Clutchless gear change

Mart34

Hi Guys,
As the title says, I'm having problems with my clutch, actually resigned to the fact it needs a new one £695 is the best quote so far. Alot more than I expected but unfortunately it is what it is.

I've been shown a way of changing gear without the use of the clutch, never knew you could until recently. I've tried it and yes it does work. (just a case of matching the gear to the speed, or vice versa) Anyway, is it causing any damage to the gearbox? I'm not getting any crunching sounds or grinding when I do it.

WellKnownSid

Have you had any quotes for a new gearbox?

EdGasket

I would imagine it puts more wear on the selector mechanism as you are surely using greater force to move through the gears when the engine is engaged. If/when you get the clutch fixed, you might find it jumping out of gear or not going in smoothly.

So how do you cope with starting from a standstill, parking, and hill starts? Hardly possible to match engine to road speed when you are stationary?

Mart34

I've only done the clutchless gear change once, to see if it worked. The car is currently sat on the drive, which is where it'll stay until I've made arrangements to get the clutch done.

I'm guessing starting from standstill is impossible as obviously you need to be moving for the clutchless gear change to work.

I just wanted to ask the question of whether it would damage the gearbox.

jackr5

I'd say it certainly isn't good for it, that's one of the reasons the clutch is there for.

If you're resigned to the fact you're going to get a new clutch then I wouldn't risk causing any more damage to the car and having to spend even more.

Retrogamer

It's unlikely to do any damage to the gear box from my experience as long as it's not for a long time. I had to drive 20 miles to a garage to get mines replaced and no clutch for any of it.

For stop starts i just turned the engine off and timed it well. To set off, i just started it whilst in first gear and away i went. This is the part that puts the strain on stuff the most.

When i wasn't using the clutch between gears as long as i got the revs right i didn't need to really use any extra force to put it in. No crunching etc either.

Mart34

No obviously the clutch is there for a reason, if it was normal to change without it, there wouldn't be the mechanism to ease changing gear. As I said the car is parked on the drive. Prob end up declaring it as SORN no point taxing it when its parked up

onomatopoeia99

If you get every gear change exactly right on the revs it won't do much damage if you don't do it long term, though components in syncro boxes are designed for no load changes, not full load, so the selector mechanism and the baulk rings might not like it too much if done for a long time.

If you want to do "no clutch" changes, get a dog engagement gearset. I have one in one of my transaxles and clutchless gearchanges are straightforward, up and down the box.

Joe_Horner

If you do a clutchless change accurately then it'll cause less wear on the box than changing normally with the clutch because you'll be removing the need for the synchromesh to match shaft speeds, which will eliminate synchro wear. But with a synchro box it's very difficult to know if you're doing them accurately or just "accurately enough that the synchro can cope".

Basically, if you can slot it into each gear, up and down through the box, using no more pressure than you'd need if the car was stopped, engine off, at the side of the road, then you'll be doing no harm. If you need any more pressure than that then the synchro is helping you out and may be suffering extra wear.

Incidentally, having mastered the technique, if you continue to use it in conjunction with the clutch then you'll reduce wear to virtually zero.

AdrianC

If the clutch needs replacing, it's more likely to be slipping than failing to release properly - so clutchless changes (which won't harm the box if done well) won't help one bit.

Retrogamer

When my clutch failed, it was due to too many wheelspins that eventually caused the springs to fall out of the friction plate. Never slipped once though.