I had a Viper 2 way alarm installed in my car with the autostarter function, which as you all know, overrides the neutral/clutch safety so the car can start without pushing on the clutch. I don't know if it's related to the alarm install, but for some reason I can put my car into reverse without pushing on the clutch while the car is running. It'll go into gear, if you shift it quickly without any noise, but you will hear a light grind if you try to do it slowly. Once it's in gear, the car "bucks" and eventually stalls because I'm not pushing on the gas after doing it. I don't plan on doing it again anytime soon, but was wondering if my car is unique to this problem or if this is normal for our cars...help?

Ed

 

That shouldn't have anything to do with the alarm install, and I've never tried putting it in reverse without the clutch (and I don't think I want to try ) so I can't help ya out on that one.

 

the car resists it a little, but its possible to go into reverse without depressing the clutch, i wouldnt recommend it lol. I found it out the hard and accidental way

 

possible but without your rpm's up you may damage the box

 

In old VW Bugs, you could shift gears with out a clutch, if you timed the RPMS just right. I had to do it once, when the clutch went on a trip once. So it can be done, shifting gears sans clutch.

Anyway, I have noticed, that with the Box, reverse sometimes sounds like a truck when it goes into that gear. As in, you are putting it in reverse, and it goes, 'klunk'...(yeah, that is the way it sort of sounds)...but I have never just slipped the car into reverse with out the clutch.

I agree with joe52985, I would not recommend that too often.

 

I noticed that too. What I do now is put it in 4th and then Reverse - no more grinding.

 

I don't exactly do it on purpose, I just happened to notice it one day....And also, I agree with TJ's comment on the car having a hard time getting into reverse while pressing the clutch, it does get noisy sometimes...Also, I'm pretty sure you can put any car into gear w/o using the clutch if you timed the RPM's right, I managed to do it in my co worker's Porsche 911, just the other day. I have no idea what I did, but it went into gear nice and smooth without pushing the clutch.

 

you can shift without a clutch in almost all cars/trucks...
new and old...

i do it all the time in the box...

and the reason you can push it into reverse without the clutch is the way the reverse gears are cut (they have a straight tooth cut and its also why it whines...)

 

hotlava is right if you match your road speed to that of your gears and ge the feel right you can shift any stick car without usign the clutch, I used to drive around like this quite a bit in one of my old hondas. Downshifting is a littel more difficult as it requires precise revmatching, the only practical reason you would ever want to know how to do this is if you had a calbe clutch and the cable broke.

 

Hotlava, care to enlighten us as to what the proper engine speed and other factors we would want to know to shift without clutching in the xB?

 

you can find this out for yourself.

drive down the road at say 50mph in third gear...notice the rpm's
now shift to 4th....notice the rpms...

shift back to 3rd...while crusing (if you are speeding up or engine breaking it is harder to pull the stick between gears...)

while crusing in 3rd @ 50mph, pull the stick out of gear.
start to let the rpm's drop to the 4th gear number you noted...
when the rpm's are close put some pressure on the stick...when the gearing/speed is right, it just slides in...


the ONLY reason you NEED a clutch is to start moving.
using a clutch help smooth out the shifts and compensates for bad driving.

you can up-shift/down-shift all day long without the clutch if you know the car.