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Eaton auto shift question


GlennWest

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I know the clutch is used for stopping and starting. Can one slip shifter in neutral at stop without depressing clutch? So that clutch is used less. Just depress clutch and shift to d and go

2003 Teton Grand Freedom towed with 2006 Freightliner Century 120 across the beautiful USA welding pipe.https://photos.app.goo.gl/O32ZjgzSzgK7LAyt1

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Ok thought about it a little longer.
I would not do this coming to a red light, but maybe a stop sight.
Red lights posse the issue of turning green on you, at that point I think you would have to bring the truck to a complete stop to get her back into gear. Not 100% on that but I bet I am right. It will also take longer to search for the gear it wants once at a complete stop depending on what gear it was in when you put it into neutral. I find it can do this even with using the clutch.
One last thought on this..I drive a motorcycle and try to keep it in gear as long as possible just in case I need to get out of the way of someone or have to give it fuel for one reason or another in an emergency situation, never know what other people at lights and stop signs will do.

 

What did you find on the net about your question Glenn?


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Found on this forum. From what I read, if stopped at light you can shift to neutral and then put it back in D. It will do nothing until depressing clutch, you should feel it go into drive and release. This is also assuming the internal transmission brake is working properly.

2003 Teton Grand Freedom towed with 2006 Freightliner Century 120 across the beautiful USA welding pipe.https://photos.app.goo.gl/O32ZjgzSzgK7LAyt1

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Found on this forum. From what I read, if stopped at light you can shift to neutral and then put it back in D. It will do nothing until depressing clutch, you should feel it go into drive and release. This is also assuming the internal transmission brake is working properly.

Have done it, particularly at long lights. It's a pain to get it going though, particularly if the clutch brake is marginal. Once things warm up marginal clutch brake gets more marginal and you are sitting there mashing the clutch into the carpet with angry people behind you.

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Hi Glenn,

FWIW: When I first drove my HDT at the seller's farm, I thought that clutch felt incredibly heavy. This after a lifetime of driving manual transmissions, including delivery trucks as a teenager. But man, this autoshift clutch sure felt heavy that first time. Now after just 4,000 miles of driving it, with many months in the middle when it was just sitting at the campground not being driven, now I don't even think about how the clutch feels. I've been tempted to put it in neutral at long stop lights, but after one or two experiences like phoenix2013 described above, when it took an extra few seconds for the clutch brake to register and allow it to go into gear, now I just keep it in D all the time. Sure, in heavy stop-and-go traffic, with light after light, and you seem to be missing them all, the clutch work starts to get somewhat tiring. But I guess I don't spend that much time in heavy traffic, so it doesn't seem like a deal breaker to me.

 

You definitely have to make that decision about ultrashift vs autoshift (vs manual even), and you and your wife will know whether you want to deal with ANY use of a clutch in the truck or not. But I guess I would advise considering how much of your driving time you will really spend stopped at red lights. Might depend on where you plan to travel, whether you prefer visiting cities or rural locations, etc. If a 175-lb weakling like myself can get used to that clutch, I think most anyone can! Perhaps search for an ultrashift or iShift (or FreedomLine) truck if you can find what you're looking for, but keep an open mind as to autoshift if just the right truck comes along that is otherwise a winner.

 

Pete

2007 NuWa Hitchhiker Discover America 339RSB

2000 Volvo VNL64T770 with TrailerSaver hitch, wooden flat bed, Detroit 12.7L S60, 10-sp AutoShift, still tandem

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I only weigh 175. 5'9, 58 years young. Some right knee problems. A standard 10 would be less clutch use according to this. You can place it in neutral and then use clutch to take off.

2003 Teton Grand Freedom towed with 2006 Freightliner Century 120 across the beautiful USA welding pipe.https://photos.app.goo.gl/O32ZjgzSzgK7LAyt1

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Glenn - red light ahead, rolling to a stop--

 

exhaust brake on (stage 1 or 2) - truck slows down (downshifting all the time until about 15 mph and 5 th gear. then it kinda floats. Rolls. Apply the brakes and coast - clutch in about 5 mph.

 

exhaust brake off - it downshifts keeping in the right gear ready to go.

 

When you get to the clutch point, you want a 1/2 way clutch, not to the bottom. The only time that I understand that you go full depth is at start

.

