1960 Monza How come I can never shift into first without grinding the gears unless I am at a complete stop. I mean...I can't even be rolling or it will grind em' Sorry if this is a dumb question. But most other vehicles I have driven, I can still shift into first while slowing to a stop. Thanks for the help.
first gear is not synchronized. Unsynchronized transmission The earliest form of a manual transmission is thought to have been invented by Louis-René Panhard and Emile Lev***or in the late 19th century. This type of transmission offered multiple gear ratios and, in most cases, reverse. The gears were typically engaged by sliding them on their shafts hence the term "shifting gears," which required a lot of careful timing and throttle manipulation when shifting, so that the gears would be spinning at roughly the same speed when engaged; otherwise, the teeth would refuse to mesh. These transmissions are called "sliding mesh" transmissions and sometimes called a crash box. Most newer transmissions instead have all gears mesh at all times; these are referred to as "constant-mesh" transmissions. In both types, a particular gear combination can only be engaged when the two parts to engage (either gears or dog clutches) are at the same speed. To shift to a higher gear, the transmission is put in neutral and the engine allowed to slow down until the transmission parts for the next gear are at a proper speed to engage. The vehicle also slows while in neutral and that slows other transmission parts, so the time in neutral depends on the grade, wind, and other such factors. To shift to a lower gear, the transmission is put in neutral and the throttle is used to speed up the engine and thus the relevant transmission parts, to match speeds for engaging the next lower gear. For both upshifts and downshifts, the clutch is released (engaged) while in neutral. Some drivers use the clutch only for starting from a stop, and shifts are done without the clutch. Other drivers will depress (disengage) the clutch, shift to neutral, then engage the clutch momentarily to force transmission parts to match the engine speed, then depress the clutch again to shift to the next gear, a process called double clutching. Double clutching is easier to get smooth, as speeds that are close but not quite matched need to speed up or slow down only transmission parts, whereas with the clutch engaged to the engine, mismatched speeds are fighting the rotational inertia and power of the engine. Even though automobile and light truck transmissions are now almost universally synchronised, transmissions for heavy trucks and machinery, motorcycles, and for dedicated racing are usually not. Non-synchronized transmission designs are used for several reasons. The friction material, such as br***, in synchronizers is more prone to wear and breakage than gears, which are forged steel, and the simplicity of the mechanism improves reliability and reduces cost. In addition, the process of shifting a synchromesh transmission is slower than that of shifting a non-synchromesh transmission. For racing of production-based transmissions, sometimes half the teeth (or "dogs") on the synchros are removed to speed the shifting process, at the expense of greater wear. Heavy duty trucks often use unsynchronized transmissions. Military trucks usually have synchronized transmissions, allowing untrained personnel to operate them in emergencies. In the United States, traffic safety rules refer to non-synchronous transmissions in cl***es of larger commercial motor vehicles. In Europe, heavy duty trucks use synchronized gearboxes as standard. Similarly, most modern motorcycles use unsynchronized transmissions as synchronizers are generally not necessary or desirable. Their low gear inertias and higher strengths mean that forcing the gears to alter speed is not damaging, and the pedal operated selector on modern motorcycles is not conducive to having the long shift time of a synchronized gearbox. Because of this, it is necessary to synchronize gear speeds by blipping the throttle when shifting into a lower gear on a motorcycle.
1st gear in many older transmissions is not synchronized with the other gears in the transmission.. That means you can not go into that gear without grinding unless all the gears are standing still, car has come to a complete stop and the clutch is engaged. Most of the time 1st and reverse are like this. The other gears, 2nd and 3rd can be shifted while moving.
The transmission is "synchronized" in the top three gears. info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_transmission You might be able to let the clutch out blip the throttle a tiny bit put the clutch in and it might drop right in (double clutch). Your clutch might need either adjusting or replacement as well. Man am I slow several other replies b-4 I got done
I've had a couple cars over the years with non-synchro low gear and there's a couple different ways you might cope with it. It might help to keep in mind that any time the engine is running and the clutch is engaged, the clutch disc, the clutch gear and the counter gear are all spinning, even if the trans is in neutral. Now let's say you've stopped at an intersection for a red light. You've probably put the trans in neutral and taken your foot off the clutch and with the engine idling you've got the condition mentioned above with the clutch and counter gears still spinning. When the light turns green, try depressing the clutch and waiting 2 or 3 seconds before shifting into first. In this amount of time the cluster gear should stop spinning and allow first gear to engage without grinding. If it doesn't, the clutch may need adjustment or the disc is sticking on the splines of the clutch gear. The other approach is to depress the clutch and quickly shift into, or at least partially into 2nd gear, then shift into 1st gear and engage the clutch. This quick use of 2nd gear allows its synchros to stop the spinning counter gear and allows 1st gear to then be engaged smoothly. The only drawback to doing this might be a little extra wear on the syncros for 2nd, but you'll likely never know the difference. The other alternative is to just hold the clutch pedal down while you wait for the light to change, giving the counter gear plenty of time to stop spinning before you put it in 1st. But your leg will get tired and you're putting a lot of extra strain on the throwout bearing. This is probably the least elegant solution.
In 1960 no N.A. three speed was 1st synchro. If I remember right first N.A.3 speed synchro came out on the 68 GTO.
I know on my wife's 62 wagon, it has a 4speed and big engine in it, anyway we had that problem also... we adjusted the clutch up and it took it out/made it much better. But... we ended up changing the clutch, pressure plate and surfacing the flywheel, because of a leaking trans seal that soaked the clutch plate and created a clutch chatter so bad when you tried to take off that it would knock the fillings out of your teeth. Since then we have had NO problems at all with down shifting into 1st or shifting into any gears as far as that goes. I'm no expert on these cars, but after the little problems we had I think the clutch maybe a little sensitive to the way they shift?
Had a '64 many years ago. The clutch is activated via a long cable running from the pedal back to the clutch. That cable needs adjustment periodically to keep the clutch engaging and disengaging properly. There should be a clevis set up for adjustment. I don't remember having problems with the 4 speed when the clutch was right but that was 40 years ago too. I do remember needing to make the adjustment every few thousand miles though.
All standard shift '60 Corvairs were three speeds with a nonsyncro low gear. Four speeds showed up in '61, and were fully syncronized.
Yep, no synchos on first gear. However around 8-12 MPH you can get it in there. But you have to hit it just right. I rarely was able, so I tended to either try and keep rolling if I could , or made as fast of a stop as possible to get it in first to go again. Makes it a big pain when you are stuck in stop and go, but not impossible.
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