Some general purpose ramblings from the nearly senile.

First, carefully measure the depth of the pilot from the bell face, as well as the length of the input shaft back to the bell face of the transmission.

Next, pull the clutch cover and disc OUT and install ONLY the transmission with no clutch.

Now you can put the box in HIGH gear, and with a yoke in the tail, you tell if the pilot is binding in the bushing.

If/ when you get this to check out, are you able to see into the bottom of the bell, I.E. do you have a stock bell or scattershield?

If you can see into the bell, take a friend to push the pedal all the way down, and measure iwth a feeler to see how much release clearance you have.

If you cannot see what's happening for sure, find yourself a "real" clutch rebuilder---they ARE around---and have them check the clutch. They'll need your cover and disc, and maybe your flywheel.

It DOES happen that covers don't release because of some problem


As others have mentioned, check your clutch linkage from top to bottom. Have a friend push the clutch in/ out SLOWLY and repeatedly while you look at such areas as the welds on the Z bar linkage, etc, or for other flexing. Even the clutch fork can sometimes crack and flex