For a full manual I would agree Bill, But with the three pedde auto shift(l...atleast mine 2009) my clutch will not disengade unless fully depressed. The tranny and computer programing know what gear it is in and what speed you are doing. I have tryed this half way clutch suggestion and it does not work on my truck. Peddel all the way in to start rolling peddle in all the way when coming to a complete stop or slow roll. Any other position and my truck tranny just( slips) and keeps pulling till I stall out with heavy breaking.

 

I have an ez pedal clutch I think?? I fell a couple of years ago and nailed the right shoulder. Too much work and I pay that night and the next?? or so. I can push the clutch and hold it with that arm. I'm used to a clutch - farm tractors and my F350 diesel was a ZF speed. I can hold that clutch easy for a series of lights.

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After driving an Autoshift for 9 year it becomes a "game", how can I drive it with minimum clutching. See a light start slowing right away, waaaaaaaaaaaaay back, let it down shift by itself down to a third and then crawl in a 3rd 3-5 mph, the bumper riders and creepers behind you might be annoyed but there is a good chance that as you creep the light will change, you get on the gas and off you go, no clutch. I do the same coming onto a turn with no lights, I brake only and force the tranny to go down into a third (lowest default gear I set it to) if you are crawling at 3 mph that's pretty slow, quick peek around the corner, if no one is coming take the turn (California stop). If there is a stop sign then you should clutch and stop, but I've done California stops at those crossings if the was no traffic at those crossings. In heavy traffic I force the tranny all the way down into first, now the crawling (idle) speed is down to about 1/2 mph (you can walk faster).

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I have an Ultrashift and there are many times that I would prefer an Autoshift. For example, I have to back faster than an Autoshift...Autoshift can let out clutch and back up at 600 rpm, Ultrashift wont move untill 800 rpm and if you drop below 800 rpm, the truck stops. 200 rpm doesn't sound like much but it is 33 1/3 percent faster than 600 rpm. I have learned how to feather the throttle so I am smoother than I was, but starting off while still slowly rolling forward is hard to do smoothly. I usually 2-peddle it on starts from complete stops to avoid a harsh clutch engagement from throttle only starts. I have heard of some of the automated manual transmissions being called dock thumpers due to the clutch engagement characteristics and increased backing speeds ?? I don't think my wife would want to drive a manual but she can drive an Autoshift, Ultrashift, Freedomline or I-Shift. I don't have any physical issues to prevent me from using a clutch, but I can see where it could be a problem for some people. Life is a series of compromises for most folks and I am certainly no exception to that. Have fun. Charlie

Don't ever tell a soldier that he doesn't understand the cost of war.

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Oh heck ya don't have to have .....auto-shift, ultra-shift, I-shift, we-shift or why-shift.......heck I have heard that even a lowly manual shift tranny can be stalled at the stop light if the dummy does NOT flip the range lever DOWN and tries a FIFTH gear start at idle "thinking" it's in 1st......... even better........ try a 7th gear "start" thinking it's 3rd..........

 

I've just heard that this can happen...............

 

Drive on........(maybe)

97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S

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Oh heck ya don't have to have .....auto-shift, ultra-shift, I-shift, we-shift or why-shift.......heck I have heard that even a lowly manual shift tranny can be stalled at the stop light if the dummy does NOT flip the range lever DOWN and tries a FIFTH gear start at idle "thinking" it's in 1st......... even better........ try a 7th gear "start" thinking it's 3rd..........

 

I've just heard that this can happen...............

 

 

I can ASSURE you it can happen

Ray & Deb - Shelbi the Aussie & Lexington the cat
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Oh heck ya don't have to have .....auto-shift, ultra-shift, I-shift, we-shift or why-shift.......heck I have heard that even a lowly manual shift tranny can be stalled at the stop light if the dummy does NOT flip the range lever DOWN and tries a FIFTH gear start at idle "thinking" it's in 1st......... even better........ try a 7th gear "start" thinking it's 3rd..........

 

I've just heard that this can happen...............

 

Drive on........(maybe)

You peeked........ I only did that once, today.

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Worse things can happen than starting out in the "correct gear" when stopped.......

 

When I was a puppy, we had a old Oshkosh HEAVY 6 X 6 tractor that was hitched to a big old low-boy trailer that seem to always have our old D-9 Cat with a double shank ripper (were talking HEAVY).

 

The old Osh was nicked Teddy after the famous Rough-Riders and boy oh boy this brute earned its name.......It was a powerhouse with a 220 HP Cummins and a 5 speed main box and a 4 speed brownie AND TWO speed rears and a low range only front drive axle...........do the math

you had plenty of gears to play with........or maybe these gears would play with you.......

