Question

I recently purchased a 1972 Citroen Maserati that starts and runs. Problem is the clutch seems inoperative. The person selling the car for the owner claimed that the last time the car was driven, the clutch stopped working. The pedal seems to operate correctly and the slave cylinder moves in and out.

I noticed that the system was low on hydraulic fluid, so I purchased new LHM and topped it off according to the instructions in the owner’s manual. I then bled the slave cylinder. I also adjusted the slave cylinder according to the instructions in the workshop manual. Neither procedure made a difference. The gearbox operates freely. When I put the car in gear and slowly raise the clutch pedal, absolutely nothing happens. When the pedal is a full height, the gearbox can still be operated.

Being brand new to SM ownership, I’m uncertain what to try next. Any suggestions or information will be greatly appreciated.

Citroen Tech Tip

From what you have explained there is a good chance that the clutch disc or the pressure plate has broken. When this happens there will not be any connection between the engine and the transmission. The other possibility is that there has been some type of transmission failure such as the input shaft being broken or it’s splines being stripped.

So with the engine running and the gear selector being moved without any type of gears clashing then there is no connection between the engine and the transmission. Looks like things are going to have to come apart to really see what is the problem.

One quick test that you might want to do first is to safely and securely jack up the car or put it on a lift. If you jack it up be sure to use jack stands and DO NOT rely on the Citroën hydraulic system to elevate the car.

Once it is securely up get under it and remove the sheet metal cover on the bottom of the bell housing. Once you have done this you will be able to see a portion of the clutch from the point where you removed the shield.

Now if everything was working properly you should be able to put the Citroën SM into 5th gear and turn one of the wheels and see the clutch and flywheel turn also, but in your case this is probably not going to happen.

Hope this Citroen Tech Tip helps,

Denis



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