stuck clutch pedal

[JimT]

Hey all, been a little bit. Took some time off recently and while getting the truck ready to roll I ran into an issue with the clutch or the clutch pedal. 2012 Pete 587, manual, mechanical clutch. Went to push the pedal down and barely made it half way when it got stuck. Pedal won't move up or down. I have no experience with this so I don't even know where to begin troubleshooting. I did have something similar happen a year ago after the truck sat for a while, although that time the clutch pedal went down with a little resistance, never got stuck and after a few times it was operating as smooth as ever.

Any thoughts? Truck was greased up just days prior to being parked then sat for a few months. Started it up a few times but never drove it. Supposed to take her in for an annual DOT inspection tomorrow...

[Bengy88]

A 2012 should have a self adjusting clutch. Pull your inspection cover and check the wear indicator. If it’s halfway to bad your clutch is shi#t

[Papa_Buck]

Before you climb under the truck and get all greasy, follow the clutch linkage. Your problem sounds a lot like one that one of my drivers had. It turned out to be a rusted through push rod that got hung up on the frame.

[JimT]

I'll check first thing tomorrow. Been raining here all day and now it's starting to get dark. Clutch pedal is stuck somewhere about 1/4-1/2 down (measuring from the top). Won't go down or up, can't even pull it up by hand. If I remember correctly this pedal is connected via a cable which is routed through the firewall and down through the engine bay. Figured I'd pull the plastic dash and also check to see if the pedal itself is binding up inside the cab. Poking around the rest of the internet too but most of the info I've found so far has to do with hydraulic clutch pedals.

On the bright side, I do have a new clutch sitting in my garage. Wasn't planning to install it until I was ready to replace the tranny. But it would be a pain doing the job in my gravel driveway.

Anyway, any info would be appreciated. Never worked on a clutch or tranny before so even diagrams or procedures would be helpful.

[ktblogistics]

had a stuck clutch pedal recently , clutch fall apart internally, damage was visible through inspection cover, bearing sized up, release bearing with release sleeve separated from clutch,

[DVT873]

Might be a seized cable. Housing rubs thru or seals go bad, water, road salt etc. gets in the housing. Rusts and seizes up. Disconnect cable at the trans then see if pedal moves. If it doesn't most likely the cable. If pedal and cable end moves freely it's not the cable.

Cable should connect to an arm that is attached to a shaft going into the side of the transmission bell housing. That should move just a bit without much effort then your in contact with the throwout bearing. If it won't move at all the shaft could be seized in the bellhousing. It shouldn't be because there should be bushings to keep that from halppening. That what the grease fittings on each side of the bell housing are for. Sometimes they get missed. Have also seen some dumbass designs where there weren't any bushings. Metal to metal will rust solid. Pete is not normally that dumb.

This is a quick look at the shafts and forks. Plenty more links from this.
https://youtu.be/m-v3GwU1_jQ

[Bengy88]

(04-17-2023 )Bengy88 Wrote:  A 2012 should have a self adjusting clutch. Pull your inspection cover and check the wear indicator. If it’s halfway to bad your clutch is shi#t

Also I should have included if you check your linkage and everything checks out, someone has changed it to a mechanical adjust clutch, or the wear indicator isn’t halfway on a self adjust clutch you need to run your hand under the pressure plate and see if you find any broken springs or ball bearings. Usually when a clutch sticks like that you will find pieces of the clutch down there. Look closely around your release bearing and clutch fork for parts/pieces of the clutch or clutch brake to be wedged or out of place.

And here recently on hydraulic clutches specifically on easy pedal clutches with hydraulic air assist slave cylinders I’ve been finding a lot of clutch brakes broken and wedged behind the clutch fork. It comes from the pedal being so damn lazy…. I mean easy to push that the drivers are bottoming them out while the truck is still moving in gear causing them to snap. That was just added info your truck unless it was built in the last months of 2012 shouldn’t have a hydraulic slave cylinder.

[JimT]

Thanks guys. About to start looking into it, will check back.

If memory serves me correctly the truck was assembled near the end of 2011. It's got an Eaton 13 speed. Not sure what clutch is in there. I've had it adjusted by mechanics twice since I got it 5 years ago. I run flatbed so it's mostly driving forward, no bumping docks. Once I'm rolling I don't touch the clutch again until I'm coming to a stop. Clutch brake hasn't worked in the 300,000 miles I've owned the truck.

I have remote grease fittings for the cross shafts. Was under the truck a few days ago and I remember seeing a mound of grease that had come out where the driver side connects to the housing. Possible it didn't take the grease. I literally did a full PM, drove the truck about 20 miles and parked it back in November. Clutch was working normally at the time. Truck has sat since then. Ran the engine a few times but never thought to work the clutch pedal.

That video was nice. If anyone has links to more clutch and transmission videos, install, uninstall, repair, component breakdown, rebuild, anything, that would be super helpful for me. I often have a hard time following repair instructions when I don't have some kind of visual reference. And it's hard to see anything under this truck, especially when you don't even know what you're looking for.

Also, on a side note, is it possible to replace the clutch without completely removing the transmission from underneath the truck? Maybe just move it back a bit? Just curious in case I need to go the replacement route.

[Rawze]

if you replace the clutch without also installing a complete input-shaft / replacement kit for the tranny, then the clutch has zero warranty.

you need to also install a clutch replacement kit into the tranny, meaning it has to come out as well.

and while your at it.. it would be completely dumb not to replace the back engine mounts, have the flywheel turned, pilot bearing replaced and all sort of other related work that can only be done with the tranny out of the way. This would also include the main rear structure housing gasket etc. if the engine is old, and it has not been done yet.