New to manual questions
- Thread starter TheYonderGod
- Start date
How times have change.
Yep, I lost the privilege of getting one in the great state of California until I turned 18.
So I went to oregon,studied a little book for 10 minutes and passed a 30 or so question test. Drove around a little logging town without getting hit by a log truck and passed that part.
Gal ran my paper license through a laminating machine and I took it back to cali and transfered my license. Bingo! Drivers license!
I don't think that could happen these days
Yep, I lost the privilege of getting one in the great state of California until I turned 18.
So I went to oregon,studied a little book for 10 minutes and passed a 30 or so question test. Drove around a little logging town without getting hit by a log truck and passed that part.
Gal ran my paper license through a laminating machine and I took it back to cali and transfered my license. Bingo! Drivers license!
I don't think that could happen these days
I suspect you're correct there, but that's a great story, as is the one about your grandfather!
Thank you everyone for your input!
The main things I'm having trouble with now are when taking off I still stall it once in a while. I know I just need to practice that more and get some muscle memory, and build some muscle in general in my left foot that has been sitting on the floor while I drive 30k miles a year (I'm a delivery driver).
The other thing is my shifts into 2nd are rough, it lurches. I'm pretty sure it's because my engine RPMs aren't where they should be for the speed I'm going in 2nd gear. I'm just not sure if I should be shifting faster so the RPM drops less or slower so it drops more. Or maybe more throttle as I'm releasing the clutch pedal, or release the clutch slower? I guess you guys probably can't help much without being there to see what I'm doing. I'll get it eventually, I just need more practice.
The main things I'm having trouble with now are when taking off I still stall it once in a while. I know I just need to practice that more and get some muscle memory, and build some muscle in general in my left foot that has been sitting on the floor while I drive 30k miles a year (I'm a delivery driver).
The other thing is my shifts into 2nd are rough, it lurches. I'm pretty sure it's because my engine RPMs aren't where they should be for the speed I'm going in 2nd gear. I'm just not sure if I should be shifting faster so the RPM drops less or slower so it drops more. Or maybe more throttle as I'm releasing the clutch pedal, or release the clutch slower? I guess you guys probably can't help much without being there to see what I'm doing. I'll get it eventually, I just need more practice.
The link didn't work but I think I found it.
So I apparently I have a dana 44 in the rear, that's what I want right? It doesn't list a limited slip, how could I check to make sure?
Is there anything else here of note?
(nothing listed under special or dealer installed)
I daily drive a 2000 TJ, 5 speed, with 33's.. Falken WildPeak AT3W
3"SL. No BL
Stock with 3.73's. It was an absolute dog.
- Re-geared to 4.56's with LSD and life is wonderful. Never drove 4.88's and think I might have been happy there as well, but no intentions to go to 35's so I have no regrets on the 4.56 decision
- I drive in NE snow every year.
- 26psi unless I am loaded up for camping.. then, if I remember I'll increase to 28psi.
- 3" SL and no BL. I don't do any heavy rocks.. dirt and unpaved fire roads and outer beach sand. Zero clearance issues.
- I rarely need 4H. I stay in 2H as long as I can unless it is actively snowing heavy or there a substantial accumulation.
- On surface roads my goal is to get to 3rd as soon as possible. I shift 1st-2nd once I am rolling. Only time I might start in 2nd is in the sand. 2nd-3rd shift as anywhere from 2200 - 2800. Last year I experimented for a month of shifting at 3000 or above. The 1st-2nd shift at 3000 rpms is never comfortable and overall the mpg suffered by 2-3mpg (averaged around 11mpg - 12mpg versus 14mpg - 16 mpg).
- Make it a point to practice on inclines.. you WILL roll back a little until you and the clutch bite become really familiar with each other. I am driving a manual since I was 11 years old.. half a century at this point, so hills are no issue, but there was a time that they scared the crap out of me. Use the emergency brake to hold you in place so you don't roll backwards. (Fun fact.. With the JK and on, there is a hill assist feature. Stomp on the brake and it locks them preventing rolling. As soon as you start moving forward they release.. was a cool feature).
- When parked use the emergency brake and leave the trans in 1st gear so it won't roll.
- I removed the bulb from the upshift indicator the first time I had the cluster out.
Kinda hard to verbalize what I have been doing by feel for so many years but I tend to shift briskly.. not fast, but not lazy slow either. And, though it is unconscious now, I don't lift off the throttle when upshifting. Accelerate. Hold the throttle position. Clutch. Shift. Release the clutch. That's far smoother than actually trying to match the revs intentionally.
And you're correct.. the best possible classroom for you is in the drivers seat. Or the passenger seat with someone who has driven a stick for some time.
