How do you downshift? I slip it a little....

[Eddo Rogue]

I was driving around town in the danger ranger and realized I tend to slip the clutch a little letting it out after a downshift whether to slow down, or accelerate.

I used to just drop the hammer as a kid...no wonder I busted so many driveline parts.

When I drop from 4th to 3rd or 3rd to 2nd...I slip it a bit to catch/match the rpms...to ease the drivetrain a bit. I feel like it will save my diff gears, u joints etc...

I still just dump the clutch from a 5th to 4th and on upshifts....

What's your clutch/shift habits?

Is it bad that I slip it a bit?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I'm not sure what you mean by slipping. I use the clutch to shift gears. Except when I don't. I like to try rev-matching going both up and down without the clutch.

 

[Curious Hound]

I couldn’t tell you. I don’t overthink it. It just happens. On the road, I just fall into a rhythm and it happens. I try to be smooth and not dump the clutch unless it’s necessary. Offroad, especially crawling rocks and steep terrain, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. But, overall, “Be nice to your machine and your machine will be nice to you.”

 

[SenorNoob]

I tend to slip heavily as I downshift around a corner. Gotta keep traction somehow. Some minor slippage just to keep from jarring otherwise. I pulled the 2.9 clutch out after like 8 years and it looked as good as when I put it in.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I'm not sure what you mean by slipping. I use the clutch to shift gears. Except when I don't. I like to try rev-matching going both up and down without the clutch.

I mean like how you would slip it to take off from a start in 1st. Let the pedal out as opposed to just pulling your foot off it fast as possible. I guess Rev matching is what I'm trying to say for the most part.

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I couldn’t tell you. I don’t overthink it. It just happens. On the road, I just fall into a rhythm and it happens. I try to be smooth and not dump the clutch unless it’s necessary. Offroad, especially crawling rocks and steep terrain, ya gotta do what ya gotta do. But, overall, “Be nice to your machine and your machine will be nice to you.”

Yea same here lol I just thought of it the other noticing my driving habits for some reason...or shifting habits.

Maybe because I rode motorcycle and drove ranger same day and notices how different I behave w the manual transmissions on them. Sequential on the ranger would be fun lol.

 

[SenorNoob]

If you aren't replacing clutches or u-joints every couple years, you're doing it fine IMO.

 

[Curious Hound]

I tend to slip heavily as I downshift around a corner. Gotta keep traction somehow.

I rarely ever shift in a corner. Downshift before the corner to bring speed down, then, around halfway through the turn, start accelerating to get back up to speed and prepare to shift back up once out if the turn.

 

[Curious Hound]

Yea same here lol I just thought of it the other noticing my driving habits for some reason...or shifting habits.

Maybe because I rode motorcycle and drove ranger same day and notices how different I behave w the manual transmissions on them. Sequential on the ranger would be fun lol.

My shifting habits are remarkably similar between truck and motorcycle.

 

[SenorNoob]

When I take a turn from a higher speed road onto a side street, I usually hold the clutch in as I approach then shift to 2nd and make the turn slipping the clutch till I straighten out. By then I'm ready for third. I'm sure that's not the right way to do things.

 

[Shran]

Depends on the vehicle... I can go from 1-5 in that order in my Explorer or the beater Ranger without using the clutch but downshifting is pretty tricky.

1-2 is difficult in my F150 or the crawler, 2-3-4 is easy. The NP435 in the crawler seems to shift better that way than using the clutch and 3rd gear can be really hard to find for some reason at speed with the clutch disengaged.

I don't do it at all in the stepside truck, it just grinds no matter what so I gave up on that one. Nothing wrong with the trans, it shifts really nice if you use the clutch.

 

[pjtoledo]

with only partial control of my right leg slipping the clutch is mandatory.
even with that my clutches last at least 180,000 miles.

 

[sgtsandman]

I try to rev match but I suspect that even doing that, there is going to be some slip happening.

 

[Thomas 1972]

Will a 1996 3.0l 2wd transmission work in a 1999 3.0l 2wd?

 

[86_FX4]

For me, it really depends on why I'm downshifting. If I'm looking for torque or trying to pass, I def dump pretty rapidly, as it's kind of a "NOW" moment. Also if I'm looking for quick engine braking I'll do a dump.

If I'm just cruising up to a known stop, I will downshift pretty early distance-wise before and slip a little bit between the gears, just to make a smooth stop with minimal actual braking, but this is like at 2000rpm and gentle, I'm not worried about it.

My main problem is when I get nervous or something hairy happens when wheeling or in snow or surprise rut or what-have-you, I have a tendency to slip too much and not just DROP the clutch 100%. If something weird happens when I'm already pushing the truck guarantee you when I get out of the situation, you're gonna smell that crispy clutch -Bad habit!