Clutch Problems

[nooj]

I go to start my Landy up the other day and it refuses to crank. At first I thought it was the battery. It sounded like it wanted to turnover but just would not. After 2 or 3 attempts and subsequent lurches forward, I realized the clutch was engaged, so I lifted my foot off the clutch and went to depress it again. This time I noticed that the clutch went straight to the floor with no resistance. I tried cranking it again, and it obviously did not start. I moved it into neutral and it cranked right up. Of course now the problem was that I could not get it into gear.

I thought all my fluid leaked out, but when I went to refill it, it was completely full. It moves in and out of gear freely while it's off. I had driven it the day before and did not notice any problems. Any ideas on what could be the problem? Any thoughts on how I could get it to a shop without towing it?

'79 Series III 109"

Thanks.

[antichrist]

Put it in first, start it, and speed shift when you need to change gears.
Or bleed the clutch.

[Kevin]

As Tom says change without the lutch. If the revs are just right it's suprising how easy it is to change without the clutch. I do it sometimes just out of laziness.

[pickuprover]

Just remember, that if you do the starting in gear, you have to turn he engine off at each stop to get it back in gear. Not the safest way to get it to the shop.....

[nooj]

Thanks for the help-

The only problem is that it won't turn-over (start) in gear. It's like I'm not pushing the clutch at all.

I can only start it in out of gear (neutral); however, it is impossible to move it back into gear when it is idling.

[pickuprover]

You can start in first gear. Put it in gear, take off hand brake, make sure that there is nothing in front of you, turn the key.... It will buck a bit as the strarter moves you forward, just hold the key on, after three or four turnovers of the engine, it should fire up. Now the problem comes in that you have to do that everytime you have to stop and restart momentum, thus it is not adviseable to drive it like this, but if you had to use it as a method to get it to the shop around the corner, it can be done. It will not go into first gear when you are sitting stationary and the engine on, you need the clutch for that, but all other gears, once the truck is rolling, is possible.

[nooj]

If this is the case, I'm going to have to tow it. I live in a downtown area where every intersection on the way to the shop has a stop sign. Thanks for the help.