My clutch sticks to the flywheel

Question:

I’m able to drive my Triumph TR3A about every month all year round because it is in Georgia and is garage kept. But sometimes the clutch will be stuck to the flywheel and I have to start it in gear and hope the clutch becomes unstuck before I hit something.

Do you have a suggestion as to how to avoid these hair-raising moments?

Answer:

I don’t have especially good news for you, Alan. Once the iron content in your clutch disc, pressure plate and flywheel begin rusting they continue rusting. Installing a new clutch disc and pressure plate will solve the problem for a long time, unless your garage is especially humid.

If you don’t want to change the clutch assembly, there are a few things you can do to improve the situation.

Obviously, if you drive the car more often than once a month it will help a lot because every time the disc engages and disengages it slips slightly and this acts to “clean” the surfaces of corrosion.

If you take steps to dramatically reduce the humidity in the garage where your Triumph is stored it will be a big help.

As you already know, if despite all your efforts the clutch ends up stuck to the flywheel you can almost always break it free with the starter motor.

You mention that you start the engine in gear and hope the clutch becomes unstuck before you hit something.

I suggest modifying your technique to seriously diminish the likelihood of hitting something.

Put the transmission into first gear, push the clutch in to disengage it with one foot, use the other foot to firmly press the brake pedal, and just click the starter motor over momentarily. If the clutch is stuck you’ll feel the car straining against the brakes to try and lurch forward, but if your brakes are working properly it won’t actually move forward. It may take several clicks of the starter motor to break the clutch free but if the starter has enough torque to overcome the rust bond that’s freezing the clutch disk to the flywheel, eventually it will break free.

However, in addition to the annoyance of all of this, there’s also some chance that you’ll break something, such as the starter motor, flywheel teeth or the clutch disk, so I don’t recommend “living with” the rust clutch problem for too long.