into neutral. No... into other gears...i wouldnt advise it. it takes a second to do it the right way

 

clutch is much cheaper than a tranny

 

Its called rev matching .....its hard

 

I lost a throw out bearing an hour from home, think I called a tow truck? Started it in gear and didn't touch the clutch It takes a minute to get good but it's very possible. Large trucks don't have synchronizers so you HAVE to float the gears

 

Large trucks don't have synchronizers so you HAVE to float the gears

I learned how to float the gears on a 1970something Mack truck that had a 3500 gallon jet fuel transport tank on it. Clutch, what clutch? THAT was TONS of fun!

 

Yes, you can downshift without the clutch, and yes, it takes practice.

If done correctly, no gears will grind, synchros won't be damaged. It's a good thing to learn, just in case you ever develop a clutch problem. You could lose your slave cylinder, break the line to the slave cylinder, lose the throw out bearing as already mentioned, have a clutch wear out and the list goes on. I drove a VW Bug that way for a couple of weeks after a clutch cable broke. If you can do it with a bug, you can do it with anything.

 

You can impress a 16 year old grandson too

After my grandson and I finished replacing the frame and tub on my Minnesota Jeep we took it for a drive. He was 16 and had never driven a straight shift. Let him drive for quite awhile and he got pretty good.

I drove it back home so shifted without a clutch, both up and down. Guess he told his mom about it when he got back to Texas...:angel:

 

I have an auto Jeep, but my F-250 seldom saw my foot on the clutch either upshifting or downshifting. I've been doing it for years.

 

any time you shift gears under power there is a point when just the edge of one gear is at the edge of another gear..at this point it is very easy to chip those edges.....yes,if you know what you are doing you can shift gears without a clutch but why take the chance..if you don't want to push the clutch then get an automatic or plan on shelling out the bucks later

 

No one's talking about power shifting (shifting under power) here. The discussion has been about using or not using the clutch. Basically you take your foot off the gas, then you manipulate the transmission shifter. The only thing you're using the gas for is to match engine speed with transmission speed while the transmission is in neutral. You let the synchros do their job, but you're saving wear and tear on the clutch and pressure plates.

Truckers do it all the time, and only use the clutch to start off. I've done it with every standard vehicle I've owned, and with deuces and 5-tons I've driven in the military.

 

I can up shift rev matching but not downshift.

 

I have done it on a crappy car I owned and I know Semi truck drivers do it and they refer to it as floating gears, I would play it safe and just use the clutch, unless you have a lifetime warranty then tear it up.

 

And the small window is what you're shooting for. The "window" can be modified by bring engine rpms to match the tranny rpms. Can you grind gears this way? Certainly, that's why it takes practice. But it's not any worse than someone's first attempt at driving a standard.

Like I said, give the synchros time to do their job, that's what they're there for. They don't know if you've used the clutch or not.

 

I use to drive my old enduros and motocross bikes like that all the time. I used my clutch to take off and stop, but that's the only time. I've done it on a truck/car a time or two, but not often.

 

Doesn't hurt anything if you do it right. Do it all the time on my sportbike but wouldn't in my Jeep unless I had to.

 

I drive a tractor trailer for a living and it is called floating the gears. It's not hard once you know how it's done. My truck has an 18 speed trans and believe me your knee could never handle hitting the clutch so many times per day. I use the clutch to start out from a light but never again until I'm at a red light or stop sign.

I'm a "local" driver meaning I'm home every night not over the road, and sometimes I get out of my tractor trailer and into my 94 Wrangler and forget that I've transitioned vehicles. I'll get about half way home and realize that I've floated the gears on my Wrangler for several miles.

You can do it in a car/Jeep but it takes practice.

 

The synchros do their job in either case. Yes, you're still matching rpms, but the synchros are also bringing the gears up to speed. You're still applying a slight pressure to the shifter and the synchros will spool up.

 

Was handy to shift old quadraplex transmissions without the clutch but really un-necessary in a modern synchromesh. No gain unless your left leg doesn't work.

 

My slave went out on me 5 miles down the road, 25 miles to go, this morning. I had heard of floating with big trucks, but not cars or Jeeps - nor had I ever tried it. This thread gave me the marbles to soldier on to work clutch free. Only had to stop twice, that was interesting, but I made it without grinding gears or tearing anything else up.

You should've seen the looks I was getting trying to explain to the lady that watched me drive up that there was no clutch at all. It goes into my top 5 driving moments, for sure.

Thanks WF members!

 

Drive a truck with a Brownie aux. trans and you will find out quick how to float gears.

Donn