...possible?
My reverse gear is quite hard to engage sometimes (probably linkage) and occasinaly I have ended up in 4th, the car moves forward slightly (I always leave room so its never a problem) but should this be possible? I would have thought it would just stall?
I haven't put it in technical as this is a drving query as much as my car.
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Are you talking about letting the clutch all the way out, or when you reach the biting point the car rocks forward slightly?
There's no reason why not. Obviously it will be harder to get under way properly in 4th, but it doesn't take much to rock the car like that (you can do it yourself with a little push from outside).
Depending on how much torque your car has, you can do more than that. My car will happily pull away in 4th if you're easy with the clutch, although I wouldn't recommend such things as a habit.
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You can start any car in any gear on level ground if you are prepared to punish the clutch enough Rattle.
Does your linkage have a detent for reverse that you have to override by pressing down on the lever? I think some Ford linkages do.
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Its only a little 1.3 though but I guess it those engines were known for having a lot of torque for its size. There is no press down linkage, so to engage reverse it is exactly the same as 4th. The Ford manual does suggest keeping the clutch down a few seconds after putting into reverse though and then getting the bite, I will try that. I was just wondering fi the clutch might be slipping but there is no other smyptons of that.
I think it is one these niggles I need to learn, eventually I will work out how to trick it and get the reverse gear first time even if the linkage is worn.
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The Ford manual does suggest keeping the clutch down a few seconds after putting into >> reverse though and then gettingthe bite
That's because there's (usually) no synchromesh on reverse gear. Dipping the clutch for a few seconds allows the gearbox coggy things to come to rest - avoiding a 'crunch' when reverse is selected.
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aha but I am nearly always in neutral anyway when reversing so that won't really apply to me.
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Nope, if the clutch is up then the input shaft of the gearbox will still be spinning with the engine, just not connected to the output shaft and therefore not connected to the wheels.
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aha but I am nearly always in neutral anyway when reversing so that won't really apply to me.
Aha, but some of the internals of a modern 'constant mesh' gearbox continue to rotate even in neutral (with the clutch pedal up, of course)...
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Sorry Gordon - you beat me to it :-)
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>>but some of the internals of a modern 'constant mesh' gearbox
I can't imagine any manual gearbox, ancient or modern, where the input shaft wouldn't be spinning with the clutch up in neutral.
As mentioned, Ford's advice is to press the clutch, wait a few seconds, and then move the lever - I suspect Rattle, like Eric Morecambe is playing all the right notes, but not....
For the original question, yes, even small torques transmitted during clutch slipping can be enough to move the car - with the clutch up, applying a small force on the gear lever pressing against the synchro for a low forward gear will produce enough torque to move the vehicle on a level surface.
If you look at the road load equation, there is very little demand for torque, or power, at low speeds on the flat, it's just the tiny amount needed to overcome the low speed rolling resistance.
As modern engines do have computer controlled idle speeds, you can obtain sensible output from the engine without actually touching the throttle pedal - there's no laws of physics being broken, it's just that the computer is demanding output from the engine for you. If you feed in the load, i.e. raise the clutch gently enough, the idle speed control will do the rest.
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Yes it is possible. It depends upon how sensitive your clutch foot is. You are obviously not heavy footed.
I don't think it's difficult to adjust the linkage on a Fiesta, I seem to recall that you have to slacken something off, insert a pin into a hole and retighten what has been slackened.
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Yeah my friend had a Ka and it got so bad that 3rd and 4th would not work, cost £30 to sort out.
The other gears are lovely though twice now I have hit neutral instead of 4th but that is 100 miles of city drivign its not too much of a problem.
On the 1.2 16v clio I used to drive if I hit 4th instead of reverse the car would not move and just faintly rev.
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B5 and iB5 only have a spring to stop you selecting reverse;MTX have a lift-up detent.
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Rattle, would you be so very kind as to make a Hi-fi sound recording of yourself manoeuvring into a tight parking space and posting a link to it? I am sure the real thing will calm my fevered imagination, which is echoing with loud graunching noises and the sound of much rattly revving punctuated by the occasional gentle shunting sound and tyre-chirp...
:o}
Edited by Lud on 11/11/2008 at 16:22
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Why do you need reverse gear for parking?
uk.youtube.com/watch?v=44Wdnq7Zm-4&NR=1
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