Clutch pedal is stuck

[dominicelliott]

I am planning to get my newly bought Excel SE. It has been stationary 3 years and has developed med some problems.
-Clutch pedal is stuck
-I think the handbreak has stuck because wheels dont rotate
My questions:
-Where are all jacking points on an Excel SE?
-Any thoughts about the stuck clutch?

[dancroft1984]

Stuck up or down? If it's stuck "up", (which might save you a lot of heartache) don't mess with it right now. Often the hydraulics get seized up, then when you push the clutch pedal down you bend it, it's pretty delicate. Then the pedal box has to come out, which takes a day and is a right pain of a job. "Clutch issue, sir? Well naturally the dash has to come out". Trust me, I've done the research. Luckily it bent my back round the other way after a day hunched over the engine bay doing the cambelt.

If the pedal's stuck up and not yet bent, you can probably get away with refreshing the hydraulics first. Which is fiddly, but not awful. Note master cylinders are hard/expensive to get hold of, but you can buy refurb kits. I took my master cylinder off and activated it in a G Clamp (see "hedge fund" new owners thread).

If it's stuck down. Prepare yourself with eleventy million 1/4" drive extensions and some research. It can be done, but it's a bugger of a job. This blog https://majcd213.blogspot.com/ has some very good instructions. Make sure you read all FOUR parts before starting, as the last one is "here's how I'd make it easier if I was doing it again". There's some good pictures on here of fixing the box once it's out of the car.

[dancroft1984]

Jacking points are where you'd expect to see them, at the end of the sills, there's a little hole the standard jack fits in I think. There should be a little reinforcing plate on there, but makes sense to use a bit of wood over the trolley jack to prevent damage on any car. Though at the rear I've used the diff mount as well to do both sides at once.
I'm sure you're a grown up and don't need me to tell you to use proper supports for the car when you're under it.


EDIT: Also, Hello and welcome!

[DavidOliver]

To check the clutch master cylinder is a pain. Sp start by checking the slave cylinder which is a doddle to get out. Then you can see if the slave cylinder or clutch release bearing need some movement/oil to free up. You can also toggle the master cylinder to free up by pushing the slave cylinder actuating rod thus avoiding using the clutch pedal as this can damge the pedal box linkage.

Many Excels have lost the steel jacking plate and it is essential you only locate jacking at these points. A strong plywood is good enough to spread the load and is almost thin enough to get the jack under the jacking point, these cars are slung low. If a problem, drive the wheel onto a plywood sheet to gain the extra height to let the jack in.

Dave the cog.

[Tanz]

From the owners handbook



All my metal plates have dropped off so I just use a piece of wood between the trolly jack and jacking point