I've heard from my friends that putting my 5 speed in neutral while going down hill is bad for your clutch. Is this true?
2007-07-24 13:33:53 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
It's bad for your transmission, but not your clutch. My first car was a VW rabbit (gas not diesel) and I read the manual cover to cover. It said coasting in neutral was bad for it, and it did make a whining noise when doing that. So I would hold the clutch in, no big deal. Other stick shifts I had didn't whine in neutral like that VW, but I still have the habit of not winding up the spindle and all the bearings in my transmission for no reason.
Tip - when coasting with the clutch in and getting ready to drop back into gear, try to throttle up the engine to the same speed as the car for the gear you are going into. You'll get a feel for this, it takes a lot of practice. The idea is to match the rotation of the clutch and the flywheel so no clutch wear occurs when they meet. You know you've got it right when you can't feel any discontinuity in the car's motion.
Danger - never turn off the car and coast downhill. This would be a very bad thing as described above.
There are some funny comments here though, very enjoyable reading. Jake (engine) braking is fine if you are running a semi full of lumber down from the Rockies or somewhere to save your brakes for an emergency, but doing this in a passenger car makes zero sense. Why would you habitually punish your transmission, clutch, piston rings and crankshaft bearings during engine braking? To make the brake pads last a little bit longer? In my book, it's a WHOLE LOT EASIER to swap you out some brake pads than overhaul the drivetrain you used to absorb all that kinetic energy. GOOD LORD, PEOPLE!!!
2007-07-24 17:39:46 · answer #1 · answered by mark32937 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1st off you should never coast ANY vehicle down hills. this is
very dangerous and completely idiotic for any responsible driver to do.2nd you lose engine braking which will save your brakes and quite possibly your life. i live where there are 11
to 16% grades and low gears are manditory. try coasting down one of these and using only your brakes. and the roads are posted with 10 and 15 mile an hour corners( hairpins).
i have carbon metallic brakes on all my vehicles and i still
gear down even with an automatic. the clutch will be fine but you might be worse for the wear after the crash.
so do yourself a favor be responsible and don't ever coast downhill in neutral.
2007-07-24 14:15:31 · answer #2 · answered by reddogrollen 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, but it isn't very good on the u-joints and if you jam your transmition into gear to slow down once your at the bottom of the hill it could damage it. Also, if you coast to the bottom and you have stomp on the brakes to stop or slow down you could cause damage to the braking system. I just wonder why you would do that anyway. Its all about engineering and design.
2007-07-24 13:40:40 · answer #3 · answered by rollmanjmg 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not really,
When a clutch is put into neutral it is disengaged from the transmission. However, if you slam it back into gear while you are still moving than that increases the wear on the clutch so that is bad.
Coasting with your clutch in neutral is not harmful, but slamming it back into gear is.
2007-07-24 13:37:41 · answer #4 · answered by Dan S 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
as long as you are not holding down the clutch the whole time you are in neutral.
Shift to neutral and coasting should not have a negative effect.
2007-07-24 13:37:39 · answer #5 · answered by PRC 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have been putting my old borg warner 4-speed into neutral when going down hills for 4 years now and I still havent had to replace any parts.
2007-07-24 13:38:36 · answer #6 · answered by brek69amx 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
bad on brakes. you could be engine braking down that hill instead of coasting and then using the friction brakes.
i see this guy refering to his Borg Warner 4 speed... the 5 speeds of today do not compair to them old 4 speeds.
a borg warner t-18 is so ******* beefy you cant even break it with a blown big block.
2007-07-24 13:50:16 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Only way it would be bad is if you are stupid enough to keep the clutch engaged while you are going down hill with it in neutral. This is pointless, and should not be done. If this is what you are doing....here are some directions to correct the problem.
Step 1: Find gun
Step 2: End yourself,
2007-07-24 13:37:03 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 5⤋
No, it is alright if you put it in neutral. Just don't have the clutch engaged. If you have the clutch engaged that is bad for it.
2007-07-24 15:49:16 · answer #9 · answered by matt c 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No it's not bad for your clutch.
However, engine braking is a better option when going down hill. It's easier on your brakes.
2007-07-24 13:38:42 · answer #10 · answered by sovereign_carrie 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