Sitting at stop light

Little things called "hills" or "iinclines" help get you rolling while out of gear too

 

If it's an incline it will be in the wrong direction!

 

There seem to be a lot of people around here who don't understand how a clutch works.

When the clutch is all of the way out, the pressure plates are making full contact with the discs and as long as there is no slippage, there is no wear.

When the clutch is all of the way in, the pressure plates are not making contact with the discs, and there is no wear.

Between "all of the way in" and "all of the way out" is where you find the friction zone...where the pressure plates are rubbing on the discs trying to bring the RPM of the input shaft of the transmission up to match the engine's RPM.

Now there is also a clutch brake...which stops the input shaft of the transmission from rotating in order to put the truck in gear when the truck is stopped. If the truck is already in gear and the truck is stopped, the engine brake won't see any wear because the input shaft is already stopped. However, if you are sitting there in neutral with the clutch out, there will be slight wear on the clutch brake as it stops the input shaft when you engage it in order to get the truck into gear. If you put the clutch to the floor while the truck is in gear and rolling, that clutch brake will see excessive wear as it is trying to stop the input shaft...which being driven by the tires rolling on the pavement.

From a "wear" perspective, there will be less wear on parts if you downshift properly, slowing down and depressing the clutch as (but not before) you come to a stop...and then holding the clutch and the brake until you are ready to roll again.

Neutral with the clutch out wears the clutch brake when you engage the clutch to put it in gear.

 

Pedigree if you want to fussy I think I'd rather have the little bit of clutch brake wear as opposed to thrust washer wear on the engine. Whenever you push in the clutch you are actually shoving the engine crank ahead a tiny bit. On my old t-6 the clutch linkage broke when I pushed in the clutch. Luckily it happened at the fuel island when I went to put it in gear. After I got it into the garage all I could think was " Thank god it didn't happen at when I was at a light with the truck in gear and the clutch in" If there was a car in front of my I would had a nice embarrassing/dangerous accident. After that I've never been a fan of that practice. I'd say this rule seems to be something big companies/driving instructors dreamed up but whatever floats your boat.

 

As I'm slowing to a stop I usually tap the fuel a bit to float the shifter into neutral. Then just slow down. I don't touch the clutch until I'm ready to put it in gear and go when the light turns green.

Ethan

 

The clutch discs are pressed into the flywheel when the clutch pedal is released in order to transmit the rotation of the flywheel back to the transmission...if ANYTHING is going to "push the crank forward", it would be that pressure...not relieving the pressure by pressing in on the clutch.

...and you're not supposed to stop 6" off the bumper of the vehicle ahead of you...it's called leaving yourself a space cushion. If you had 6-8 feet between your front bumper and the back bumper of the car ahead of you, and you were sitting at the light in gear with the clutch in and foot brake holding the truck, even if the linkage broke, you should have no problem stopping the truck before hitting the car ahead. Embarrassing? Sure...your truck just lurched forward and stalled out. A crash wouldn't have happened though. Even in low gear, the brakes are strong enough to stop the truck and stall the engine.

 

If I am first in line at a stop light, I leave it in gear, down-shifting only once as I slow. If I am further back in line, I let it stay in neutral.

 

OK let's agree to disagree

 

I agree on pancakes.

Ethan