Ever had to drive your car w/o a CLUTCH?

[silvercar00]

I had a previous post about being stranded yesterday when my clutch failed. I'm 20 miles from a really competent repair shop which is about a half-hour walk from my home, and it's all nonstop highway driving except for one left turn at the top of an exit ramp on with a slight hill.
I really don't know what happened here, and since I've never worked on my clutch cable mechanism yet, I'm hoping it's not anything that you'd need to pull the engine out for, because that "while you've got the engine out" list for me would get expensive, since I have a bad synchro in first gear.
Here's my plan: try and start the car in first and force it into second and then third, and drive it all the way to the exit, and then go to neutral (if I can;t safely run the stop sign). ANY TIPS? I got this idea from a thread on this board entitled: "Is it possible to drive the car with a broken clutch cable? where boarders gave some pretty entertaining responses about getting out of being stranded like this. Having a pro gearbox mechanic suggest this and offering tips made me consider it seriously. Out of mishaps like this com great stories....................I have a crazy friend who claims to have saved himself from being stranded by a throttle cable in an old speedster which he drove to MN from CA while in WY by using barbed wire over his shoulder and made it OK, save for a seriously sunburned arm ( I don't buy that one, but it was entertaining anyway).

[Walter_Middie]

SilverCar,

It is theoretically possible to drive your car without using the clutch - but would you want to? If you don't know how to do it, I wouldn't suggest trying to learn by trial and error. The key point here is error. If you abuse your transmission enough, you will need much more than just a clutch by the time you get to the shop. You should read some of the threads on double clutching and heal-and-toe. It takes a lot of practice to get it right - even with a working clutch. These are the same techniques you will need to drive your car without a clutch. I have driven many cars without using the clutch - but I wouldn't do it with my Porsche because of the cost of repairing the trans if I made one false move. Get an old Toyota and practice on it if you want to learn how to really drive your car, but for now, tow the Porsche to the shop - you'll be glad you did.

[Grady Clay]

I recommend you start it in 2nd and leave it there. You can buzz along for 20 miles at 5000 rpm just fine. Shifting without the clutch is very bad for the syncros and engagement dogs. Significant wear or damage will be done “forcing” it into a gear.

If you can find a down-hill on-ramp, you can even start it in 3rd gear. When you come to a stop, turn the engine off rather than pulling it out of gear. If your last bit off the freeway is in traffic, 1st will work fine.

Best,
Grady

[rouxroux]

Wow...deja vu. I had a cable go out on an old Zephyr I once owned. Had to drive it a few hundred miles w/o a clutch. Yes, it was a pain. on a few stretches where I could not push-start, I had to shut the engine off, place it in 1st and use the starter to get it rolling. I do not advise doing this, although it was quite easy to get it rolling that way.

[DaveE]

I had to drive a 914 without a clutch for about 30 miles once and destroyed 1st gear.

[msterling]

Once upon a time, the clutch cable broke on my 74 Capri. I was too cheap to call a tow truck. I used 1st gear and the starter to take off (kinda jerky but OK). Ease off the gas to shift out of first, match engine speed and synchros will make upshifts easy. Downshifting is tougher but do-able. To stop I just shifted to neutral and used brakes. At stops shut off the engine and shift to first. Repeat as needed. I actually played with this technique after the repair just for fun (minus the starter motor starting).

[Moses]

I had an old Chevy pickup when I was a kid. I only needed the clutch to get into 1st or reverse. You could easily shift without grinding by matching RPMs. I can't imagine doing that in my 911. Trickier tranny.

[dentist90]

I had to drive a vehicle more than 2hrs once without the clutch as I sprang a leak in the clutch's hydraulic line. Lost all the fluid so it was just pumping air (Jeep CJ7). By matching revs and really feeling with the shift lever it is readily done, but I would certainly not use the word "force" to describe any of the shifts. Upshifts are easier than downshifts as the engine revs will naturally fall back to the range you want for the next gear. If you miss and get the clashing sound DO NOT FORCE. Use your throttle to get the engine revs up to where you think they would be for the speed you are travelling (as you are coasting) and gently pull shifter into that gear. The less shifting you attempt the better, so if you do it plan to travel at high revs and reduced speeds (limp mode). Starting and stopping are the real challenges. Simply turning off your motor as you approach a stop isn't a good idea. You may lock up your rear wheels and/or your steering wheel lock thus losing control. Pulling the tranny into neutral is easy to do as you come to a stop as long as the gears aren't under a load, either accel or decel. So getting into neutral on an uphill or downhill can be very tricky... beware. Once you have come to a stop you must shut the engine off to place it back in 1st as there is no way to match revs if the output shaft isn't turning at all. Use the starter to get you going (1st is preferred as there is less load on the starter than trying to roll the car in 2nd or 3rd) and remember that the car is going to start lurching forward as soon as you turn the ignition key. Good luck if you do try it, but as others have posted here, everytime you hear grinding you are hurting your synchro teeth. If there is a part of your trip which involves stopping at the top of a hill or stop and go traffic I'd suggest a tow. It will be cheaper than destroying your expensive tranny. Good luck to you.

[dentist90]

Originally posted by msterling
Once upon a time, the clutch cable broke on my 74 Capri. I was too cheap to call a tow truck.

HA! What a hoot. My first Two cars were both '76 Capris (made in Germany, too). What memories. I was in school so $ was not to be had. Never put more than $5 into the tank at a time, carried an old spare battery in the back with jumper cables in the winter, fixed my e-brake cable with a crimp splice, replaced worn steering shaft damper with a drilled hockey puck. Now here we are doing the same thing to our Porsches ( well... no hockey pucks in the Porsche yet!) Cheers

[Jim Sims]

Have it "flat bedded" to the repair shop. Look up the cost of the first and second gear synchro hubs (dogteeth) and the 1st/2nd operating sleeve (sliding sleeve) for your transmission. You'll quickly conclude the hauling charges to the shop are a bargin compared to buying 915 transmission parts.

