Clutchless Shifting

Not only could my first co-driver, an 8 month supertruckerwannabe, not float, he also did what I think you are calling jake shifting. On exit ramps he would downshift through every gear, using the jakes to decelerate. Woke me up every time. He would do the same when taking off. He also banged it in every time. I wanted to beat him over the head with my flashlight every time.

I was taught to float and stop and take off smoothly. I tried to show this guy the difference, but since I was new I didn't know anything. Thanfully he's someone elses problem now.

 

Now you went and made me dig out my laptop just to reply (crackberry sucks for posting).

Sliding clutch... clutch dog... the part that slides on the shaft and locks the gear to the mainshaft. Forcing it into position when the teeth are not lined up (grinding) is what causes damage to the gears. Makes no difference if you are floating or not... grinding is grinding is grinding.

However, if while floating, you barely miss the window of opportunity where the slider is turning the same speed as the gear, and then the gear starts speeding up (or slowing, whichever the case may be), and you happen to get it into gear anyway, you'll cause a pissload of shock to the drivetrain as the wheels force the engine to speed up. If the clutch is disengaged, the only shock will be the weight of the clutch discs themselves... not added weight of the flywheel, the whole internal rotating assembly of the engine as well as the pressure exerted by the compression of the engine.

In much simpler terms, it'd be the same as dumping the clutch.

Clear as mud?

 

Almost....


I missed a few shifts when I was first learning how to drive and found out that the "big bang" was more than just a theory...It turned out that the truck could make a "big bang" and that the old guy that was letting me learn on his truck would cause another "big bang" on the side of my head immediately follwing the "big bang" that I caused the truck to make!


I haven't done the "big bang" in many, many years because I got tired of the second "big bang" and decided to eliminate the first one and avoid the second one.


Clear as mud?

 

Same here.... only use clutch to take off and float the rest. However ! Sometimes I slosh and can't get it out of gear ( called bind ) and I feel like such a rookie........

Racka sacka.....

 

That's when you just step on it and try again... as long as you don't cause a "big bang", no one is the wiser... they'll just think you got another gear.

 

did you know my dad???? he seemed to have the same thought,,, he didnt say a word,would be in the sleeper, go ahead miss a gear,chirp one ,and for some strange reason while driveing this big arm would come out of the sleeper an smack you in the head,,,, after my eyeballs would quit rolling around my head from the shock wave ,i got the hint

 

No matter what the modern day girlie men think...OLD SCHOOL learning was the best!

Those of us that were fortunate enough to come up in those days are much more competent operators than the modern day "schoolie"!