car sliding out of gear?

**Borden** · 04-23-2008 06:08 PM

Well today when i had my sisters little puppy in my car i had to break pretty hard and he hit the shiftnob and knocked it out of 4th..i was curious and when i got onto the high way i am able to pull it out of any gear(it doesnt take much effort) is this normal??

**destrolock** · 04-23-2008 06:16 PM

I believe this is normal.. Somebody correct me if I am wrong, but as long as the tranny is not under load, ie pushing the gas pedal. You should be able to slip the tranny out of gear at speed. Just don't try to put it back into gear with out first engaging the clutch. ouch! Either way its probably not good for the transmission so I wouldn't make it a habit.

**Borden** · 04-23-2008 06:54 PM

once i noticed the puppy go forward i promply engaged the clutch and i wouldnt even think about changing gear without using the clutch i was just confused when it happend and curious

**Burntaudi** · 04-23-2008 09:37 PM

Normal.

**legionvr6** · 04-23-2008 10:43 PM

uummm i car upshift and down shift with ot the clutch. once you know the car you can start in 1st with the clutch then up and down shift it with no clutch you just got to rev match

**URSquattro** · 05-08-2008 08:06 PM

hard on synchro's regardless of rev matching, A4s or any other cars on the street dont have straight cut gears so don't do it.

**njm23** · 05-08-2008 08:15 PM

yeah, unless your drivin an 18 wheeler, don't do it.

**dualaudi** · 05-10-2008 01:54 AM

happens in 2nd gear sometimes if i'm careless... anyone know of a way to stiffen our shifters? (short shifter maybe?)

**a4_1.8t_01** · 05-11-2008 11:56 AM

I accidently popped it out once normal i guess. Ir your mounts are really bad though it then its worse I noticed.

**djwimbo** · 05-11-2008 12:53 PM

Originally Posted by URSquattro

hard on synchro's regardless of rev matching, A4s or any other cars on the street dont have straight cut gears so don't do it.

It makes no difference if it's a straight cut gear or not. The difference between a tractor trailer and an automotive trans is in the synchros. The helical cut gears we have and the straight cut gears they have only supply the gear ratio. The Dog Teeth on the gear are what engages the gear and has the power transfer through it.
Pulling a trans out of gear while not under load, I.E. accel or decel, won't damage the trans. An immeasurable amount more wear, maybe.

Matching the gears, rev matching, whatever you want to call it is what the synchro does in the trans. Shifting without the clutch, as long as it's smooth and not grinding, isn't doing that much, if any, damage to the trans. Yes, using the clutch would make it easier, and thus less wear in the trans.

Anyways, back to the OP. That is normal, don't worry about it. As long as you're cruising or under a slight decel, pulling it out of gear should take the same amount of effort as when you use the clutch.
This varies some based on what type of blocking rings are in the trans. Our tranny's have 75W-90 in them, so it won't make a difference. A trans that uses ATF, has different blocking rings(actual friction material instead of brass) in it, and it would be more difficult (typically) to shift through the gears w/o the clutch. Going from a gear to neutral, may not be more difficult, depends on the manuacturer.