Hey guys, like the topic says.

When gearing up its not bad at all but when gearing down, mostly from 3rd to 2nd, its really hard to get into gear. Is my clutch goin out?

Im not very new at standards. We own a VW Bug thats a 5spd and i take it for joy rides around the house all the time. But my truck is a little harder to drive. Im gettin ALOT better at it now though but could my clutch be gettin a lil worn from the learning process? And i doubt its been changed since '95. its going in for an inspection soon so i will try and remember to tell the mechanic to pressure test it or whatever in the hell they do.

hahaha and i think i know the problem is me, but would a little case of "The Bunny Hops" be a bad clutch? Or is it all in shift points and driver error?

Any input is welcome!

 

Your clutch doesnt have much to do with downshifting. Either its engaged or its not. Downshifting has more to do with engine speed and tire speed. Or rather matching your engine speed to your tire speed through your transmission. But the clutch wont effect the pressure needed to get it into/out of a gear unless its engaged.

No the bunny hops are most likely not a bad clutch either. Usually its from letting the clutch out to fast, or not having enough gas.

Your mechanic will most likely just look at how much of the clutch face is left. No pressure test or anything to it. You could have him(or do it yourself) adjust your clutch pedal if you dont like where the clutch is engaging and disengaging in the pedals travel.

 

but its even hard to go into second when im going like maybe 10 KM/H (not sure what that is in miles lol) and i have to push down pretty hard to get it in.

I'll go for a drive today and see if its easier at slower speeds

 

You mean its hard to come down into second or go up into second?

If its hard to come down(I havent driven a dak with a manual, but MANY other trucks with them) maybe 2nd is to low for that speed without revving. You may try to bring the motor up to around 2000-2500 before trying to shift.

Im sure someone with a manual will chime in and say if theirs is similar or not.

You also might switch to a good synthetic fluid. It doesnt make a huge difference, but it did make a noticable one in my mazda. Shifting did feel moderately smoother at speed.

 

The clutches in these trucks are hydraulic and not adjustable as to the engage point in the pedal.

My transmission hasn't given me a single issue as far as being hard to get into any gear, but you have a different transmission. From what I've gathered on this forum from other discussions, it sounds to me like the AX-15 has got really crappy syncros in it. The syncros are supposed to get the shafts inside the transmission spinning in sync before the gears engage. If its hard to shift between gears, or like stated in another post... hard to shift into reverse, the syncros are not doing their job. The only solutions I know of are rebuild your transmission, buy a new one, double clutch it and like said above, try matching engine rpms to what they need to be to engage whatever gear at whatever speed.

 

i took it for a drive today and i tried slowing right down and it went in like butter. I was actually doing about 25 KM/h, not 10 like i said, i over exaggerrated a bit lol. But i slowed right down to about 15 and it went in super easy. And i dont have a tach so its pretty hard to tell where 2500RPM is lol

I dont have that reverse problem. If i dont sync it with 2nd gear, it is hard to put into reverse/1st.

 

That's why always almost double clutch when I downshift, it makes the synchros do a lot less work (it's a lot more work for them to speed up the input shaft for a downshift than to slow down the input shaft for an upshift because the input shaft is already slowing down by itself), ensuring they last longer

But If it's hard to it into gear from a stop it could be a combination of clutch hydraulic and synchro problems. Clutch hydraulic problems can also cause hard shift, particularly downshifting more than upshifting.

 

I assume you rev the engine up while its in neutral during this double clutch? Otherwise what your saying is you slow the input shaft down even further than normal before you try to speed it up.

 

Yes. I hit neutral, take my foot off the clutch, give it a rev, hit the clutch and downshift, therefore bringing the input shaft closer to the output shaft speed, thus working the sychros less.

 

ill give that try, if i can get my feet doin what i want them to do lol