Woah.. worth a read esp modded gear people

I dont get it...why would you want to coast downhill (accellerate) for any distance with the clutch pushed in??

-jenn

Me either. If I was going that far or over around 10mph, I would shift back into 4hi and keep 'er in 2nd or 3rd.

Carl

When i coast I slap her in Neutral and let the clutch out.

How to die in one easy lesson....

Seriously....

There 'are' reasons it is illegal to coast downhill in neutral and they go triple for a short wheelbased Jeep.

When you coast in neutral, it unloads the suspension making everything just flop around loose. This can translate to marginal wear that you wouldn't normally notice in say shackles, springs, bushings, tie rod ends, etc all adding up to give a serious loss of control.

When you are in gear, all these parts get under a torque load that keeps things at one side of their wear pattern which keeps it stable.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's Canadian Off Road Trips Photos: Non members can still view! Jan/06 (More Off Road album links at bottom of the view page)

Also, when you keep the clutch engaged the RPM of the clutch will not exceed the RPM of the engine. If you simply must coast with the engine disengaged, take it out of gear and leave the clutch in. It's still a bad idea, though.

You can bet that if that guy had engaged the clutch before it blew while at speed he would have been buying a new motor, too.

Carl

Correction, I meant engaged, not in.

Carl

While I totally agree its a stupid idea to coast in neutral, I don't buy your argument - automatic transmissions effectively coast on the overrun.

Dave Milne, Scotland '91 Grand Wagoneer, '99 TJ

To me it's a safety issue...coasting with clutch disengaged or in neutral means you aren't in full control of the vehicle.

WOW I had no idea. I don't do it for long stretches - If I'm going down a driveway or parking lot I tend to put it in neutral, push the clutch in, and wait till I know what gear I'll need. If there are no cars at the bottom of the small incline - 2nd, and if a car approaches, 1st. I'm always in 5th on the highway even down steep hills. Thanks for the xtra info. Sorry for making you think I ride around in neutral!

Its not a big deal to do it at slow speeds in 2hi on the street or for short stretches. Definately a bad idea in 4LO or on the highway.

Carl

When you are 'floating' along with no acceleration or deceleration it doesn't matter if you have an auto or a standard, you are still just floating along.

Not the use of the word 'floating'.

When you are under any deceleration, the torque load has to happen because the driveshaft is turning the tranny which in turn is trying to turn the engine. It doesn't take much to push the wear spot against one side of the part to tighten it up.

That is also one reason some folks like standards so much better than automatics, for the better 'feel' you have when slowing down or using the gears.

Mike

Dave Milne wrote: