HorseflyDF

Hey,
I finally got er done man it wasnt easy and I never drove a 5 speed
before so I have a few questions about that.
First off
.. I would like to thank TGO community and its Top Guns for lots
of help I also would like to thank all those who sent me stuff that
I was missing.. Hail. and lastly I would like to thank my wife who put
up with me for the last 4 weeks during this project..actually since I got
the car lol..

Well now the adventure began behind the wheel would it work?
Could I learn to drive a 5 speed?

Well it seems so far it works!! fingers crossed..
I had alot of trouble getting into first gear without stalling..especially cause
I live on a hill and I have to go up a semi steep incline..didnt help..and
that stop sign at the end of the block was my nemesis..

The first day I just took it around the block and stalled alot it also
made a horrible noise at the shifter seems I didnt open up the tunnel
far enough on the passenger side no biggie..

The second day after the morning rush was over I ventured out again
to try and get better...after a few minutes of bad driving I was thinking
about selling it right away heh but this voice inside me said dont give up
donut..well I didnt and drove without stalling all over and I finally got
the ***** up to take her out on the expressway..cool..

Just would like to ask 1 question what is first gear for?

Seems its only good for 10-15 miles an hour at best..
also 2nd gear seems really short..

I can move out in second alot easier from a stop.
She hums alot in first gear hope it will last but I dont have any interior at the moment just
my seat..

thanks
Dave

TheWesman

Time to find someone who is a veteran at driving a standard and have them polish your driving. The best person to teach you is a semi-truck driver (18 wheeler). Nearly all big trucks have mega clutch pedals that require massive foot work, so most truck drivers can match engine and tranny speed so well they don't even use the pedal. Another good source for learning, is going to a veteran manual transmission repair shop, and offering to by lunch if they give you tips and pointers. They can show you the art of double clutching and clutchless shifting.

1st gear is used to the car rolling. Yes, you usually shift to 2nd at around 10-15, for a easy going acceleration. But, if you going racing you shift from 1st to 2nd at around 5000-5500 rpm (probably around 30mph) then shift from 2nd to 3rd around 5000-5500 rpm (probably around 55-65 mph).

Once your moving, when you press the clutch you should let off the throttle pedal to lower the engine rpms. Should be a smooth operation, step #1 clutch in/throttle pedal up (tranny disconnects from engine, and engine rpm drops), Step #2 shift, Step #3 clutch up/throttle down (engine connects to tranny as power comes back in).

The theory is, you go up the gears when the rpm gets higher than appropriate, this depends on whether you are cruising, passing, or racing. Down shift when rpms get to low. Try finding yourself a huge parking lot and put the car in 2nd and leave it in gear and feel/listen to how it sounds as you go back and forth from 20-50 miles per hour. Do this for about 15 minutes.

When you step on the clutch, you raise or lower the engine rpm to match what the input shaft of your transmission will be spinning at for the new gear change. This will greatly improve the transmissions syncro life, and make shifting possible simply by applying only a few pounds of pressure on the shifting lever.

TheWesman

HorseflyDF

When I was in 1st going up that semi-steep grade she
topped out at 3500 rpms and hummed very loudly.

It was much easier to start out in 2nd gear than first..
I had difficultly getting a feel for 1st gear, keep rolling backwards
letting out the clutch slowly trying to give it just enough gas
as to smooth it out but I keep jerking and stalling, from 2nd gear
was much easier. I am looking forward to my next practice session.


thanks for the advice

Pat Hall

iTrader: (31)

Congratulations dude! I've been sorta loosely following your progress on the boards here for the last few weeks as I'm going to be attempting the same swap on my car pretty soon. I'm still in the process of rounding up the last few odds and ends for the swap. Good to hear you got it all together and working!

HorseflyDF

thanks man it wasnt easy.
I miss doing burnouts with the auto but I like shifting
3 4 5 cool..Ive been easy since Im still learning..and
dont want to ruin the clutch.. .its great when u get it just right,
smooth..

goodluck

if you need any advice let me know if you never did it before
theres a few minor things that wasnt covered in the tech articles,
as far as my swap was concerned..had to bend a bracket under
the dash to get the clutch brake pedal assembly in.. also to line
up the clutch master cylinder just right isnt easy..but its real important
I was off a bit off and had to make adjustments..only thing that was easy
for me is that I dont have an interior so everything was right there..