I’ve taught 4 teenagers to drive manuals, and there are two basic beginner errors: too much throttle or too little. If youre stalling in 1st and lurching in 2nd, it’s the same reason: too little throttle (or letting clutch out too quickly). In higher gears you can just pop the clutch out, but for 1 & 2, try a little slower clutch release through the friction point, and a bit more throttle. You’ll get it!
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This is all about learning to properly use the friction zone. The friction zone is the point in the clutch between where it just begins to engage, and where it fully engages. This it the area where you get the vehicle moving.
The best way to master this, and to build that muscle memory, is to practice getting the vehicle moving without using the gas. This is how I teach people to drive a clutch, both in cars and motorcycles. Doing this teaches you to master the friction zone, and once you do so, everything else is easier.
I also learned to drive manual when I picked up mine 11 hours away. Though mine was a 6 speed (06), 4.56 gears and 35's. So the gearing was close to correct. I had never driven manual before and learned on the ride home. I paid a friend/wheeling buddy to go with me and teach me on the way back. Dropped him off about 45 min before getting home and had a somewhat nerve wracking final stretch in rush hour traffic driving by myself for the first time, but made it lol.
I figure if you have larger tires, the shift light is probably worthless. Bottom line, you just need to keep driving it and ignore the RPM's. Go by feel. Getting the correct gears will help a lot, but make sure you've made your final tire size selection before you do that, and gear accordingly.
It's never wrong to drive in 4H in snow. That will help a bit with stalling, so I would say do that even in mild snow while you're learning. Mine also has the rubi TC, so that makes a world of difference when trying to not stall in 4Lo. A manual throttle control will also help with preventing stalls off road, or even at low speeds on road. I had the Teraflex.
I ended up preferring an auto trans, so ended up swapping in a 42RLE. The maual wasn't terrible, but mine is a dedicated wheeling rig, so auto is better.
I figure if you have larger tires, the shift light is probably worthless. Bottom line, you just need to keep driving it and ignore the RPM's. Go by feel. Getting the correct gears will help a lot, but make sure you've made your final tire size selection before you do that, and gear accordingly.
It's never wrong to drive in 4H in snow. That will help a bit with stalling, so I would say do that even in mild snow while you're learning. Mine also has the rubi TC, so that makes a world of difference when trying to not stall in 4Lo. A manual throttle control will also help with preventing stalls off road, or even at low speeds on road. I had the Teraflex.
I ended up preferring an auto trans, so ended up swapping in a 42RLE. The maual wasn't terrible, but mine is a dedicated wheeling rig, so auto is better.
The only problem I have with a manual is that after I’ve taken a long trip and get into my F250 I keep pressing my left foot on the imaginary clutch when I slow down for a stoplight. That’s muscle memory.
It takes 30 seconds to learn to drive manual, and 30 years to practice - especially since every vehicle is different.
One thing I teach others is to only concentrate on the clutch peddle and learn the pick-up at first - this helps isolate the important part from all the other stuff happening. Once you learn to modulate your foot there, adding gas is easy.
One thing I teach others is to only concentrate on the clutch peddle and learn the pick-up at first - this helps isolate the important part from all the other stuff happening. Once you learn to modulate your foot there, adding gas is easy.
My first job in HS was doing landscape maintenance and one day they sent me out alone in a manual truck. I had never driven a manual but I didn't want to tell them that. I learned how in the alley on the way out to the main road. Prolly burned a little thickness off the clutch that day.
One thing I didn't see mentioned, you'll notice that when you put the shifter in the middle it naturally wants to stay right where 3rd and 4th are, it's spring loaded to do that. So as a beginner you may panic and try to fight your way to 3rd or 4th and grind some gears. Just relax, let the shifter naturally fall to the middle after leaving second and gently push it up into 3rd and then down into 4th. Only pull/hold it left and right for 1st and 2nd and for 5th and reverse.
If its really slippery I use 4 high. Just remember that it doesn't help you slow down.
Once you’ve mastered a floor shifter you can graduate to a column shifter. My 1954 DIVCO has a 4sp column non synchromesh. It has a extremely low 1st and needs to be double shifted up and down. Some of the car shows I attend have a Slow Drag competition which I’ve never lost. I put it in 1st and get out and walk around the truck it’s that slow. 42hp flat 6.
As another newcomer to manuals, this is all great info.
Do any of the details (RPM, gear selection, etc.) change when applied to the 2.4L rather than the 4.0?
Do any of the details (RPM, gear selection, etc.) change when applied to the 2.4L rather than the 4.0?
It is a smaller motor with less torque that is made at higher rpms. You'll probably rev it more to get work or compression braking out of it
Welcome to the TJ life. What part of NorCal are you at? I have a 2003 TJ 5 speed, been driving manual transmission vehicles most of my adult life. I'm in Lake County if you are close and could give you some tips.
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