Shifting Q's

By worn I mean the dampeners in the shifting mechanism are worn.
This happens over time from non-proper shifting.
I am glad that helped.
I have had to teach allot of drivers how to shift over the years so I try to think about how it is done.
And I have a degree in Recreation and outdoor education that helps a little lol.
Just do not get frustrated or in a hurry. If you miss the gear, let the clutch back out and bump your RPMs back up and try again.
If you get frustrated or in a hurry you will mess up worse.
Over time you will learn to shift by ear. Especially if you have a race background. You are use to listening to the engine.

 

Clutch? I'm much smoother without it.
Short shifting seems more of a timing deal than by ear.
Shifting the Shaker at 1500 I could float the RPM down until it dropped in there seemed to be more time.
Another issue might be the feel of the throttle in the Volvo. (fly by wire?)

My racing has not helped any, I put it in 1 and hold it to the floor!!!

 

Obviously, you're racing things with 4 wheels.

The term short shifting is related to big bore MotoX bikes, where winding it out was a waste of time. And could be quiet dangerous LOL We just kept things in the meat of the torque. Unlike our 125cc bikes, which we made scream all the time.

Short shifting...or progressive as it's called in trucking. Is shifting by ear. You just have to train your ear for the new sound.

The newer diesel engines are high torque, requiring fewer RPM's for peak torque. Once you drive one, a real one, not the pretend one at school. You'll be hooked.

It's so much easier.

 

I agree with Danc.
Once use to it they are very nice. I go a hair higher than many do depending on the weight of the load and the truck. But it is a waste of time to rev out a newer truck. Over time you just get a feel. One hills and in town. Some is from ear, some by feel. Cannot really explain it. The truck tells me to shift and I do lol.

 

I have the same degree as yourself and worked in outdoor education for 15 years, although here in the US it doesn't seem like a viable career option. Used to drive in the winter at home and loved it so looking forward to driving here.

How did you find the transition from active to sedentary lifestyle?

 

I have asked this question before but here goes again.

Why do US trucks not have synchronized gearboxes? I am surprised that Volvo hasn't tried to introduce them here. I have driven both crash boxes and synchronized, however i never floated gears in a crash box. Is floating the reason why?

 

I have the bad habit of floating. I have had it for years.
Done correctly this causes no problem with the truck in my opinion. Though a mechanic will tell you that even done well it will cause extra wear on the top edges of the splines on the gear. Transmission gear tips are shaped with a small flat on top and a small angle off of it before it gets to the main face.
So what they mean is that floating will round that out and you will not have as secure of a gear set. I have looked at gear boxes on trucks that I have put several hundred thousand miles on and never seen any exercise wear to the gears, and the mechanics that looked at them agreed with me that the extra wear was not there.
There are synchronizers in a truck gearbox. They just do not act the same as they do in a car gearbox. They are more to "help match" than to actively match the gear box speed to the engine speed.
Class 8 trucks in the US are made to go for 1 million miles. Transmissions if maintained properly and driven correctly should last till at least 600,000++ without any real issues. Clutches with auto adjust should also last at least that long properly driven. If you put a synchronizer in that setup I do not believe that they would last as long, and would need to go in for major repair sooner. Though do not quote me on any of that, I am just a driver that has had to spend many many hours at shops working on old trucks that I drove for local company's. Many times the driver is the mechanics helper at small local company's when their trucks are down.

Technology is changing in these transmissions though. With the new auto shift systems they do have synchronizers. And these are not really "automatic" transmissions. They are auto shift. You can get them in any of the common styles. 9 speed, 10 speed, and 13 speed being the more common. These are the same transmissions as there manual brothers, just fitted with a computer and an auto shifting system.

And please, if any notice bad info on there correct me. I just learned a little over the years working on them and reading.

For the other recreation professional.
It is very hard to find work with that degree in the states. I could have in Maryland when I first finished school, but I got married and moved to NY, where there is no work. I did various jobs trying to find a nitch up here for a few years, but none paid well.
So was back to driving, which is how I paid for College in the first place.

 

so then, is an autoshift tranny going to wear out faster since there is no clutching involved in the shifting? I don't know about you guys, but I would rather have a transmission wear out, than to have my left knee wear out. why clutch if you can change gears without it?

 

The newer auto shift trucks have a clutch, but no clutch pedal.
It is all automatic. Just not the hydraulic type found in cars. Most I believe use an air system for the clutch actuation.
Some think they will wear out faster and some think they will last longer. The debate is out there.
The first generation auto shifts sucked. They were not strong enough, most needed a pedal for at least some of the time ect.
For the new ones they went back to the tried and true methods that we use now for shifting, and found ways to make it work with a computer doing the work.
I have personally never driven one.
The biggest complaint I hear about them is when backing, that it is harder to control your speed when at a crawl.
I would love to hear comments from people that are using them in new trucks 2008 and newer. To see what they think.
I read some review articles a year or so ago on some of the new ones, that the testers really liked them in the mountians and hilly areas. Espically the 13 speed versions.

 

above all remember this its just goin to take parctice...thats what my instructor told me when i couldnt find the gears ....just takes a little practice and it will come to you