Starting out on steep incline

DoubleEagle · May 19, 2018, 06:23:00 PM

The overhead shot does not show the grades of the road or your driveway to the point that we can show sympathy. I suspect you simply have to balance your engine speed with the clutch action to get it going smoothly without racing the engine or super-slipping the clutch. It is the unusually steep roads that present the severe challenge, and they are not common. The worst I ever encountered was the steep entrance road to the Crazy Horse Monument in South Dakota. If you ever go there and traffic stops in front of you, be prepared to unhook your towed, and back down for another run at it. Your clutch can take some amount of slippage, but you just can not overdo it.

windtrader · May 19, 2018, 06:48:25 PM

if some of the concern and cause of increased difficulty getting the coach up the driveway is due to traffic on the road, have someone stand on the road waving a flag to ensure you have safe passage ;a pain for the road folks but it is short and infrequent delay. You could even do it yourself using an emergency light on a pole fastened to a road sign you put in the road. Anything to just hold the road traffic for a minute.

chessie4905 · May 19, 2018, 08:01:55 PM

go buy a surplus railroad crossing assembly with arm and flashing lights. install in appropriate location. paint some tracks and cross ties in front of it.

jwavc1 · May 20, 2018, 06:05:42 PM

I have an 64 mc5, not sure how comparable the rear end ratios are?

My bus was 1st delivered to greyhound in San Francisco. How'd they deal with those grades?

pd4501-771 · May 20, 2018, 06:35:57 PM

Yes, as GM intended. Meaning: if it aint broke, don't fix it. I am coming at this from a different perspective. I'm a purist restoration bus guy, not a motor home guy. So I think removing a perfectly good manual trans is reducing the original charm of these wonderful old coaches. Driving a manual Scenic in traffic, or open road is my idea of total fun. Beats working any day! I just wish I had more time off to do it.

DoubleEagle · May 20, 2018, 08:42:49 PM

Manuals can be satisfying when the shifts go well and the crowd in the bus gives you applause for great shifts, but, if you are driving long distances and encounter traffic delays that require a lot of stop and go, the left leg will be regretting thinking it is fun. Of course, if you are younger and you haven't worn out your clutch leg yet....

richard5933 · May 21, 2018, 04:21:45 AM

My clutch actually isn't that bad, and fortunately neither is my left leg. My worry is how long my back teeth will last in the jaw-clenching moments I still occasionally have, like missing a shift when on the on-ramp to a busy freeway and struggling to get back into gear before someone rear-ends us. Mine is much worse when the transmission isn't fully warmed up, so that's not much of an issue getting into the driveway since that comes at the end of a drive.

chessie4905 · May 21, 2018, 06:20:46 AM

Our 4104 was that way. Shift it a lot faster when cold and slower when up to temp. Yours should have a counter shaft brake, so don't fully depress clutch pedal except to put it into gear. I wonder if that brake even is functional anymore. You can check it by removing round cover on trans case and remove and inspect discs. They are only 4 to 5inches in diameter. Items #46,47, and 51 in illustration in your manual.

richard5933 · May 21, 2018, 06:38:57 AM

Quote from: chessie4905 on May 21, 2018, 06:20:46 AM
Our 4104 was that way. Shift it a lot faster when cold and slower when up to temp. Yours should have a counter shaft brake, so don't fully depress clutch pedal except to put it into gear. I wonder if that brake even is functional anymore. You can check it by removing round cover on trans case and remove and inspect discs. They are only 4 to 5inches in diameter. Items #46,47, and 51 in illustration in your manual.

There is no brake on the clutch in the 4108a to my knowledge. I know for certain that we don't have one. That's a large part of the problem.

chessie4905 · May 21, 2018, 11:35:49 AM

It is not with the clutch assembly. It it mounted on transmission countershaft. cover for it is on end of trans toward front of coach

richard5933 · May 21, 2018, 11:56:13 AM

Quote from: chessie4905 on May 21, 2018, 11:35:49 AM
It is not with the clutch assembly. It it mounted on transmission countershaft. cover for it is on end of trans toward front of coach

Do you know if the 4108 had such a setup? My understanding is that it didn't and that's why it was so hated by drivers in commercial service. Sometimes the only way to get it into first is to shut off the engine and then shift.

I'd love to find out there is supposed to be a brake assembly, even if it no longer functions. At least then it would once I had it repaired.

eagle19952 · May 21, 2018, 01:00:16 PM

they do make 2 piece clutch brakes is the shaft slotted to facilitate one ?

chessie4905 · May 21, 2018, 04:29:22 PM

Look in your shop manual where it shows the countershaft in the transmission breakdown. At the end of the countershaft, it shows some round discs. Go to the driveshaft end of transmission and remove round cover. You may lose a little bit of oil, but the shaft is high in case, so not much. Not difficult and nothing will get out of place in removing it. Maybe a ten minute job.

pabusnut · May 21, 2018, 05:01:26 PM

So John, you are saying this can be easily fixed?
Are the parts available?

I get sick of having to shut the engine off to get into 1st sometimes.

Steve

RJ · May 21, 2018, 07:48:27 PM

Richard -

Buswarrior gave excellent advice regarding starting on an incline, back on page one of this thread.

To elaborate a little more on the technique, bring the clutch up slowly to the take-up point with a light brake application to hold the coach.

Once you reach the take-up point, floor the brake pedal, then move quickly to the throttle, applying same as you let the clutch out further. If you do it right, the coach will move off smartly with no roll-back.

Practice this until you get the hang of it in an industrial area's parking lot on the weekend, where there's no one around to thwart your efforts.

It seems, from your comments, that the biggest issue is simply getting more practice with the 4-spd. Don't give up, it gets better the more proficient you become.

FWIW & HTH. . .