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Post by openroad88 on Aug 12, 2004 23:32:35 GMT -5
Just the other day, I was driving a 1994 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup which was a 5 speed manual transmission. I used the clutch to get it going in first gear and then didn't use the clutch again all the way up to 5th at 45MPH. Is this floating the gears?
I noticed that it worked the best when I started out in first gear around 1200RPM and revved up to around 2000 RPM's and when the rev's fell down to around 1600...the gear lever would fall into the next gear without any grindage.
Just trying to practice up for the big rigs!
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Post by Fozzy on Aug 13, 2004 3:13:55 GMT -5
STOP! You cannot really duplicate the way truck transmissions work by floating the gears in a regular transmission AND you are almost certainly damaging the transmission! There are a few racing equipped cars that people float gears in, but nothing that was built by the normal GM plant will do this.
Rule number one: You will NOT learn to float gears at ANY trucking school that I'm aware of! To pass most raod tests at companies you will be required to double clutch.
The ONLY way that you will ever pass a CDL skills test is by proper shifting. This means double clutching and shifting properly and using the clutch properly.
Fozzy
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Post by Charles on Aug 13, 2004 10:32:18 GMT -5
Hold on, it's not quite that dangerous! (You CAN do it but I agree that it's not recommended). It's quite possible to float the gears in a car transmission, just like any other transmission, IF the gears are turning at the same speed, and are not separated or meshed while under torque (this is what defines floating, of course). Obviously you have to know your gear ratios and the splits are not identical as they would be in most truck transmissions. I've done it many times on Mopar A-833 four-speeds, New Process 435 (light truck trans), and others whose ratios I knew. HOWEVER. Since these transmissions are equipped with synchronizers (synchros), they will not "protest" with grinding or gear clash the way a non-synchro truck transmission will if you don't have the revs just right. Instead the synchros will "bind" and resist your pressure on the stick while also wearing themselves out VERY fast. Their metallic friction surfaces are designed to handle the inertial load of one small gear, not the whole drivetrain plus vehicle mass! The bronze or brass dust can't be good for the bearings, either. So after you have worn out the synchros, you'll end up with an unsynchronized transmission anyway and you'll always have to float or double clutch thereafter! Also, as correctly pointed out, you have to double clutch for the school and road test anyway, and the "feel" is nothing like a truck trans.
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Post by truckertom on Aug 15, 2004 15:13:16 GMT -5
Not to mention that the gears in a auto tranny are small, and very easy to chip.
I will teach students to float, after they pass their driving test.
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Post by Charles on Aug 16, 2004 13:48:22 GMT -5
Hadn't thought about the tooth size... good point.
Once finished with driving tests, do most drivers float or do they double-clutch?
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Post by truckertom on Aug 16, 2004 18:34:28 GMT -5
Most of us float, not that there is anything wrong with double clutching. In fact, I had to learn how to double clutch the first time I became an instructor back in '89. You have to know it to teach it I suppose. But the RPMs, tach drop times and everything are the same, the only difference is the clutch. When you float, you don't use it.
But I wouldn't recommend you do it in your pickup!
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Post by Charles on Aug 17, 2004 8:39:02 GMT -5
I have another question on floating - how does one go between low and high range (9 speed)? Is it even possible or is at least one clutch operation always required? I haven't had a chance to get above 4th on the farm and don't want to see gears bouncing down the road behind me ... The dash sticker for the shift pattern says to flip the range switch before moving the stick. But to change ranges without clutching, the stick would have to be in neutral already. I suppose this is easier to do than it is to describe (just like walking)
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Post by Fozzy on Aug 17, 2004 15:24:42 GMT -5
Try it, you'll like it! ;D You can move the "ranger button" all you want and as many times as you want while rolling down the street and NOTHING will happen until you pass the gearshift through the neutral position. This is how it works. The preselection of high range is done before moving the gearshift lever, As you clutch and go into neutral the transmission changes (usuing air) into high range. Think of two transmissions "stacked" on top of each other. You go though the pattern once........flip the "ranger button" and when you go through the same pattern again. Down shifting is the same. You preselect the low range, and as you clutch and drop into the next lower gear, the transmission shifts into low range again...
Fozzy
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Post by ThinkinOnIt on Aug 23, 2004 16:57:12 GMT -5
I have never driven a transfer truck but I have replaced the transmission in my pickup twice trying to float the gears. Floating should be left for transmissions that are built for it.
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Post by truckertom on Aug 31, 2004 15:41:42 GMT -5
Yeah, that ford has alot smaller gears than a 10 speed spicer!
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