Preamble
In Part-1, we waded through the ‘mechanics’ of it all and
set some objectives for one self towards a smooth and effortless drive
– not only for self and passengers but above all – for the
Car as well.
For, as can be easily visualised, every ‘jerk’ in motion
is like a hammer blow of sorts to the entire ‘Power-Train –
causing it irreversible damage to varying degrees or in other words –
eating into its life.
Now in Part-2, we shall explore the finer nuances of ‘shifting-gears’…..
The ‘how’ of ‘shifting’ Gears!
Now this is the
crux of the matter. One may have noticed that I have been over emphasizing
on the word ‘shift’ all along – as opposed to ‘changing’
and what not. From the couple of drgs above, it can be imagined that there’s
a certain amount of ‘Linkage’ between the ‘in-cabin’
Gear Lever and eventually the ‘selectors’ inside the gearbox
(see sketch alongside) –
 This entire ‘train’ of links and levers is designed to do
its job well but NOT to kill a fly with a sledge hammer ! So what does
one do – one takes a good look at the ‘Std-H’ configuration
alongside – not exactly the ‘Pretty Woman’ Way J :
 The horizontal
bar in the sketch above between 1-3-5 and 2-4-R is the ‘Neutral’
position of the Gearbox and in a correctly adjusted one, the ‘Shift-Lever’
will stay in the middle i.e. between 3-4, with negligible ‘slack’
either in vertical or horizontal directions.
If one tried to push it sideways to the left, gently, it will hardly
offer any resistance but will move to a position between 1-2. When let
go, it’ll spring back to its ‘normal’ position between
3-4. Likewise to the left, i.e. to between 5-R but this time, it’ll
offer much higher resistance as if one were trying to go over a speed-breaker.
This for understandable reasons, so as to prevent people from getting
accidentally into the 5th or Reverse ‘zone’ unless intended. |
