I have a 1973 V12 E Type Roadster. Currently it is in New Zealand but I will be shipping it to France next year.

When left for more than a few weeks (as it will be on the ship) the clutch gets stuck. It has been suggested that for the trip I block the pedal open with a piece of wood.

Does anyone have any comments.

Thanks

 

I have a '72 and have never had this problem, even when it has been left for months.
How do you unstick it?
Where in NZ is the car?

Do you travel in 777 type aluminium tubing by any chance?

Paul B. UK



Paul B.
1972 V12 OTS,

 

Just to clarify....Are you saying that the clutch disc sticks to the fly wheel? Or, the pedal goes down, and won't return?
Edward

 

When the car is left for some time (it is hard to know exactly how long because it was often left for 6-9 months) the clutch sticks to the fly wheel. If the engine is running one cannot engage gear. If one engages gear and then turns the starter, the car moves immediately in the direction of the gear, i.e. forward or reverse. The simple but brutal solution is to stab the brakes hard. This has always freed the clutch.

When the car arrived in NZ I was on the dock. It was pushed out of the container and I started it and freed the clutch.

My problem is that when it arrives in the UK I may not be allowed to enter the port and manage the car myself. My mechanic has sought advice and believes that blocking the clutch for the duration of the trip will avoid the clutch sticking.

The transit time is just under three months, port to port. The ship will also pass through the tropics and a variety of temperatures.

PS. I chose my username because I travel a lot.

 

I believe your mechanic is correct, (blocking the clutch open will at least make the car driveable). But you will have to address the serious problem , as it won't get better...The cause is probably fluid leakage into the bell housing, and the clutch disc has picked this up....Heat has turned it into "goo" that can only be cured by replacement of the clutch disc (at the very least), and discovering where the leak is...Most likely the rear engine seal, but possibly the front seal on the tranny...The big question is why it is getting onto the disc, before it exits the bottom of the housing? Are you using a lot of oil, say 1 qt every two or three hundred miles?
Edward

 

Clutch plate sticking to the flywheel is a very old and familiar syndrome with Jaguars and I first read about it when I was rebuilding a Mark 2 in the 80s. It's less so with the more modern cars as Jaguar gradually eliminated manual gearboxes.

Personally, I don't think Mr Barry's prognosis is correct, (although it could be) as this is such a common problem on long-term storage cars. I even had it on my MG Midget when it was recommissioned in 2010 from a slumber since 1996. For some reason Jaguar clutches seem to stick more and stick earlier.

Your mechanic has given you a good suggestion, but fluid may, or course, leak past the slave cylinder piston seal whilst it is on the ship, so make sure you have some brake/clutch fluid ready when you need to drive the car off.

 

Thanks for the advice. My mechanic advised against changing the clutch. He does not think that there is a problem other than that the clutch is sticking as a result of the type of material used to make it. As a precaution, he will replace, with new, all the seals that may be under pressure while the clutch is blocked open. I am having the entire car checked and serviced before the trip. The mechanic advised some time ago that the carburettors would be improved by fitting new needles so I am having that job done before the car leaves NZ. I had been putting it off with the vague idea of replacing the Strombergs with SUs or Webers but the Webers are too expensive to contemplate and, from what I have read, the SUs do not offer enough benefit to justify spending £1500. Once I have finished the two restorations I am working on I may treat the Jaguar and me to a 5 speed gearbox.

 

Many years ago, my 9 month daily driver was a VW powered dune buggy. I stored it from about November to March, in northern Michigan. EVERY year, the clutch would stick. I would start it in first gear, drive it around, with the clutch pressed to the floor, until it broke loosed. It always worked OK after it came un-stuck from the flywheel