clutchless shifting?

[Monster Man]

at the risk of sounding like the newbie that I am, do you all shift without the clutch? I was talking with my dad and he said I didn't need to clutch the shifts, and he took me out, and amidst some grinding here and there (he explained the subtle difference between "grinding" and "chattering", OK....) he was able to shift with no clutch. I tried it and bungled a few but am getting much better, sometimes I still need the clutch if the pressure of traffic is on me. I only "chattered" a few shifts today. Am I doing more harm than good? He said using the clutch causes more wear on that end than clutchless shifts do on the transmission end, but I countered with clutches are cheaper than transmissions. What should I do?

 

[Dieselsmoke]

I don't use the clutch in mine, but since it is a synchronized transmission, you are supposed to. Eventually you will tearup the synchros. I've already replaced the tranny in mine once because of it.

 

[Monster Man]

hmmm... I'd still like to know if the rest of you use the clutch, but how expensive and easy are trannies to replace in these trucks, versus the clutch. Is it about the same amount of work? I have a feeling I'll burn the clutch up, I'm the sort of person that really likes to ride it and I've noticed I'm not good at smooth transitions between shifts, ie I dump the clutch upon acceleration. I'm sure that's not good, so maybe clutchless is better for me

 

[Low-Tech-Redneck]

I've always been a quick learn at clutches, took me all of 2 days of driving before I had it down, I need more practice on hills though

My view is, if it has a clutch, use it

 

[Desert Rat]

Guys;
After driving 1.5 million miles I've learned with an unsynchronized tranny it's fine to glide the gears. However, with a syncronized tranny glidding is the death of them! I ALWAYS double clutch my baby because it is MUCH easier on the syncro.. I learned the hard way on my '85 Escort after I tore up the 5 speed on a $100 car. Problem at the time was I needed it and didn't have the money for repairs or another car. Believe me, double clutching is the way to go with these trucks especially considering how old they are and what they've been through.

 

[Longhunter7]

DR!

You old double clutch'in gear jammer! How's about teach'in these youngsters how to double clutch! <img src="emoticons/icon_smile_wink.gif" alt="Wink">

Just think of all the drive trains you will be saving! <img src="emoticons/icon_smile_reyes.gif" alt="Reyes">

 

[Monster Man]

yeah, that settles it. Clutch it is, I never had a problem before, and I still bungle up sometimes without the clutch and it scares the heck out of me. My dad drives large cranes all day so he's used to unsynchronized trannies, I told him I probably wanted to use the clutch on this, but nope, you know how stubborn old men can be! no offense to any stubborn old men here<img src="emoticons/icon_smile_approve.gif" alt="Approve"><img src="emoticons/icon_smile_approve.gif" alt="Approve"><img src="emoticons/icon_smile.gif" alt="Smile">

bet Uncle Sam would have my ass if he saw the things I've done to this poor old truck, that's taxpayers money darnit!

 

[steelsoldiers]

I'm a clutch'er, always have been. No problem running thru the gear in my deuce. 4th is a little stubborn sometimes. I have put a lot of miles on her without double clutchin' and haven't torn out a tranny or clutch yet.

 

[Monster Man]

Originally posted by steelsoldiers

I'm a clutch'er, always have been. No problem running thru the gear in my deuce. 4th is a little stubborn sometimes. I have put a lot of miles on her without double clutchin' and haven't torn out a tranny or clutch yet.

yeah, my fourth is stubborn as well, I really gotta take y time on that one <img src="emoticons/icon_smile_big.gif" alt="Big Smile">

 

[Desert Rat]

Gentlemen;
4th is the big reason why I double clutch. Going "'round the horn" from 3rd to 4th and double clutching does two things at once that eases stress on the tranny. First it allows the synchro to catch up to 4th from 3rd (I know from driving old White Bosses with the old fashioned Detroit V8 diesels) because the engineers had to get creative in the linkage and gearbox areas to make the horseshoe pattern work right. Second, and more importantly, most people are not familiar with the horseshoe shift pattern and slowing down the shift from 3rd to 4th allows enough time to correct for any unintentional missed gear shifts. I'm in such a habit of double clutching a synchro it feels natural to me. Plus, I'm quicker in my shifting than some one who doesn't clutch because everything fits into place more efficiently and I actually use less time.

 

[liljohn]

I'm gonna second LH here, someone wanna explain this "double clutch" mumbo jumbo? My first two cars were both sticks, but I'm not familiar with this term!

