Grinding Gears

since i got stuck in a maxxforce i dont down shift at all anymore because it wouldnt go into gear 90% of the time. everytime it wouldnt go in gear smooth i would get pissed off. so to keep my mental health in check i coast to a stop each and every time.

 

The lazy way is to throw it in neutral and hope the light doesn't catch you off guard. Theoretically this may save some wear and tear on the tranny at the expense of the brakes and clutch brake. Ideally you'd just find your starting gear as you come to a stop and stay off the clutch brake. Unsychronized transmissions will always catch you off guard on occasion though due to the variables you have to account for.

 

it is all about matching your RPMs to the road speed when you downshift. the same applies to shifting no matter if you are upshifting or downshifting. and one other thing. leaving the jake brake on will drastically affect your shifting when floating. in my columbia, with the eaton fuller 10 sp and cat c15, the jakes can be on 2 ways. on with the cruise on and cruise off. if you tap the brake or clutch when the cruise is on, the cruise will disengage, but the jakes wont come on unless the brake is depressed or if you overspeed above your preset cruise setting. the only way that bothers me is if i am upshifting and i wind the motor up a little more than normal. as soon as my foot comes off the fuel, if you are not fast enough, your dropping a gear or blipping the throttle again to raise the RPMs to get your gear.

then the cruise off, as soon as you take it out of gear to downshift, the RPM fall off is amazing. you gotta be quick, or learn to just ever so slightly rest your foot on the clutch pedal while shifing so it will disengage the jakes while you shift. it takes time and practice. i still grind one now and then, and anyone who says they dont is probably not being truthful.

 

There is also nothing wrong with downshifting a couple gears either, as a matter of fact it is preferable. Yes it is possible to pull it out of gear while coasting and continuing to steer and brake. Lets be honest though, this is the lazy approach to driving and I think most drivers would agree that coasting is an inferior technique.

 

I just downshift to 5th, and you can come to almost a complete stop before it starts lugging too badly. Then select the gear you're going to start in, blip the throttle, and your ready to go. Having the jake on interferes with shifting, don't use it until I get in the top hole. This is for a nine speed, but something similar will work for other trans also.

 

be careful about lugging the engine when stopping.

for some reason i've had clutch replaced twice now. instead of lugging i get what feels like rear end slippage. but it's actually the clutch slipping. and the disc gets ripped apart. thinking i may have to replace the flywheel if the clutch goes out again. but so far it's been holding up.


having worn out transmission. kind of tough to get out of gear when stopping. they just don't slide out like a tight transmission does.

 

Only have automatics now..no grinding and always in the right gear! Just spent some time in Europe with an outfit that owns a bunch of trucks, most OEMs dont even offer manual transmissions,some do only as a special order expensive option.