348 Clutch Won't Engage

Didn't realize my car was in first gear when I engaged the starter tonight without the clutch being pushed in. Starter motor lurched the car forward a few inches as I quickly turned the key off when I realized my mistake. When I went to push the clutch in before trying to restart the car in neutral I noticed the clutch pedal had no resistance when pushing it in just the light feel of the pedal's return spring. The car started OK in neutral but I didn't dare try shifting gears because I was sure the clutch wasn't working. With the engine off I can shift the transmission into all 5 gears and with the clutch fully depressed give the car a push but it won't move because the gears are still fully engaged. Putting the transmission in neutral allows me to roll the car or start the engine. I checked the brake / clutch reservoir and topped it off but still no clutch. I haven't seen any fluid leaks anywhere. This is a 16K mile car what just happened?

 

I did try pumping the clutch pedal after toping off the fluid reservoir and there was absolutely no change and yes the car has been sitting in neutral now without being moved for 15 months straight I have been starting it every month but it has not been moved at all because it has been pinned in place by another car in the garage so no clutch movement at all during this time just sitting in neutral. I have not had a chance to do a really good check of the under side or pumpkin for signs of leakage but a quick look last night didn't show any obvious signs of fluid on the garage floor. If the clutch and pressure plate were frozen together wouldn't there still be heavy clutch pedal movement? The pedal pressure is very light as in just pedal return spring light.

 

Thank you all for your input I have checked for leaks at and around the clutch master cylinder and the transmission end of the car and with the exception of a little fluid on the pumpkin screen all seems to be pretty dry so tomorrow morning when I have an extra body I will try bleeding the clutch in hopes that a small amount of air found its way into the line and that's all that is wrong. I'll report back with my results Thanks again.

 

I'll have to look into getting one of these so I am not held hostage by the second man requirement....thanks for the tip.

 

Well after a bit of fumbling with the clutch bleeding process I finally got a firm pedal and no leaks at the master or slave cylinder so I thought I was home free but the clutch is still not disengaging even though I have the usual heavy clutch pedal feel back again. I can hear some movement at the back of the engine when the clutch is being pushed in by my helper. Is possible that after 15 months of dry storage that the pressure plate and clutch are stuck together? I have several standard transmission cars in the same garage stored in the same manner for similar periods of time and longer but have never had this happen to one of them. Any ideas on what to try next?

 

Thanks for all the great input I keep having a problem with my password being denied and having to constantly change it on this site so my responses are running slow as I try to juggle my work and home schedule. The access port thru the screen is a great tip and I jacked up the car and removed it last night. I can see the fly wheel and clutch thru the opening with lots of surface rust on the outer edges of the clutch assembly I did not have a helper to exercise the clutch while I was underneath the car so that will have to wait until tonight but in the mean time I am also busy cleaning up the battery box and installing a new DieHard as part of my Spring checklist. The rear mounted metal battery tray had surprisingly little rust for a 25 year old car so I was relived to see that.as clean as it is.

 

I finally got back to the Ferrari this morning and with the car on jack stands I was able to get underneath and confirm that the clutch assembly was moving when the pedal was engaged so I knew all the air was out of the lines and the whole assembly was moving freely so now I needed to deal with the apparent frozen clutch / pressure plate . With the wheels in the air I manually twisted them forward and backward rapidly for the first 3 or 4 tries there was very little movement just a small amount of play in the drive live but on the fifth try the clutch broke free letting the wheels spin freely I then started the car and proceeded to move it a small distance in first and reverse to make sure there were no strange noises or behavior. All systems appear normal as though nothing had ever happened so now I just need to keep an eye on the brake fluid because I must have a very small leak in the system that allowed air to get in during the 15 months the car has been in storage. Thanks for the help it sure makes owning this car a lot less intimidating and it beats calling the garage every time one of these problems crops up $$$$$$.