and bell housing access panel to confirm that the pressure plate was indeed releasing and it is. There is an obvious gap between the pressure plate and the friction disk when the pedal is pushed to the floor, probably .080" - .100 ". I can see the friction disk "relax" and move away from the flywheel but there is no gap to speak of. I can take a dental pick and pull it away a little though. I used a long brass punch and hammer to smack the plate and disk while the clutch was depressed too. After starting it up again there was no change, the clutch will not disengage the engine from the transmission.

In an effort to " break things loose" I put it in first gear and hit the starter. I was able to get it going in first gear and drove around the block several times but there was no change. Im still not able to shift into gear with the motor running. I worked the clutch a few dozen times with the vehicle moving and even intentionally stalled it a few times. This had no effect either.

Question
When the engine is running and my clutch pedal is pushed to the floor, my pressure plate should stop spinning right?

A side note.
One of the changes I made was swapping the huge 24V starter for a compact aftermarket 12V. I dont see any way that could cause the problem Im having but its a change to the bellhousing area so I felt like it was worth mentioning. I also changed the worn out clutch linkage rod (pedal to cross shaft) but confirmed it was the same length as the original before installing it.

I'll attach a pic so you can see what I started with.




I appreciate any help you guys might be able to offer.



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Question
When the engine is running and my clutch pedal is pushed to the floor, my pressure plate should stop spinning right?

Wrong. The pressure plate is bolted to the flywheel. As long as the flywheel turns the pressure plate turns.

The clutch friction disc will slow down when the clutch is depressed and the engine is running and even stop in some cases.

Your problem has been discussed here before several times. It is not uncommon for a clutch to not stick over 40 years and then stick suddenly after long term storage. It all depends on the amount of glazed material on the disc and the presence of any contaminents or moisture. Of course I am assuming it worked fine when parked the last time and you made no changes or adjustments to the clutch system during the storage period.

The easy solution is to chain the jeep's rear frame to a tree and start the jeep in gear and try to accelerate away from the tree. If that fails to free the disc then you will need to disassemble and manually free the disc.

The lack of an open lower bell housing prevents us from doing what we did on other old vehicle clutches to free up a stuck disc.

I also changed the worn out clutch linkage rod (pedal to cross shaft) but confirmed it was the same length as the original before installing it.

If you did this this winter while the jeep was in storage make sure you didn't accidentally reverse the cross shaft left to right. It bolts in either way but the two arms are not the same length. The short arm goes to the driver's left and the long arm to the driver's right. Long arm connects to the clutch release cable.

Thanks so much for the reply. I'll have to find something to chain it to and give it a good yank.

Yes, I confirmed the orientation of the cross shaft yesterday. I saw one of the older posts here (possibly yours) with a photo and my long tab is near the trans/tc like its supposed to be.

I added this sentence above but you may have missed it:

If you did this this winter while the jeep was in storage make sure you didn't accidentally reverse the cross shaft left to right. It bolts in either way but the two arms are not the same length. The short arm goes to the driver's left and the long arm to the driver's right. Long arm connects to the clutch release cable.

wesk wrote:I added this sentence above but you may have missed it:

If you did this this winter while the jeep was in storage make sure you didn't accidentally reverse the cross shaft left to right. It bolts in either way but the two arms are not the same length. The short arm goes to the driver's left and the long arm to the driver's right. Long arm connects to the clutch release cable.

Yes, I replied before your edit.

Another thing you can try is get a long skinny cheap flat tip screw driver. Heat and then bend the tip 90 Deg's. Use it to pry back on the top of the friction disc so you can very slowly spray brake cleaner (with that little straw on it) between the disc and the flywheel. You may have to rotate slowly a step at a time as well.

wesk wrote:Another thing you can try is get a long skinny cheap flat tip screw driver. Heat and then bend the tip 90 Deg's. Use it to pry back on the top of the friction disc so you can very slowly spray brake cleaner (with that little straw on it) between the disc and the flywheel. You may have to rotate slowly a step at a time as well.

This is excellent advice. I was wondering if there was anything I could spray in there that would help separate the disk from the flywheel. Please feel free to add suggestions as you think of them. I certainly appreciate you taking the time to help me.

If this helps any, I've had a stuck clutch also. I started the vehicle in gear and then depressed the clutch and drove around getting on and off the gas. I never released the clutch petal and it soon released. Chaining it to a tree in my mind would not be good. Wish you luck! John

oilleaker1 wrote:If this helps any, I've had a stuck clutch also. I started the vehicle in gear and then depressed the clutch and drove around getting on and off the gas. I never released the clutch petal and it soon released. Chaining it to a tree in my mind would not be good. Wish you luck! John

Hmm, that makes sense. When I drove it around the clutch was released. Holding the pedal down and getting on and off the throttle would definitely work better. When I took my thrill ride over the weekend I still wasnt sure what the problem was.

It also could be stuck where the disc slides on the input shaft ever so slightly little bit of PB blaster buzz

buzzk wrote:It also could be stuck where the disc slides on the input shaft ever so slightly little bit of PB blaster buzz

good point, I'll carefully put some blaster on it and let is soak while I put the top cover back on my transmission. I had to look in there last night just to be sure there wasnt a major problem.

Just wanted up update you guys. Last night I sprayed a little Blaster on the input shaft where it runs through the disk. Also, I had the wife hold the clutch in for me while I pulled the top edge of the disk away from the fly wheel and hosed it down with brake parts cleaner.
Unfortunately it was pouring outside so I didnt have an opportunity to drive it around and break it loose. I'll let everyone know what happens if I can get it out tonight.