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Date: Wed, 18 Mar 1998 12:09:08 -0800
From: Kelvin Dodd <kdodd@West.net>
Subject: Synchronized first, Clutching,
A couple of notes to add to the fray.
Non synchro first gears. The biggest problem I have had is with
carbon t/o bearing cars and traffic lights. At the red light the car is
normally kept in neutral with the clutch out. This means the input
shaft and cluster gear are spinning around merrily at engine speed.
When the light turns green, the immediate response is to press in the
clutch, engage 1st gear and leave. The problem is that it takes a
couple of moments for the merrily spinning gears to slow after the
clutch is engaged. With a non-sunchro box, the lay gear must be
stationary with respect to the first gear sliding hub. The first gear
must either be sped up (tough to do, since the car is standing still) or
the lay gear must be slowed down. In a synchro box the slowing down is
achieved by a tapered brass sleeve working on a hardened section of
gear. In a nonsynchro box the speed matching is taken care of by an
interaction of driver brute force and expensive, fragile gear teeth.
The noisy demise of which is well known to all of us.
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A trick which I learned on my Healey is to engage second gear first.
This will stop the motion of laygear so that you can slip into first
without grinding. In order to get this braking effect, you don't
even have to go all the way into second. Just push the shift
lever until you feel the synchro rings hit, then move it straight
forward into first.
Peter Schauss
ps4330@okc01.jccbi.gov
schauss@worldnet.att.net
1963 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk II
1980 MGB
p
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