QuestionMy 79MGB has been sitting for over 10 years. I decided to attempt to start it up. After replacing a few cracked fuel lines, it started. Did not attempt to shift gears or drive yet because I noticed the clutch pedal is very flimsy (very little resistance). Checked the fluid (full). I noticed (with the car off) I can shift gears without depressing the clutch pedal, and also I noticed the underneath the slave cylinder looks engaged (piston in). However, when the clutch pedal is depressed the piston on the slave doesn't move. Does the car have to be "On" for the clutch to work? Should the piston on the slave move when depressing the clutch pedal? Any ideas? I am a novice!
AnswerHi Ernie. I must start by giving you a safety warning. After sitting for 10 years, your car is probably not safe to drive on a public road. Just about everything made of rubber will have hardened and perished.
I re-commissioned a car that had been in a dry, heated museum for 10 years, and it needed a lot of work. Tyres, fuel hoses, brake and clutch hoses, all the seals inside the master cylinders and the slave cylinders, radiator hoses, heater hoses, heater control valve ... The list was endless. Also the clutch plate was rusted (frozen) to the flywheel, so it was impossible to select any gears with the car stationary and the engine running.
Enough of the Health and Safety stuff.
In is case, it sounds to me that the rubber cup inside the clutch master cylinder has shrunk so it no longer pumps fluid. I would fitt repair kits to the clutch master cylinder and the slave cylinder.