[Grady Clay]

silvercar00,

Everyone’s anecdotal non-Porsche experiences are interesting and enlightening. This doesn’t change the fact that shifting without a clutch a Porsche-syncro car will damage the syncro ring and probably worse. Even G50 syncros can be damaged, just not as susceptible.

If in doubt, it is worth a flat-bed tow. You can do 10X++ the cost of the tow in damage to the transmission.

A properly running CIS or DME 911 will start and run in 2nd or 3rd without much trouble, so long as you aren’t going up hill. Most SCs will start and run in first gear and drive through your garage wall. Even a carbureted ’67 911S will start in 2nd with the proper technique.

Either start and keep it in a single gear or have it towed.

Best,
Grady

[dickster]

Originally posted by rouxroux
Wow...deja vu. I had a cable go out on an old Zephyr I once owned. Had to drive it a few hundred miles w/o a clutch. Yes, it was a pain. on a few stretches where I could not push-start, I had to shut the engine off, place it in 1st and use the starter to get it rolling. I do not advise doing this, although it was quite easy to get it rolling that way.

Same here, with a Mini I owned years ago. I would not want to do it in the 911 tho'.

[dentist90]

Despite my descriptive post previously, if this were MY Porsche I wouldn't attempt it. Not worth the risk if there is a simple, safer alternative.
I do have a question re: potential synchro ring damage. If the function of the synchro rings is to cause enough friction to get the input/output shafts spinning at the same rate so the the dog/operating sleeve teeth will engage without clashing... how does damage to them (rings) occur if you use the throttle to accomplish the same thing? Seems to me that blipping the throttle actually aids the synchro rings by performing some of their job (like trying to get into 1st while still rolling even tho the synchros are worn out), as long as you aren't yanking hard on the shifter while you try to match revs. This is simply an academic question as I DO use my clutch, and I will admit I am hardly an automotive expert.

[GeorgeK]

During the cross country trip, Midwest Esses to Sonoma, one of our members finished the trip's last leg "dead stick". His clutch cable holder snapped, and he managed to bring the car into LA without the left pedal.
And lucky we were, because we had a hard time to follow him even without his clutch on a spirited canyon drive.

[Walter_Middie]

Dentist90,

You can greatly help the transmission syncros do their job, as you point out, but the problem comes in when you don't use the clutch, and you don't match the revs exactly. When you hear grinding - you are putting thousands of miles on the transmission with one shift. If you use the clutch, and match the revs, the transmission can last for a long, long time.

[HarryD]

Originally posted by Grady Clay
silvercar00,

Everyone’s anecdotal non-Porsche experiences are interesting and enlightening. This doesn’t change the fact that shifting without a clutch a Porsche-syncro car will damage the syncro ring and probably worse. Even G50 syncros can be damaged, just not as susceptible.

If in doubt, it is worth a flat-bed tow. You can do 10X++ the cost of the tow in damage to the transmission.

A properly running CIS or DME 911 will start and run in 2nd or 3rd without much trouble, so long as you aren’t going up hill. Most SCs will start and run in first gear and drive through your garage wall. Even a carbureted ’67 911S will start in 2nd with the proper technique.

Either start and keep it in a single gear or have it towed.

Best,
Grady

I recently had my clutch cable fail. I did not want to shift but I did not want to wait for a tow either. I realized (as Grady stated) that I could go about 50 mph in 2nd and could start the car as well.

It was 20 miles from my failure location to the shop I use. I started the car in second and did not stop until I reached the shop. It took some careful driving to allow me to time lights and not stall the car but with some patience it is doable (if loud).

[Brian 162]

My old 5 ton work truck had a 4 speed, for a while I was too lazy to use the clutch so I up-shifted and down shifted without using the clutch. There was so much slop in the tranny I would never grind the gears. The only time I used the clutch was when I reversed or started from a standing start. If it was my Porsche I would use a tow.

[724doorE]

Yea had to drive my 72 a ways home with a broken clutch cable. Put it in first and start it, it will work (its rough on the starter though) Shifting really isn't too bad going up if you have any kind of touch at all. Going down just requires a blip rev and softly put it in the lower gear. Had to do the same for my four speed 351W mustang and it was ok too. I guess depending on the circumstances, I'd do it again if I had to, but not just for fun. I'd guess that no clutch wouldn't much if any worse than a poorly adjusted shift coupler as far as your trans sees it.

[silvercar00]

I started it in second ( in a NAPA parking lot) , matched the revs and "felt: the synchro drop in for 4th at about 1200 rpm at about 20 mph, and I was off! I had to stop once for a light and fo that I killed the motor an restarted the car in first. Made it home w/o a single grind. This is Memorial Day weekend. A flatbed tow was a tough thing to find, especially with unseasonble heat here (98 degreesin MN )...... OH, and to that guy who said "you WILL damage your synchro ring)
...Steve McQueen would roll over in his grave to see the lack of pluck amongst some of us Porsche owners today. I'm not a concours guy. I drive my car because it's FUN. I don't hand my Visa to the Porsche dealer every time he tries to scare me with what MIGHT happen if I am stupid enough to, say, rev it up to 5 grand and force the shifter into first. If you look at the old thread cited, there's a very sage 915 service tech who does this in emergencies himself. I used my driving instincts and that advice to get my car home safely ( tows are also a risk on Porsches)and on Tuesday it will go to a competent tech. ...Relax.!

[rnln]

Grady Clay,
you mean put the car in gear (2nd) before starting the engine?
What happen when the car is in gear and you twist the key?