Can any one think of why the clutch pedal won't depress on a 1984 300ZX 5sp?

The Club has inherited a new partz car and I'm trying to move it off its present location. It runs, but it has sat for nearly a year and the brakes are locked up. I figured once I got it running I could drive it onto the trailer, but now I find the clutch pedal refuses to budge, even under both my 10R boots.

There is a "SECURITY" light flashing on the dash, and a barrel-lock security keyhole under the dash, but I have no key for it. Did the '84 300ZX security system lock the clutch pedal or something?

Clutch and brake reservoirs are topped off and fairly clean.

I'm pretty unfamiliar with these cars (I'm kinda a basic 240Z guy) and I don't want to force anything and maybe break something.

Any ideas?

Frank T
MbrshpDir

*(I just correct this ~ the car is a 1984 300ZX ~ not sure why I kept calling it an '81 )

I never heard of a 2nd key lock on a Z. I wonder if the previous owner installed some sort of key latch that locks down the clutch pedal.

_________________
Bryan Little
Datsunzgarage.com

1970 240Z - enhanced F54 L28 w/P90, Weber DCOEs, 4:11 R200, Nissan T5 5-speed

I happen to be familiar with that beast. It locks both the brake and clutch pedals together so that, even if a thief manages to start the car, (s)he can't drive it. Nothing like that on this car.

But the idea might be the same. I didn't get to return to the car today like I intended to (life happens), so I didn't get to explore the works as I wanted to. But since this locking device performs the same effect as what I'm experiencing on the partz car, it leads me to suspect NISSAN duplicated it in a hidden manner.

I should think, if it was a problem with the clutch master or slave cylinders, the pedal should just fall to the floor and maybe even stay there. I can't picture a scenario which would freeze the clutch pedal so solidly that all that hydraulic pressure and mechanical advantage couldn't overcome it. Not even NISSAN rust is THAT strong!

Paul has owned about a half-million of these cars, so I sent him an email asking his opinion ~ but I haven't heard from him yet.

Somebody help me think this through!

Frank

Clutches can become frozen due to misuse, but I've seen ones that have been sitting for years that will still depress. I agree that something else must be going on. Maybe there's some weird hook/latch associated with that 2nd key.

_________________
Bryan Little
Datsunzgarage.com

1970 240Z - enhanced F54 L28 w/P90, Weber DCOEs, 4:11 R200, Nissan T5 5-speed

By the way ~ the car is a 1984 300ZX. Not sure why I kept calling it a 1981.
Duuuhhh.

Did you stick your head in the foot well to see if there is something in the way or a stopping mechanism attached?

Not yet, it's my next intent. I also want to search the car for that barrel key, since the PO never mentioned the security system and expected me to be able to drive the car away.

Nothing is obvious from the driver's seat, but I haven't got upside down under the dashboard yet to inspect it.

If I have to pull the slave cylinder off to test it I will, but it's gonna be a bear. There's hardly any ground clearance on these cars so I'll have to take a lot of gear with me to get it up high enough.

Frank, does that lock look like the one above Which by the way wont work if you know how to drive a car off without using the clutch.

I don't have a way to draw what a barrel-lock looks like, but you see them on Pepsi machines all the time. It's the circular hole with one spike in it, like the letter "Q" almost. The key itself would be a silver circular "barrel" shape, with little "turrets" around the business end, like the tower of a medieval castle. There are about a dozen loose keys inside the car, so maybe there is one of these barrel keys I haven't found yet.

I wanted to get out to the car again this weekend, but it just didn't happen. Probably tmrw.

I have driven Z cars without a clutch or brakes. After warming the engine in neutral, I shut it off, put it in 1st gear, and hit the starter while giving it a little gas. The engine caught and the car lurched away. Shifting required a bit of a sensitive touch and some rev-matching, but eventually the 'box slid into the next gear. Stopping required slipping it into neutral and pulling the handbrake HARD, while weaving left and right to cover more distance btwn the car and the next immovable object.

I doubt that will work in this case. The brakes are locked solid so the engine would stall. Maybe if I jacked it up and tried with the rear wheels off the deck it might break them free. I intended to take a long bar with me next time I visit the car, to try to lever the front wheels enough to spin them while jacked up.

We'll see.

This car will have some usable parts for Club members if I can ever get it out of the carport it's been parked in for 10 months. I have a trailer but can't get the trailer to the car; I have to be able to move the car up a very narrow driveway to the trailer on the road. So far, it isn't cooperating much. I think it's happy where it sits.

Slave cylinder is super easy to remove in the Z 31. Just need the jack, jack stands and a ratchet.

Shouldn't take more than ten mins start to finish.

Passenger side next to the starter, two 14mm bolts (I think, maybe 17mm)

Yea, sounds like a "Chapman" alarm (spelling) seems common on Z cars, seen them before, and I had a Z with one on and it worked farily good. The original alarm must of quit working, so it was more feasable to just install an after market one. Also, sounds like the e-brakes are locked up, if it's just the rears your talking about. So now the hammer comes in effect. The e-brake arms are probably in the lock position, so hit them back with the hammer. This is as common as a dog eatin a bone.

Thanks for all that, all of you. Now, to further complicate things.

I spoke long distance to the previous owner. The car has a clutch safety system on it (not an alarm system), which won't let the car start unless the clutch is depressed fully to the floor (kiddie proof safety system). This car started while the clutch pedal was fully UP, and the pedal won't move downward at all. So the car "thinks" the clutch is already fully depressed.

Also, the car ran and drove fine when parked less than a year ago, and there is NO functional alarm system on it.

Now what? Does that give anyone any new ideas?

I need to be able to work the clutch so I can drive the car around a sharp corner and up a narrow driveway. THe trailer can't come to the car ~ the car must go to the street.

hey frank, i'm reaching wide here, but maybe the clutch rod fell out of the back of the slave cyl. and is stuck on the edge of the housing. the pedal might have been pulled back too far. just a thought from 2 hours away!

Thanks Mike! I never considered that. I'll check next time I'm at the car.

Hey Frank, I'm going to Milford Monday to pick up a car tent, (saves $130 on shipping) I could stop by if on the way and have a look at it myself.