Brettlinetta

Just be glad you have synchronizers Most truck drivers don't get the luxury of those..

_bR3T7

TheWesman

You should be able to burnouts every bit as good as an auto, if not better.
Just gotta learn.

TheWesman

HorseflyDF

Yeah thats what someone at work told me, I thought it would
be easy to that..
I did get wild today and went all the way to 4k in 1st and 2nd gear
which for this engine is alot but I have a feeling the torque is gonna
eat the tranny if I keep it up and unfortunately the engine is knocking.
It was doing this before the swap but I wasnt sure what it was until
I pulled the auto..

Shagwell

...I love manual trans burnouts...especially with my line lock! - side step it about 3500 in the water, 2nd-3rd-4th, plant down on it and roll out. Heats/cleans the DR's sooo nicely.....
- Seat time. Thats the best help you can get driving a manual trans. If you get good, you'l learn that the clutch is made for sarting and stopping, but only slows you down between gears....

Legal Disaster

iTrader: (6)

alright i work at a car auction and at least three times a month i encounter somebody who bought a clutch car and cant drive it. one tip i give them is to give it more gas than clutch until you get the hang of it. once you get used to driving the car and getting used to the clutch even the pressure out more and you'll be able to get the hang of it in no time. just don't over rev your engine, id hate to hear about you blowing the motor because of my advise. at least this way you won't stall out and it will get you more comfortable with driving. when i started working at the auction i couldn't get more than 3 feet without stalling, but i figured it out. one day i got really frustrated because i kept stalling until i figured out to give it more gas than clutch. it took a few weeks but now i can't get enough of driving a standard, it puts some fun back into driving.

HorseflyDF

The last 2 responses are the reason I wanted to try a 5 speed
Everyone who likes to drive and is into performance would always ask
is it a 5 speed?
So before I leave this world I had to try it.. seat time yeah I
was going out like 430 am before the rush hour to practice..like I a kid.

Brettlinetta

I'm seriously not trying to make fun of you, but seriously... how do you actually go through the mechanical process of swapping transmissions in your car, and not know how to drive a stick! I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just really amazed that you apparently just never learned!

Its like a christian never having heard of the bible or something!!

But glad to hear you are liking it. I personally love Manual transmissions myself as well as the rest of these guys. They aren't as sweet for cruising, but alot more fun to lay down the rubber.

_bR3T7

HorseflyDF

Actually a person can become a Christian without reading or hearing
about the Bible.
Someone preaches the Gospel someone hears and prays.
The Holy Spirit intercedes if the prayer is sincere.
Jesus said if someone knocks the door will open. He holds the key.

T5 swap
The TGO org has the information and I was able to get missing
parts through purchases or trades. Some of the stuff I got off ebay
or locally.
Since I am mechanically inclined and having the ambition its not really that difficult technically speaking, that said it wasnt easy either by any means
considering my circumstances..
I was determined to do it and without this club I dont think it would of been
possible. Just wish I had a driveway and garage I would pull my engine
which needs to be done.

As for not learning to drive a stick and why I wanted it. I did mention
this in previous posts. I did research about driving a stick and went
through the mental imagery But I will add this living in the city I didnt
drive a car till my mid 20s now many years later I still have friends
that dont drive cars.

Zepher

iTrader: (1)

Good job on the T5 swap. Once you get used to it, you will love it.
I don't like driving an auto at all, even in traffic, where most people hate having a manual.
I did my T5 swap on my Formula 1.5 years ago. I was finally able to talked my buddy with an 88 GTA 305 5 speed to swap trannies with me. I had ben bugged him for months about swapping.

A little FYI, when I got my drivers license, I was living in Iceland and over there you have to take a minimum of 10 hours of professional instruction in a manual transmission car. Not sure if other european countries do that, but they probably do and that is why they are better drivers than americans.

JAYDUBB

Unfortunately, driving a manual transmission car is NOT included in driver's ed courses (Well, not in good ole MD USA!). My father taught me to drive a stick when I was 10! Im 34 now. They didnt require Driver's Ed in Maryland back then...

I think they should make it a REQUIREMENT to learn to drive a manual transmission before you can get your license.

