Help Diagnosing Clutch Issue

Hey guys, been a loooong time. I guess it's not a bad thing considering the car has been so bullet proof the last couple of years.
Today I was driving on the highway, shifted from 4th to 5th like any other time, as I was letting the pedal go I felt a sort of ping through the pedal, I knew right away something was wrong. The pedal got stiff and would no longer disengage the clutch. The spring action of the pedal is still all there, but it definitely feels different, almost more stiff. I was an hour from home a was lucky enough to be able to limp green lights to make it home.
My guess before taking a look in the next week. Clutch Fork, slave or master. The clutch is a SB Stage 3 with single mass conversion, it's not that old but I haven't been nice to it. Any other suggestions and easier things to check into before cracking the case open?

Inspect the clutch spring on the pedal - most likely not the issue but it’s easy

Remove the clutch pedal resivour and press the clutch - if fluid acts like a fountain then ya found a bad master cylinder

Locate the slave unit and watch for the piston movement if none, remove it and check again. Be careful not to blow it out so put a 2x4 piece behind the clutch pedal so the spring doesn’t slam it to the floor.

I would think the pressure plate or fork went out just yet but let’s start with the simple stuf first.

You can pull the slave out and attach a restraint across the end and you should have a very stiff pedal - that will rule out the hydraulics. (I have a garage door bracket with the perfect spacing I use to prevent accidental damage while it out that works nicely).

Everything else is internal and should be obvious once removed. I have run across one broken throwout "arm" in the past.

Thanks guys. There's currently half a foot of snow on the hood in front of the house. I'll have to let it dry a little and try and push start it to get her in the garage before looking. I'll update with what I find when I get there though.

Update. I pulled the cylinder out and clamped it. My wife did the pedal because the first time I damn near shot it across the garage. She said pedal feel was normal, not stiff. Not sure but I'm thinking I might bleed the system here and see if something comes of that first.

If you have the slave out.. check to see if the pressure fork looks ok, it should be 1/4 inch or less away(approx.) from the housing, it almost sounds like you wore a hole in it where the pivot ball is (maybe) or bent it.

Well I took the plunge and pulled the transmission. After a couple more trys at bleeding and other things I figured why not. Found a broken spring on the bottom of the fork or "arm", and a couple bent fingers on the pressure plate, although those may have been me being a little rough with the input shaft. Would a broken spring cause those symptoms?

image too small to see well

Try that. Should just be links to the photos. No idea why I'm having such trouble linking these pictures

The picture of the pressure plate above shows the fingers bent a little and out of place. Pulled the plate off and layed on a straight edge and they are all proper and true. Maybe something is putting pressure on it from behind the wrong way in one spot? I've been in contact with south bend now. Sending them some proper photos tomorrow but still looking for possible things to check. I'm clueless.

Would the broken pivot retaining spring cause this to happen? I feel like the arm and bearing not having that pivot point would be enough to cause a no release situation. Anyone else agree?

Somehow this one still shifted decently... DMF was shot too.

How does the throwout bearing look? Was it binding against the input shaft sleeve?

Thanks guys, ordering a pressure plate from Dave at south bend, who's been great btw. Should arrive sometime over the holidays. I'll update when I get it installed.

Update if this ever get searched with similar symptoms. Turns out it was in fact the pressure plate.