1st gear

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[January 04, 2009, 07:18:08 AM] edwin .s.nathan: I live in a tropical country ie malaysia.Need to install air conditioning.Any idea on where to put the vents

[January 05, 2009, 10:21:13 AM] BusManVW70: Hello everyone Im new to the site and I have just added some pictures of my 1970 VW Camper his name is Fred enjoy..

[January 06, 2009, 10:03:55 AM] Jamesbehave: oh man

[January 06, 2009, 10:04:11 AM] Jamesbehave: talk about brain dead

[January 06, 2009, 10:04:22 AM] Jamesbehave: read my post

[January 06, 2009, 10:18:51 AM] JimmyD\'s: 1977 vw camper wont start HELP

[January 06, 2009, 10:19:09 AM] JimmyD\'s: her name is lucy

[January 06, 2009, 11:22:28 AM] Jamesbehave: whats going on

[January 06, 2009, 11:40:04 AM] JIMMYD: i have two shitty batteries I have been taking turns on trickle charges. So I put the fresh good battery in and she tries but

[January 06, 2009, 11:40:39 AM] JIMMYD: she won't flip. I've checked all the fuses.... rolled her back.

[January 06, 2009, 11:41:05 AM] JIMMYD: Found an old allman brothers ticket

[January 06, 2009, 11:42:02 AM] JIMMYD: the starter has always seemed fine.... no problems

[good ship lollipop]

lil' question for ya guys.

When i was proudly driving my bus around for those 3 or 4 days i noticed that if i slowed up say at a stop sign, i would have to come to a complete stop than shift into first.   i couldn't shift down into first without grinding gears unless i was completely stopped.  my buddy said my VW's 1st gear probably isn't synchronized and that its common with older vehicles. 

my lil' question is - Is he right?

[delliott101]

I seem to have the same problem... but I do think the shift bushing need to be replaced in mine.  It doesn't shift like buttah (that's butter to us Jersey guys) like it's supposed to...

[vdubyah73]

I believe it's synchronized but its such a low gear that there is a huge difference between road speed and engine rpm, making it difficult to get into 1'st while rolling. As long as you are rolling 2'nd gear is acceptable for making turns or leaving a light that turned green just before stopping.

Bill

[GostaBerling]

1st is synchronized, you should not be having this problem. You might need to make some adjustments or rehab some bushings. The synchroes could also be going out in the transmission. But if you double clutch, and we all should, then you may find the problem lessened. (I also find it helps to put the bus into second and then up into first)

[delliott101]

Double clutch?

[GostaBerling]

Dj has a nice write up on double clutching.

http://www.lovemybus.com/forum/vw-bus-general-forum/how-to-double-clutch/0/

[vdubyah73]

Is the Bus being driven or are you wrestling with it it in the driveway. I ask because of your post in my adventure thread where you say it ran good till you put gas in it. If the tranny isn't warmed up, in cool to cold weather, first gear can be difficult, unless you run synthetic. Still say It is fairly normal.


Bill

[good ship lollipop]

that double clutching read was great. it could be my synchro's, it was a little sensitive about down shifting.  For the most part i was really impressed with the transmission.  The only other old stick shift i've driven is my bodies 74' CJ-5 and mine shifted much smoother. But thats comparing apples with oranges. you can get out of his jeep in first gear and walk along the side of it while it crawls at a 1/4 mph down the trail. 

Is the Bus being driven or are you wrestling with it it in the driveway. I ask because of your post in my adventure thread where you say it ran good till you put gas in it. If the tranny isn't warmed up, in cool to cold weather, first gear can be difficult, unless you run synthetic. Still say It is fairly normal.

wrestling with it in the driveway.   The previous owner never put gas in the vehicle, he only owned it for a few months and never drove it.  long to short i found out i have a rusty gas tank.   

[GostaBerling]

Disregard synchro's/double clutching they only are a factor with a running engine. 

[good ship lollipop]

no, we're cool, i was referring to the engine running.

i'm gonna take the gas tank out this weekend and start cleaning up my frame and tin and stuff!

[vdubyah73]

that double clutching read was great. it could be my synchro's, it was a little sensitive about down shifting.  For the most part i was really impressed with the transmission.  The only other old stick shift i've driven is my bodies 74' CJ-5 and mine shifted much smoother. But thats comparing apples with oranges. you can get out of his jeep in first gear and walk along the side of it while it crawls at a 1/4 mph down the trail. 

Is the Bus being driven or are you wrestling with it it in the driveway. I ask because of your post in my adventure thread where you say it ran good till you put gas in it. If the tranny isn't warmed up, in cool to cold weather, first gear can be difficult, unless you run synthetic. Still say It is fairly normal.

wrestling with it in the driveway.   The previous owner never put gas in the vehicle, he only owned it for a few months and never drove it.  long to short i found out i have a rusty gas tank.   

Your tranny is fine it's just the cold oil, double clutching is a shifting technique used in heavy trucks such as tractor trailers and heavy dumps. These trucks don't have anysynchronizers. Maybe some new models do but the '96 Ford LTL 9000 and the '89 R model Mack that I drive don't. Double clutching can help if your synchros are truly shot but if your synchros are not shot, double clutching can actually cause missed shifts.

Bill

[GostaBerling]

once learned it can reduce wear, so I've been told.

[vdubyah73]

once learned it can reduce wear, so I've been told.

Gosta I'm not trying to dis you or anything here. The rpm has to match road speed for any given gear to engage. In a heavy truck it's much easier, the window for the shift is broader because of the close ratios of the heavy tranny and the slow revving of a heavy diesel engine. There is only a few hundred rpm difference between gears. A diesels operating range is about 1200 to 1900 rpm some will wind up to 2100 unless you get into the smaller delivery truck sizes and they usually have a synchro tranny. In the first 3 or 4 gears you only use maybe 300 or 400 of the available rpm. then you get into high range and you may be able to use all 700 to 900 rpm but you might have a splitter and now you have a 13 speed tranny that uses the power band around 1500 1600 rpm and shift again every 300 rpm or so. In a gas engined car with 4 speeds and a usable rpm range of approximately 3000 rpm it is hard to double clutch properly. I can easily drive my bus without using the clutch ( sometimes I just forget to use it because of what I do for a living) Down shifting in to the lower gears is the hardest to do, the lower gear you go to the narrower the window of mesh. First gear at 10 miles an hour the engine rpm has to be up around 3500 or so. As soon as you let off the gas the rpm's are dropping like a stone and the bus is scrubbing momentum because there is nothing pushing it. It's a good technique to learn so you can get home or to a safe spot with a broken cable. Just learn how to upshift from 1,2 and 3 and downshift from 3 to 4 maybe try 2 if you get good at it. If you are coming to a stop with a broken cable just throw it into neutral and coast to the stop, nudging it into first just as you stop then when it's time to go just turn the key with a little gas pedal and away you go.

Bill 

[Happy]

Don't mean to interrupt...but my Betty won't ever let me put her in 1st unless I am at a complete stop. If the engine is running, I must hold the clutch in for a second before trying or it will grind.  But that's my BETTY!

[good ship lollipop]

you know it was certainly cold out when i drove it.  under 40 anyway.