Re[2]: Double clutching - should I?

[Richard Welty <rwelty@domain.elided>]

On Tue, 06 Aug 2002 10:09:01 -0400 Mark Denovich <mark@domain.elided> wrote:

> Henry Kim wrote:
> > I was just re-reading Pat Braden's Alfa Romeo Bible and he says you
> > should double clutch when downshifting.  I own a '86 GTV6 with very
> good
> > synchros and I was wondering if I'm doing the car a disservice by not
> > double clutching.  

> It's a good habit to get into, so if/when they do fail, you'll know what 
> to do.  :)   My synchros are so shot, if I don't double-clutch the 
> 1st->2nd upshift it grinds.   It took me a day or two to get in the 
> habit, but no more grinding for me, up or down.

yes. it's also a good to pause for a beat before going from neutral into
the next higher gear when upshifting; move the lever towards the gear, but
pause just at the point where the syncros engage, and wait for things to
spin to the right speeds.

i can't easily upshift into 3rd in my 1973 when cold, and i generally take
a long pause. when the box is cold in the morning, i usually just skip
from 2nd to 4th. the upshift from 1st to 2nd is also not that great, but i
don't have to wait quite as long on the synrcros.

doubling down into 2nd and 3rd is more or less mandatory in this car.

it was pretty much like this when i got it, the previous owner did a
remarkably inconsistent job of fixing things up and i suspect he never had
the gearbox cracked open.

> > Also, Braden mentions that the Alfetta driveline rubber donuts were
> > vulnerable to failure and should be inspected or replaced with each oil
> > change.  Does this hold true with the later GTV6s or was the problem
> > resolved?
 
> I am more familiar with the Milano, but I believe that GTV6 and Milano 
> guibos are good for 30-50k miles (and potentially more.)  I find that 
> I'm under my car pretty often, so I've made it a habit to do a quick 
> visual check for cracks or other damage.  Just keep an eye on them and 
> you should be ok.

we've replaced the guibos in my wife's 6 once (80+K miles on it). i never
replaced them in the 118K i put on my milano before i sold it, but i also
never replaced the clutch; i may be easier on drivelines than some drivers.

richard
--
Richard Welty                                         rwelty@domain.elided
Averill Park Networking                                         518-573-7592
              Unix, Linux, IP Network Engineering, Security
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