bolido2000

I was wondering if is necessary to depress the clutch to change gears when the engine is not running.....

ybelm620

yes man always press the clutch to shift, NO MATTER ALWAYS PRESS CLUTCH WHEN SHIFTING, ITS GONNA KEEP YOU FROM MESSING UP YOUR GEARS, THATS WHY THERS IS A CLUTCH!!!!!!!

Daniel B. Martin

No.

For that matter it is not necessary to depress the clutch to change gears when the engine is running. This can be done by the technique is called "speed matching". If you do this speed matching just right, the shifts will be completely silent. There will be no gear-grinding sounds whatever.

In order to shift to a higher gear without using the clutch you ease off the gas just enough so the engine is neither accelerating or slowing the car. Then you move the shifter from one gear to the next higher gear, feeling your way so as to not abuse the synchronizers. The timing of this clutchless shift is fairly fast, a two-step "blip-blip" taking about one second, total.

To shift to a lower gear you shift into neutral, then goose the gas just a bit, and ease into the lower gear. The timing of this clutchless shift is a bit slower, a three-step "blip-rev-blip" taking about two seconds, total.

The way to start from rest is to switch the engine off, shift into first gear, crank the engine, and away you go.

While it is possible to shift without using the clutch, this is not recommended except in extraordinary circumstances. I have done this to help friends with broken clutch cables. I did it for myself once when the
hydraulic slave cylinder suffered a catastrophic hemorrhage. It's better to do repairs at home than at the roadside. Being a thrifty sort, I like to avoid the tow-truck fee.

_DRU_

no, it is NOT neccessary. i can go out to my car now and through the gears around without depressing the clutch.

MR_Maxi

I had to do this when my clutch hose blew, it works fine a few lil crunches here and there but didn't any damage as far as i know.