 

[Desert Rat]

LJ;
Double clutching means you treat neutral like a seperate gear. Example:
From first you push the clutch in and shift to neutral, clutch out, clutch back in while in neutral, shift into second and clutch out. In other words, you do not clutch in and shift directly from first to second gear and clutch out.
Does this help?

 

[steelsoldiers]

Hmmph, I'll have to try double-clutchin on my 3rd-4th shifts and see what happens. My 3-4 shift used to be a lot easier when I first got my truck. After I changed the oil it became tougher to shift. Of course the oil that was in it was full of water from where the deuce had been topless<img src="emoticons/icon_smile_blush.gif" alt="Blush"> outside for so long. It looked like choclate pudding pouring into the drain pan<img src="emoticons/icon_smilie_bitchin.gif" alt="Bitchin"> I thought about adding some Lucas additive and see if that helps. Any of you guys use an additive in the tranny?

 

[liljohn]

SS-
Perfect! Thanks for the info. Will have to give that a shot and see.

 

[Desert Rat]

Chris;
I'm a Lucas believer especially with the tranny. Just add a quart and what a difference it makes. Just keep in mind, however, it takes more time for the tranny to warm up because Lucas is so thick. The flip side is all the protection the internal parts get during and after driving.

 

[steelsoldiers]

OK great, I'll give it a try and report back. I think I'm going to drive my deuce to the deer camp here in a couple of weeks. That should be fun. There are lots of 7% grades and switch-backs in one part of the highway. That should make her smoke like a freight train! I feel bad for those cars behind me<img src="emoticons/icon_smile_approve.gif" alt="Approve">

 

[Squirtgunner]

Something I haven't seen mentioned yet...

Don't "sport clutch" with any heavy equipment. I know people that have been FIRED for that...

Call it what you want... I call it "sport clutching" when admonishing those that drive my stuff like it's a Porche 944 at Taledega.

The tendency is to rely on the clutch AND the gas pedal to get the truck moving... DON'T DO IT! When stopped, select a gear low enough to allow you to let the clutch out with little or no gas pedal. Ease the clutch out at an idle. The truck will do it. With a little practice you can do it in second on a duece. When the clutch is all the way out, THEN accellerate.

Don't "ride the throw-out bearing". (leaving your foot on the pedal while driving)

Don't "lean on the shifter". (leaving your hand on the shifter when not shifting)It just puts un-necessarry tension on the shift forks.

When you get moving and you shift to higher gear, let the clutch all the way out, THEN accellerate.

Brakes get almost the same treatment. The truck will come to darned near a dead stop just by leaving it in fourth and lettin' off the gas. Shift down to third and it slows down even quicker. Plan ahead... If the light turns yellow, you're slowin' down, even if the light is a quarter mile ahead. Use as little brake as possible at all times.

Big horses eat big hay bales ($$$) and when your drivin' it, it's eatin' hay.

All this applies to anything large, especially an old piece that you don't ever wanna take apart. These techniques are the industry standard for operating heavy equipment, and will help your duece last. Baby it!

 

[Towman2277]

Everything that Squirtgunner wrote is true and to the point...I operate at my business all types of trucks and machines, and the only ones we shift without the clutch is the road tractors (ie. 18 Wheelers etc). If your duece has a clutch, use it, and its best to double clutch.

 

[DDoyle]

Things that should be pointed out - first of all, the military and Continental SPECIFICALLY says NOT to use the Multifuel for engine braking - that is, do NOT step down through the gears to use the engine to retard the movement of the truck, as one would do with a gasoline engine. Continental and the Army both have provided detailed information on the reasoning behind this - the basics of which I covered in an article in MVM some years ago.

Secondly, remember on the Multifuel 2 1/2 truck, fifth is an overdrive, so the ratio change is much different than the 4-5 jump in a gasser - or any of the other gear spreads.

Finally, as so many others have reported, the transmissions in the G-742 6x6's, as well is the five tons, should always be clutched. For those that like the "challenge" of shifting sans clutch, I urge you to purchase a G-792 ten-ton, specifically those powered by the V-8 Cummins.

Best wishes,
David Doyle

 

[eddiec]

the only thing else that pops into mind here is never, never ever ose the clutch to hold yourself from rolling backward at a stop light. as in , do not put the tranny in gear, and ease out on the clutch to hold your trucks position instead of using the brakes. i have seen a lot of truck drivers do this, not really sure what they think they are gaining, but it sure does shorten the life of the clutch.