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Can you Heavy Drivers help?

The tranny in the '46 4400 isn't sycro; no problem. Upshifting from 2-3 & 3-4 is an easy double-clutch; but, every time I try to come back down, it sounds like I'm a butcher making hamburger! The truck draws some looks all by itself, I don't need the tranny to announce I'm there. Is there a way to downshift without being at a full stop?

Thanx for your thoughts.

Regards,

How is the gear lube in the tranny?
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You need to get the feel for the rpm and speed.Clutch adjustment is good place to look as well.
How old and what condition is the clutch??

If ya hit the RPM's right you should be able to downshift without using the clutch at all .

Those gears are kinda square (yours are probably round by now-LOL) and you will have a hard time shifting down at 40mph and trying to use the engine for a brake. You need to have "three feet"- one for the gas, one for the cluth and the other to hit the brake to help slow you down. You will be revving your engine plenty hard to be able to shift down at anything over 15 or 20 mph, they are really low geared. I have driven many of these old rigs with out a cluth linkage. Makes for fun to start them in gear. But I don't like driving them without brakes.

Bolt-on,

Ditto Oly's commments; both my '41 Chevy 1-1/2 ton and my ex-'48 IHC 3/4ton 4-speed were...
Challenging!

I got the knack after a while; the IHC was the one that went on the road, and it just wasn't practical to try and downshift into 3rd gear if you were going faster that 35-40 mph: the "Green Diamond Six" just wouldn't rev-up that much to match rpms.

Definitely don't try to downshift into 1st! Even if you double-clutch it succesfully, you might rip motor mounts loose!
Shifts into 1st gear are from a dead-stop only!

Check and/or change your gear oil and practice shifting up & down between 2nd, 3rd & 4th gears on some nice level deserted road, with your speed between 20 & 40 mph. That way you'll get a feel for how much "revvage" you need for a downshift, and also how much time elapses during that process.(Good thing to know, so that you can "plan your stops"!)
Remember that this is a 40-45 mph truck, and that partly because of the crash-box tranny, you'll be well advised to allow generous stopping distance so that you'll have a chance to get your rig slowed-down in time to avoid rolling over that Lexus in front of you!

Oly forgot to mention that three arms are handy too: one for the steering wheel, one on the gear shift, and a third for the hand-brake, just in case! :rolleyes:

Good luck on your shifting; ( even after a year of driving the "cornbinder", I'd still grind the gears now and then, so don't think you're a bad driver if it happens occaisionally! )

Thanx guys.

Oly--how did you know it was a Lexus yesterday??

Don't know age of clutch or lube status (I'll take care of that next). The only times I tried to down shift was from 4th to 3rd or 3rd to 2nd to make a turn in town--seems a little silly to come to a full stop just to make a routine corner. Anyway, my speed less than 30. Used to have a '47 GMC with a 308 and '56 and '57 Chevy 3100s with 235s; I could "no clutch" them all day and never grind a gear; I'll just have to get the hang of this biggun. You've all given me the confidence that I'll get it--just need more practice (that's not at all bad!!).

Thanx again,

Regards,

Brings back bad memories of my "two stick" days when you needed 3 feet and 4 hands. You don't use the clutch except for when you start and stop. Learn to match the speed of the engine to the gear and road speed. Works good until you hang a box in neutral or completely miss a gear in traffic. Find a lonely stretch of road unless you like getting saluted!

Ok, so there I was, new master cylinder and front tires yesterday, new exhaust today (ruined my Bronco shirt; but, it purrs like a fine-tuned Singer), and it was time for my Lady (5'4" and a little bit of nothin') to take the "Big 'Ole Honkin' Farm Truck" around town. The gal didn't miss a shift, not even the downshifts! I'm impressed!! I'll have to learn "this" from her too!!

Hey, Bolt On,

Don't take this the wrong way, but would you mind sendin' "Your Lady" to St. Louis, to teach ME how to shift (and DOWN-SHIFT) my '44 ton-&-a-half? I've had the beast for 2 years now, and I SWEAR it's gotten harder. Clearly, in MY case, when the gears grind, it's because something is wrong with the TRANSMISSION, yes?!

Yip, there must be something wrong with yer tranny if it grinds everytime

My Lady appreciated your compliment and modestly claims beginner's luck. If we ever get there to see your "arch," we'll let you know we're coming and see what we can do about those driving lessons!

Regards,

Here's a thought on down shifting your crunchy 4 spd.
When you Up shift at , say , 15mph , the engine is doing X rpm.
When you Down shift at 15mph , you have to blip the throttle so the eng is doing those same revs for that speed , as if you were already in the lower gear , then you slip it right into that lower gear .
Easy , eh .

Oh , and none of this down shifting at 30mph + , thats just nonsence , way too fast .
Keep those revs to a respectable level.