i've got a 97 Hyundai Elantra GLS with a manual transmision. this
afternoon when i went to leave i pushed in the clutch and the car
started fine, i then put it into reverse and pulled out into my
driveway then i put it into neutral and rolled down my driveway into
the street. then i pushed the clutch with the intention to shift into
first, but the pedal wont depress. It will go down about half an inch
and thenwont go any further. The clutch/brake fluid level is just a
little below max so i dont think that is the problem.

i thought maybe there was something under my dash obstructing the
pedals movement because that is what it feels like. i got under the
dash and screwed around with it for a while but nothing helped. the
pedal itself isnt being obstructed by anything. i detached the pedal
from the rod thing that it pushes and the pedal itself moves around
fine so my theory is wrong.

has anyone experienced this before?
what might the problem be?
where should i start?

 

There's either a hydraulic blockage or something's bound up in the
mechanism on the trans or on the master cylinder.

 

I suppose it's also possible that something with the clutch itself came
apart preventing the pressure plate from returning properly. If the
pressure plate hasn't sprung back, then you won't be able to depress the
clutch pedal because you can't pull the pressure plate out any more.

To check for this, look at the lever on top of the transmission. There's
a detent made into the transmission case which keeps the lever from
returning too far. If the pedal is up, the lever should be almost
touching this detent. If it's still rotated away from the detent (more
than a millimeter or two), then something is not allowing the lever to
return.