i have not seen any of those symptoms in my trans. as i said a couple times, i was just trying to se if anyone had the same experience. i am not trying to get in an argument over who can drive stick better, and who cant. i am very compitent in the art of using a clutch, and am very confident in my abilities. I see your point of never leaving a car out of gear, however... i cant sit at three minute long red lights with my foot in on the clutch the whole time. i am starting to see the beggining stages of arthritis from a torn ligament in my left knee, and i am only 23 years old. As for jamming into gear without the clutch depressed, i might be guilty as charged, however i am still throwing this one at ford with their garbage throttle by wire system. I cant wait to have the cash for a chip to get rid of that rediculous throttle lag/hang. I cant understang why i cant have a nice little cable to take care of the throttle body for me. ok enough ranting. Oh and after review of a blown up diagram of the 3650, first gear is synchronized. actually it looked like reverse is too. The first gear in my family's 69 boss 302 toploader isnt, but newer first gears almost always are. I think it also helps to have a good understanding of how a clutch works, which i do since i designed one in a machine design class in college, and have done clutch jobs on a few vehicles (the boss 302, my sisters cavalier, and my old jetta) and i am guessing you do as well, jsut throwing it out there for others reading. Ok enough ranting for me, i apologize if i sound like an a-hole, just sharing my opinion. and thanks for the input.


Steevr: I downshift into first when going fairly slow, since my car has the 3.31's i actually do it around 10-15mph sometimes when going through an ezpass lane. other times i am actually known to start the car off in second. I personally think as long as there arent crashes, loud whines, grinding, bearing squeaky noises, things of that nature, drive stick any way you want. thats the beauty of it, YOU have control of the transmission, there is no set parameters, exact shift points, or some umb computer telling your trans what to do. ut as a disclaimer, dont go around throwing thecar into first gear at 70 mph and letting the clutch out then sending the bill to me. I am not saying abuse the trnas, but feel free to drive the way you like. use the owners manual as a guide, but then kinda feel out the way you like to drive.

Imatk: Its all good from my end, after reading you post and then re-reading my first post i can see where you got that. I was just hoping you werent under the impression that i was trying to start a bickering war or anything like that, just sharing my experiences and clarifying my original post. if we ever cross paths, i'll buy ya a beer or something.

alrighty, well now its time for me to get a short shifter. i am planning some hurst action with the chrome stick, white ball combo, and buy the seperate stock **** adapter so that i can switch back and forth since i have premeir trim. Any comments on that?


again thanks everybody for your imput its appreciated.

 

I think Ford specifically accounted for that when they put in the owner's manual not to shift into first ABOVE 11 mph. Sounds to me like they set that as the upper limit at which you can downshift into first safely without damage to the tranny. I try to avoid it too, but when I'm pulling into my garage, I have to go so slowly that even 2nd is too much, so I do down to first as well, but absolutely not before I see that speedo drop under the 10.

 

there is also a factor of safety built into the specs ford shows. I dont go around throwing it in first anytime i want. however i am sure ford has that in there to use it as an excuse to deny a warranty claim. whatever, whats a new synchro cost.... a weekend on jack stands, and 40 bucks... when this tranny bites the dust. i am ordering up a six speed. but i am willing to bet that will be in 200k+ miles.

 

Now a six speed... that would be sweet

Yeah man my in-laws live in Boonton don't know if that's near Medford but if it is maybe we can have that beer someday

 

Yeah, I know what you're saying. I was pointing that out to emphasize that if Ford intended for you NEVER to downshift into first, they'd have said that. Instead, they allowed for it, by putting in an upper speed limit to do it. That's why I think it's fine on occassion. Hope that helps you feel better.

 

boonton is way north, i am in the philly burbs area.



Ted: I hear ya.

 

Steevr... I think what everyone is getting at as far as downshifting into first is not to do it for deceleration purposes... if you're rolling .... under 11 mph, go ahead and put in first and take off. Bare in mind that it's not sycro'ed (like it hasn't been said enough) with the other gears, so push the clutch in, and wait a moment before you drop it into first to allow the tranny to stop rotating. Then ease it in... you're not going to hurt it doing what you wre talkin' about. I do it all day long. I do, however, downshift to help decelrate (which has been a whole other topic of discussion that I'm not going to get into again).... but just don't ever drop into first for that purpose... always ride second all the way to a stop... obviously pushing the clutch pedal in before you stall.

 

according to all data. diagrams below. First gear is in fact synchronized. you can hear it spin up when you downshift into first while moving (Below 10 mph)




THis is an exploded vuew of the gears in a 3650


most trans' even have synch'd reverse now days. i know my friends 88 BMW 325i is

 

ok, just kidding...
oh... and according to the diagram, reverse is sync'ed on this one too. TAKE THAT BMW!

 

wheww, i was thinking you were going to take that post the wrong way thinking i was trying to shove it in your face. Because i wasnt, just trying to show a proper illustration, not pulling "first is synchronized, totally out of my behind"

 

no way, dude... I don't see the point in getting all butt hurt when someone corrects me or has a different opinion, or whatever. I like learnin' new stuff anyways. But... na, no offfense whatesoever.

 

Yeah I've had my car for 5 years now and its a stick. Perhaps I've been driving it wrong but I better get it down before I get my 5 speed stang. When I'm on the highway or any road and I come to a stop, I throw it in neutral and coast and brake to stop. I never stop in any gear, unless I have to stop fast (rarely) then I engine brake THEN I throw it in neutral when I stop.

I was under the impression that if you constantly hold the clutch down that you are wearing the clutch, hence my neutral coasts to stop.

 

Sorry for noob question, but what does it mean when a gear is syncronized?

 

It's got a special part in there that helps the gear spin up to speed with the rest of the transmission before the teeth engage. It helps prevent grinding teeth better than old transmission would have.

 

no your not wearing a clutch by holdong it in. The throw out bearing is a roller bearing that presses against the pressure plate, and releases the pressure from the clutch, allowing the clutch to fully disengage, and no more wear on the clutch. the only time there is noticeable wear on a clutch is starting from a standstill. which still isnt that bad considering a clutch can last 100k+ miles

 

Yeah my clutch is original and im at 68K.

 

i am guessing the jetta in your profile is your car?

if so, have any work done to it?
I had a jetta, and i took the original clutc out at about 110k, so it will work fine for you.

 

Yeah that's my current ride. Nothing really other than KN filter and magnaflow cat-back exaust. Other than that just regular scheduled maintenance. This is what I'm trading or selling when I'm ready for the stang!

 

thats kinda hilarious

i traded my 99 wolfsburg edition for my stang. guess you are fallowing suit