On Mon, 30 Jun 1997, Chris S. Mottram wrote:
> above). As I tried to shift, my pedal went to the floor and did not
> return. Although the pedal was fully depressed, I could not put the car
> into gear. I had to start the car in 1st and drive it home at 5 mph.
> (Thanks Chris Stephenson for your story about limping home like that in
> traffic. I would have gone home for the tow vehicle.) I didn't check
In the event this happens to you again or to someone else, I'll point out
you need not limp home in first. Start the car in neutral and warm it
up. Then shut it off. Put it in low and start the engine; it should
chug, chug away. I assume you did that.
However, at the point where you would normally shift out of low, ease up
on the accelerator gradually while pulling lightly on the shift lever.
When you unload the gears it should slip out of low. Press lightly
against the second slot while easing up more on the accelerator and it
will slide into second. Ditto for third and fourth. If your not overly
brave, you can stay in 2nd or 3rd and at least not have to limp in low.
If forced to stop, ease up on the accelerator, slip into neutral, stop,
shut off the engine and repeat.
My son, who is not all that smooth at shifting *with* the clutch simply
couldn't believe this was possible, until I showed him.
W. R. Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons(at)northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8629
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