HorseflyDF

I tried again today to do a burnout in first gear from a dead stop,
then second from a slow roll when I snap to wot shes bogging
or stumbling.. didnt happen with the auto tranny. Im gonna richen
the idle a little she if that helps..

JAYDUBB

This is what I do...

In first gear, bring the RPM up to 3500-4000 (I blip the throttle a little bit. It sounds good and lets everyone know what your about to do). Release the clutch, go full throttle, and stand on the brake enough to stop the car but not stall the engine (which is easy to do with 91 L03 RS...). LET THE BURN-OUTS BEGIN!!!

Let me give you a few warnings...

1. Be careful to not over-rev and blow up your engine doing burn-outs. I've seen a few blow ups due to over-excited, burn-out happy drivers.

2. Dont get caught by Johnny Law. He dont like burn-outs too much. Ask me how I know.

3. Plan a trip to the tire store. The urge to light 'em burn, let it roll and power-shift into second is too strong, Young Jedi!

Enjoy yourself! Happy Burnin-Out!

HorseflyDF

With the auto didnt have to stand on the brakes at all
just let it ripp off the line.

Even from a roll I could do burn outs with the auto still in 1st gear.

Im dont want to stand on the brakes to do burnouts or dump the clutch
at high rpms ..just want to nail the throttle and rip up the pavement.

ProjectIrocZ28

the few burnouts i have done i didnt need to dump the clutch any higher than 2k. some times i dont even need to dump the clutch at all (just let it out nice then floor it). start at a much lower rpm than 3500, then if it doesnt work(which i highly doubt) gradually try higher rpm's. it better to try to low than to try to high.
if you still have probs, your engine may not be running right

HorseflyDF

I got a burn out today in 1st gear, theres a dead spot
in the carb when I was getting on it really quick..was checking
accelerator pump is worn out or one of my jets could be clogged a bit
but these are just guesstimates .. then
I took her to a speed shop where the guys are into drag racing
and muscle they said my engine isnt knocking.
Still they couldnt tell me what that sound was I never had a knock
so he said that if you have a rod or something else its very loud
and I dont have one..He then told me to retard the timing because might be to far advanced..maybe the timing indicator is off..
I was happy I dont have to get the engine fixed or replaced.

HorseflyDF

I got the burnouts down, I turn idle up my idle a bit and richened it..
I went to the big parking lot early before work next
to shea stadium and sitting neutral, put it in 1st idle around 700rpms.
Dump the clutch and WOT and do aprox a 50 foot burnout hehe..

Come around to try again this time I do the burnout in 1st but
I go to 2nd quickly and burn threw that also and chirp the tires in 3rd..
well I do this around 5x and then park it and remove my steering wheel and go to work..

well on a side note..on the way home I stall out at an intersection again..
hah fukkkkkkk..also...
I have to change my rear end soon again and I think my tranny mount has ripped away..and bearings in the t5 are bad..shes humming in 2nd and 3rd now and a little in 4th 5th seems to be ok whoopiee doo... if I ever get that banging vibration out of my car that will make me happy more then anything else..
Might have to pull the oil pan which after investigating is a bitch to do
in the street also...arggghhahahahhahah

JAYDUBB

OK. The RPM numbers may be a lil high but I was under the impression that he wanted to do a standing burn-out. Not a rolling burn-out.

My apologies...

But... for someone who is new to doing standing burn-outs with a stick, I usually tell them to start a lil higher in the RPM's. That will give them the best chance at getting a good standing burn-out going.

Now if you have some HP, you should be able to pull off normally and then stand on the gas. Or you can do like the five-oh crowd... let it roll a few feet, and do a simultaneous "clutch in, full throttle, and dump the cluctch". Just do it quickly... I dont recommend that method though...

Next time I will read the thread fully.

HorseflyDF

No problem I aprreciate input from T-5 drivers,
I understand that to do a standing burnout or smoke the tires
for clouds of rubber u have to stand on the brakes. Thats
something I cant afford dont have any spare tires.. : )

The experience has been great and I do like driving with a 5 speed.

One thing I would like would be if the gears where longer
I have to shift out of 2 right away and 3 also...probably would
be better if I had 3.08 gears in the back instead of 3.42..