Does even 'perfect' floating cause unnecessary wear?

Discussion in 'Trucks [ Eighteen Wheelers ]' started by Ralph4159, May 20, 2012.

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  1. May 20, 2012 #1
    Ralph4159

    Ralph4159 Heavy Load Member

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    I have never found a definitive answer to this question and would love to hear from an experienced mechanic. I was told years ago that even if I floated the gears 'perfectly' (ie no perceivable resistance), there would still be some kind of excess wear occurring to components. I forgot if a safety director told me this or a head mechanic. After I was told that, I went back to double clutching because I want to do what is absolutely best for the engine. But now I read in here that double clutching wears out the clutch and that floating is better. I know there must be a thousand opinions about this - but there must be an absolute mechanical truth. What is it? :biggrin_2556:
     
    Ralph4159, May 20, 2012
    Ralph4159, May 20, 2012
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  3. May 20, 2012 #2
    misterG

    misterG Road Train Member

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    For every mechanic and driver you talk to, you will get a differing opinion. Do what your employer wants you to do. That is usually the best thing.
     
    misterG, May 20, 2012
    misterG, May 20, 2012
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  4. May 20, 2012 #3
    bender

    bender Road Train Member

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    Floating is best and causes no abnormal wear when done properly in a heavy duty transmission.

    Some drivers like to float through the gears on light duty syncronized transmissions. This should not be done as it will quickly wear out and even break the syncronizers. The clutch should always be used to shift a syncronized transmission. The syncronizer is a gear brake and power should be removed by depressing the clutch when shifting s so it can work as designed.
     
    bender, May 20, 2012
    bender, May 20, 2012
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  5. May 20, 2012 #4
    Ralph4159

    Ralph4159 Heavy Load Member

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    LOL, thanks - that was exactly what I was worried about. But since these are tangible mechanical components, there must be some kind of absolute true answer out there, right? I will continue to double clutch, but am wondering if I'm an idiot and actually causing unnecessary clutch wear.

    Just curious, and it seems like you guys know what you are talking about but another thing: I remember asking someone about the Jake brake and how you see some drivers leave it on for periods of time (while upshifting, downshifting, etc). He told me that could cause damage also, so I was always careful to only use it in situations where it was continuously on in a downgrade. But again, I don't know if that advice was 100% correct either. Thanks again!
     
    Ralph4159, May 20, 2012
    Ralph4159, May 20, 2012
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  7. May 20, 2012 #5
    G/MAN

    G/MAN Road Train Member

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    Unless you scrape the gears while floating the gears there is no reason that you should have any greater wear on the gears as you would using a clutch. The rpm's will still need to be right or you won't be able to shift gears whether you use the clutch or not. I have put hundreds of thousands of miles on my trucks while floating the gears. The clutch does little to help you shift gears in these big trucks. Just don't force the gears. If you force the shifter into the next gear you can break teeth off the gears which will damage your transmission.
     
    G/MAN, May 20, 2012
    G/MAN, May 20, 2012
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  8. May 20, 2012 #6
    black_dog106

    black_dog106 Road Train Member

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    Hi Ralph: like misterG said, everyone is gonna have an opinion. I "float" most of the time. I didnt realize how much until one day i had a kid riding with me and apparently watching closely. He commented on my clutch(or lack of) usage. I never thought about it until he pointed it out to me. It is one of those things we do without much thought?
    To answer your question. I have always got good life out of drivetrain parts. My advice would be to never force shifter. When it is ready, it will go by itself with very little assistance...:biggrin_25514:
     
    black_dog106, May 20, 2012
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  9. May 20, 2012 #7
    black_dog106

    black_dog106 Road Train Member

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    Always good to see your posts Gman. My apologies to you.
    While i was typing (very slowly with my skills) you already posted.
    Do as Gman says, he has been at it for a long time. I believe he is a man that can hosestly say he has more miles backing up than many of us do going forward...:biggrin_25514:
     
    black_dog106, May 20, 2012
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  10. May 20, 2012 #8
    Ralph4159

    Ralph4159 Heavy Load Member

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    Thank you so much. I love all the interesting info. I had forgotten another thing I'm curious about. You see so many drivers rest their hand on the shift lever between shifts (even on the official Roadranger videos). Many years ago a mechanic told me that even simply resting your hand on the lever unnecessarily like that is actually causing wear in some components - even though you don't hear or feel anything. I never found out if that is really true either.

    [ame]http://youtu.be/UPG7WQL7QWo[/ame]
     
    Ralph4159, May 20, 2012
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  11. May 20, 2012 #9
    G/MAN

    G/MAN Road Train Member

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    No apology necessary, black_dog. We were basically saying the same thing. It never hurts to have more than one opinion.
     
    G/MAN, May 20, 2012
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  12. May 20, 2012 #10
    Heavyd

    Heavyd Road Train Member

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    Actually, thats a good point! I remember hearing about this in school. The mechanical leverage is about 10 to 1 at the top of the shifter to the bottom. Your hand and arm resting on the shifter is about 7 pounds of push/pull effort, so you end up having about 70 lbs of force between the shift fork and sliding clutch!
     
    Heavyd, May 20, 2012
    Heavyd, May 20, 2012
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