clutch hard to push in

Hey guys,
I went to drive my 72 CJ5 and the clutch was very hard to push in and once pushed in it would not come back up on it's own. The clutch cable seems to be free and when you get the clutch pused in it does disengage. So what copuld be the problem??
Thanks so much,
Joel

 

How do you know the cable is free? That sounds like classic cableitis.

 

Hi And thanks for the reply! I can move the cable back and forth. but, after looking at it again, I see that when I put the cable in it was not long enough to reach the clutch fork. So I added some length to the cable ajustment. I'm thinking now it's time for a new clutch??
Regards, Joel

 

Throw out bearing could be sticking on shaft.

 

That's what I was thinking. I wonder if it would be possible to remove the clutch fork boot and get in there with a can of penetrating oil with a long nozzle.

 

With the clutch fork unhooked from the clutch cable the fork rests against the forward side of the bell housing hole, so does that suggest that the clutch is worn out?

 

You should be able to work the clutch fork back and forth and feel the throw out bearing move back and forth. Was this setup working previously or did you just get done putting the whole works together?

 

Not sure what condition your body mounts are in, but I had the same problem on my CJ5. I didn't notice until this weekend while I was replacing the driver's side forward cab body mount (under the a/pillar) that part of the linkage was binding on the frame! Works nice and smooth now!!