Shifting Questions

Let up on the brk when your foot is on the clutch peddle.You're riding the brk peddle while slowly letting up on the clutch I think could be why the jerkyness.

 

The truck has mechanical issues. Skip gears when dwnshifting to a approaching corner. How to adapt to misfit trucks takes miles. Seasoned drivers can drive almost any nightmare in a few miles. Jumped in a Army truck today neven near one before. Did a VI and check out the cab interior turned a few switches grabbed a hand full of gears and gassed on it. Look out Rambo.

 

Let me start by congratulating you for wanting to get better and become a smoother driver. Asking questions and observing old 'hands' is the best way to learn the ins and outs. Also, whatever you hear on this board is not the absolute right way to fix it. Everyone has their opinions and it might be best to take a little piece of everything that's thrown out there

This is all about momentum. Your higher gears don't do this because by the time you've progressed to those gears you obviously have momentum with your truck. So rest assured you don't have anything wrong with your truck, it's just the learning curve. Very simply you're trying to put more power to the drives than the truck is ready for. The drive line wants to turn and the wheels aren't moving that fast yet....hence the jerk, or the rock. Trying to run through the gears too quickly from a stop or slow move is the culprit here.

Im assuming the clank is happening as your slamming into gear. The clank your hearing are the gears 'arguing' if you will. Much like your first question this is a matter of you not being in the right speed as your progressively shifting. Take a look at your speed (road and engine) next time you hear that clank. Chances are your road speed is just a bit too slow when making that shift.

I don't think you're doing turns at 25mph. If so stop! You're gonna roll the truck. Very simply you can kick it out of gear as you get close to the intersection and let your momentum carry you. Very seldom will I downshift any more than a gear or two before I'll kick it out of gear and coast for a bit. As you make the turn be slow enough to where you can switch to low side and ease her into the top gear on your low side. This all happens as your making your turn, watching your surrounding, protecting your right side so you don't curb your trailer tires as well as not leaving enough space for a car to try to slip through... Then accelerate smoothly as you come out of the turn. Remember you're a pro and its all about being smooth.

Your road speed is too fast for that gear (when that happens). Don't feel too bad, I still get tripped up on that one from time to time and I've got 817,000 accident free miles under my belt. That's all about timing.

pay attention to your tach and road speed when running through gears. When you get a smooth shift make a mental note of it. What gear it was, where the tach was and where your road speed was. That's your sweet spot. Keep asking questions and don't feel intimidated around other drivers. Everyone of us was a rookie at some point. Good luck driver

 

This Post has to win something! OK a Thank You from Me! I am very impressed that a driver of 23 years would come in and answer this, I commend you for this, there is another thread I was looking over the other day talking about those of us that have a few miles on us to help the younger guys and I don't mean that age is a factor here but the time that we all have been in a truck, I try to help everyone I can, and if this poster helps the guy with shifting it helped me too, I have days like it was the first day of School it just happens, This Op doesn't realize it but he just asked the same questions that 30 others on here thought were "Dumb" or "I'll get it down in time" well I am one of those I leaned from this OP as well as this post, I Thank You both for this. Keep It Rollin'

 

One thing you want to make sure that if your using the jake to slow to a stop or turn. Turn it off before you accelerate otherwise it will jerk you and get your shifting all messed up
In time you will learn your trucks timing. Each truck has it's own personality.
Treat your truck nice and gentle, she has to get you there and back. Be mean to. Your truck and she may leave you stranded in the hot sun or freezing cold

 

Oh Gawd,I remember those days!!! I do not know how I made it!!! BAHHAHAHAH I just kept at it until one day I realized I hadn't done it in a long time! I had no training,so I didn't know I should've had the jake off when I was shifting gears,that old Freightliner went thru h e dbl hockey stix!

 

That clank from 5th to 6th is more than likely you range selector changing the tranny from the low side to the high side. When your parked with the truck shut off, kinda play around with the shifter and get a better feel for the gates but keep in mind some will not be open because the truck is not running but sometimes can be over come by pressing the clutch. Flipping the range selector makes a clank, fool with it a bit so you start getting used to it.

The shaking when letting off the clutch is probably you letting off of it to fast and accelerating to fast at the same time under load. Keep in mind that a truck, like a drag car has alot of torque. When taking off until you hit at least 4th or the high side depending on load weight, the left side of the truck is going to naturally pull up in the front as you accelerate and level back off as you release of the fuel and change gears and will pick back up again as you accelerate again.

Some will say different things about watching your speed and tach. I will leave it to you to figure out what works best for you. Personally for me I don't watch my speed or tach. To cumbersome but rather I just have a natural ability in shifting by listening and feeling the truck not shifting shifting high where it sounds like the motor is gonna blow (seen it a few times scary to say the least) but not to low where the truck is trying to lug and stall. Finding that sweet spot in feel and sound while floating makes all the world of a difference.
I agree with Jakkyl, theres nothing wrong with the truck. We all grind gears when we start getting tired and any driver that says they don't is so full of #### its unreal. Well except those in automatics but those aren't trucks, they are lazyboys on wheels.

All in all if your doing ok and find yourself starting to struggle a bit then you need to clear your mind because it means you are starting to get overwhelmed and when that happens you start making mistakes. Give it a few more months and eventually the truck will become second nature to you and you'll find yourself a much better driver and shifting will become so natural that you don't really even realize your shifting and your focuse is more directed towards finding your customers address or other places and paying better attention to traffic rather than struggling with a gear. Just give it time and you will discover your "groove". Just be careful and keep it shiny side up between the mayo and mustard!

 

What really suck if you are a company driver is that you are going to go through this every time the company upgrades your truck to a newer one. Each time though it should get easier for you to adjust to the truck quicker. Want to have a harrowing experience, go from a 450 HP engine with a 9 or 10 speed and drop to a 5 or a 6 speed behind a 240 HP engine with your boss sitting in the jumpseat on your first trip. It is a pure luck that that tranny survived that day, hehe.