Need help. This happened once before to 1992 Alfa Spider a few weeks ago.
1. Started car & tried to put in reverse - first touching 3rd as usual. Grinding noise. No go. Note - Car has hydraulic clutch. No obvious fluid leaks and reservoir full.
2. Tried to sneak it into other gears - no good. Started to grind in each gear. Clutch obviously not releasing - or not releasing far enough.
3. Shut off engine - put it in reverse, started car and slowly released clutch.
Car started to roll backwards but made loud howling noise. Same noise it made the last time this happened. Noise got less and stopped after about 10 seconds. Pushed in clutch and shifted to neutral. Car stopped rolling so it appears clutch plate not stuck.
4. Shut off engine, put in second gear, started car and let out clutch. Car rolled forward and into garage. No noise.
5. With engine off, put in clutch and shifted into all gears. No problem. Clutch does make a squeaking noise at the bottom that it did not do before a couple of weeks ago when the same problem surfaced. (When my son tried it after a while that day - no problems). Weird.
6. Pumped clutch pedal about 20 times and tried again. No luck. Because slave cylinder is underneath, and I have no lift, I can't tell if cylinder is pushing fork properly. (In my next life, I swear I will own a lift). I can't even drive car to shop and am afraid to have it towed. Any ideas on what could be causing this problem and is there a quick fix so I can at least drive it? (I once drove an MG TD from Philly to CT with no clutch, starting in first gear and shifting without the clutch - but I don't dare do that with this car - my son's.)
1. Started car & tried to put in reverse - first touching 3rd as usual. Grinding noise. No go. Note - Car has hydraulic clutch. No obvious fluid leaks and reservoir full.
2. Tried to sneak it into other gears - no good. Started to grind in each gear. Clutch obviously not releasing - or not releasing far enough.
3. Shut off engine - put it in reverse, started car and slowly released clutch.
Car started to roll backwards but made loud howling noise. Same noise it made the last time this happened. Noise got less and stopped after about 10 seconds. Pushed in clutch and shifted to neutral. Car stopped rolling so it appears clutch plate not stuck.
4. Shut off engine, put in second gear, started car and let out clutch. Car rolled forward and into garage. No noise.
5. With engine off, put in clutch and shifted into all gears. No problem. Clutch does make a squeaking noise at the bottom that it did not do before a couple of weeks ago when the same problem surfaced. (When my son tried it after a while that day - no problems). Weird.
6. Pumped clutch pedal about 20 times and tried again. No luck. Because slave cylinder is underneath, and I have no lift, I can't tell if cylinder is pushing fork properly. (In my next life, I swear I will own a lift). I can't even drive car to shop and am afraid to have it towed. Any ideas on what could be causing this problem and is there a quick fix so I can at least drive it? (I once drove an MG TD from Philly to CT with no clutch, starting in first gear and shifting without the clutch - but I don't dare do that with this car - my son's.)