Dear MG Mavens
There was a thread a while back regarding clutch discs frozen to flywheels and
various brute force methods of unsticking same. My problem's similar but
feels worse at the moment. It would appear that our beloved '58A has decided
the flywheel, disc, and pressure plate should all unite into one big solid
lump. (I suppose I should mention that she's been hovering on jack stands for
the last three years.)
I had to put her back on the ground for a while so she could vacate the garage
in order for me to pull the tranny on my Jeep. When I tried to mash the
clutch pedal, I got the distinct impression that some merry prankster had
welded the linkage shut. Since my left leg has grown accustomed to the clutch
resistance of the Jeep, I foolishly kept pushing. That's about the time a)
resistance went away & b) I gained a new puddle on the garage floor. Yep,
blew out the slave cylinder seals. Oh well, I was going to rebuild it
eventually anyway (he rationalised).
Anyway, undercar inspection reveals that the clutch release fork (i.e., the
bit the slave attaches to) chooses not to move at all, with any degree of
exertion I'm currently able or willing to muster.
I can see how the aforementioned brute force methods would unstick a disc from
the flywheel. Is there any similar method for freeing pressure plate from
disc? Please don't tell me I've got to pull engine and tranny to separate the
recalcitrant bits. I really don't think my wife could handle it. After
everything else I've done to her car, pulling the engine would be the camel-
breaking straw and I've really gotten used to sleeping indoors.
Ray Dilfield
1958 MGA doorstop
1971 Triumph Tiger
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