 

One day mom drove in from the woods and said that I "carefully" was to bring the Osh / D-9 out to the last log deck on the private logging roads West of town about 30 miles . The D-9 was already on the lowboy so all I had to do was to hitch up the Osh and creep out on the logging road 30 miles and maybe 300 shifts or so,,,,,,,

 

For you folks th at ONLY have one transmission consider how much fun it would have FOUR shifters sticking up through the cab floor.......

This day I only would use the main 5 speed and the 4 speed brownie and Low-range in the rear axles so I might see 35 MPH if I was lucky.....

 

I shift Brownie Deep Under then main 1 st to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 then........keep rolling and shift Brownie to std under AND main to 1st to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 then.........keep rolling then..........shift the brownie to Direct and the main to 1 then 2 then 3 then 4 then 5........Keep rolling......now shift the brownie to OD and the main to 1 to 2 to 3 to 4 to 5..........whew now we are at 33 MPH.........now we are trucking........uh oh whats up ahead .......no who had the lame idea to have a train come out of the North and it looks like I better STOP and wait for the train........STOP maybe I should play chicken with the train and maybe he will STOP for me........Not a good idea so I start sloooowing down ans stop at the train crossing and after the trains passes I START out all over again (see above).

 

So after a HOUR I am almost a mile away from the log-landing where "Grumps" is waiting........the road narrows to one lane where it crosses a deep ravine in a sweeping uphill curve to the landing sooooo. rather than downshift down through 17 gears I get the bright Idea to stop on the side hill and check the chain binders like a "real Trucker" ..........Grumps can see me up-grade across the ravine so I hurry and tighten the binders and Jump back in the OSH and thinking I'll be "COOL" I'll start out in Deep under in the brownie and second in the main to take advantage of the slight dip before starting up the grade......

 

Cool seldom works as well as it should...........I THOUGHT I shifted the the brownie into Deep-under but it just caught the edge of the gear and then I shifted the main to second and just feathered the throttle and let the clutch out and............BANG.... the brownie jumped out of gear and started grinding away and of course when I stabbed the clutch in the drive-line between main tranny and the brownie took foreeeeever to spin-down and I didn't DARE to use the clutch brake because it would burn out by the time all of the monkey motion died down...... I glanced across the ravine and saw Grumps tin-hat sailing down the road and he was walking away shaking his head.........

 

So..........sometimes too many gears are.......too many gears......

 

Drive on........(sorta)

97 Freightshaker Century Cummins M11-370 / 1350 /10 spd / 3:08 /tandem/ 20ft Garage/ 30 ft Curtis Dune toybox with a removable horse-haul-module to transport Dolly-The-Painthorse to horse camps and trail heads all over the Western U S

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I had an Eaton Autoshift on my Freightliner. The clutch had no assist and had to be fully depressed when I shifted from neutral into gear after long lights. When driving in cities I found it helpful to lower the seat so that my leg was straighter and my knee didn't take the load when kicking the clutch. However, the hardest part of having the clutch was while hitching. Reverse was way too fast, so the clutch had to be slipped during the hitching process. My left leg would feel like it was burning when I was having a difficult time hitching.

John McLaughlin

2010 Volvo 730, D13, I-shift, singled and decked

2014 Lifestyle 38' Fifth Wheel

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Oh heck ya don't have to have .....auto-shift, ultra-shift, I-shift, we-shift or why-shift.......heck I have heard that even a lowly manual shift tranny can be stalled at the stop light if the dummy does NOT flip the range lever DOWN and tries a FIFTH gear start at idle "thinking" it's in 1st......... even better........ try a 7th gear "start" thinking it's 3rd..........

 

I've just heard that this can happen...............

 

Drive on........(maybe)

I've been there and done it myself too!! Did it making a left at a light. Wasn't really paying attention,...thought I was 4th Over, but was in 8th Over,...or better known to most as 18th gear for me, lol. Had the trailer behind me, and all. I ended up coasting about 5 mph and making all of that turn with no power steering. Halfway through the turn, I threw my transmission in neutral and kept letting it roll, until I got it started.

 

On another note, when I had my TC with the 18 speed Auto-shift,...the one thing I'd do in heavy traffic, was to use 1st or 2nd as my starting gear. By doing that, I wouldn't hardly ever have to use the clutch unless I had to come with a complete stop. When starting in the higher gears, once it got below a certain speed for that gear, it wouldn't coast anymore.

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