shifting while the car is off without pressing down the clutch - bad for the car?

[BlahBlahYouToo]

i remember i was at a honda dealership once while waiting for service on my accord, sat in an s2000 and started playing around with the shifter. i could hear the mechanical clunking noise coming from the gearbox underneath the car.

one of the salesman told me to stop because it was bad for the car.
i was thinking he's wrong, clutch depressed, no damage done since that's how you normally shift with the car on and moving anyway.

but what about shifting, not depressing the clutch (obviously with the engine off and car not moving)?

 

[LS21]

no, its not bad. at all. i do this a lot.

typical dumb salesman - did he wear a checkered coat, too?

 

[Billb2]

The salesman wanted to get the tire kicker out of the car.

 

[Zenmervolt]

You can put minor wear on the shift forks by doing this because it does take increased pressure to engage the gears if the car is not moving (if the gears are spinning, it takes slightly less pressure to shift). However, that is really only applicable in a theoretical sense and isn't anything that would come up in the real world.

ZV

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
i remember i was at a honda dealership once while waiting for service on my accord, sat in an s2000 and started playing around with the shifter. i could hear the mechanical clunking noise coming from the gearbox underneath the car.

one of the salesman told me to stop because it was bad for the car.
i was thinking he's wrong, clutch depressed, no damage done since that's how you normally shift with the car on and moving anyway.

but what about shifting, not depressing the clutch (obviously with the engine off and car not moving)?

He's an idiot... you're moving gears that aren't rotating up and down on an axle, all submerged in oil. It's virtually the same amount of wear on the shift fork as with regular use.

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Billb2
The salesman wanted to get the tire kicker out of the car.

Sounds right to me.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: halik

Originally posted by: BlahBlahYouToo
i remember i was at a honda dealership once while waiting for service on my accord, sat in an s2000 and started playing around with the shifter. i could hear the mechanical clunking noise coming from the gearbox underneath the car.

one of the salesman told me to stop because it was bad for the car.
i was thinking he's wrong, clutch depressed, no damage done since that's how you normally shift with the car on and moving anyway.

but what about shifting, not depressing the clutch (obviously with the engine off and car not moving)?

He's an idiot... you're moving gears that aren't rotating up and down on an axle, all submerged in oil. It's virtually the same amount of wear on the shift fork as with regular use.

They aren't submerged in oil. Gearboxes rely on splash lubrication and the ability of the oil to "climb" between gears. If the gearbox isn't spinning, the upper shaft is dry and the lower shaft is only partially submerged, perhaps 1/4 submerged, certainly no more than 1/2.

ZV

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

so what i'm taking away from this is that... even without depressing the clutch pedal, moving the shifter around the gears will not harm the car if it is off and not in motion.

 

[Elstupido]

IIRC, Indy car drivers do not use the clutch while shifting, I have even done it myself a few times. Just take your foot off the gas and shift while the engine is starting to decrease rpm

 

[bruceb]

It will not hurt anything if the motor is off. And as mentioned above, you can, with practice, shift smoothly between gears without the clutch, especially during upshifting. It can be done on downshifts as well, but it takes a bit more skill to do. And it is next to impossible to get into 1st gear without the clutch, especially if you are stopped going uphill.

 

[Elstupido]

"And it is next to impossible to get into 1st gear without the clutch, especially if you are stopped going uphill."

Just rev the hell out of it and jam it with both hands into 1st. Thats's what the race car drivers do isn't it?

lol

 

[Blunc]

after the first or second time thru the gears all gears and synchros have been lined up and virtually no wear will happen to the gears...only the shifter linkage will get worn out.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Blunc
after the first or second time thru the gears all gears and synchros have been lined up and virtually no wear will happen to the gears...only the shifter linkage will get worn out.

They don't stay lined up as you shift though. There are only two shafts in the gearbox, and not all gears are going to be aligned for any given positioning of the shafts. So if you shift 2-N-2-N-2-N-2-N then yes, everything will stay aligned within the transmission. However, if you shift N-1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1-N then the shafts will be forced to move slightly with each shift to accommodate the fact that not all gears mesh at exactly the same shaft positions.

Still, this is a technicality. As stated before, any additional wear (and there technically is some) is so small that it cannot possibly be considered to be worth thinking about.

ZV

 

[exdeath]

Might as well be worried that the piston rings and rod bearings wear every time the engine runs... probably better off not using the engine.

 

[LTC8K6]

Nascar drivers don't have to use the clutch either, except when they stop.

IIRC, IRL cars have paddle shift systems now:

XTRAC #295 gearbox (gears forward of rear axle)Six forward gears, Mega-Line Assisted Gear Shift (paddle-shift)

 

[Billb2]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Nascar drivers don't have to use the clutch either, except when they stop.

:thumbsdown:

 

[exdeath]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Nascar drivers don't have to use the clutch either, except when they stop.

IIRC, IRL cars have paddle shift systems now:

XTRAC #295 gearbox (gears forward of rear axle)Six forward gears, Mega-Line Assisted Gear Shift (paddle-shift)

Yup, soon as Ferrari came out with it, every Honda and Chevy back to 1980 automatically got them too so everyone has 8 speed semi-auto paddle shifts now. :roll:

 

[SSSnail]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
Nascar drivers don't have to use the clutch either, except when they stop.

That's right, they use hammers.