Shifting please help I’m 16 and sorta new or drive this

[Bruce3445]

I was wondering when you shift from second to first are you’d supposed to come to a stop to shift because when i raise the rpm’s to try to shift it back into first i wont go so I’m just wondering the right way to do it so I don’t break any thing

[gonz]

First gear isn't synchronized meaning you will have to match the gear speeds to be able to shift it well while the truck is moving. First gear is pretty deep and a lot of people skip it all together unless you're needs a strong slow pull.

[Bruce3445]

So is it easier when you come to a stop to shift into first or when you match the speed of the gear do you have to press the gas so it raises the rpms of the engine how are you supposed to match the gears

[teking]

Try double clutching it. Its an old technic to get unsynchronized tranny gears to shift smooth. Here's an explanation:

When changing down, the speed of your engine needs to be higher in relation to the speed of the wheels and transmission – which is why if you change down when travelling at speed you will feel the car decelerate noticeably as the engine isn’t rotating fast enough to maintain the current transmission and wheel speed.

Here’s where double clutching comes in. As you look to change down, instead of immediately putting it into the next gear, you instead put it in neutral and release the clutch. This meshes the clutch with the engine but not the transmission, at which point you tap the accelerator to increase both the engine speed and now enmeshed clutch speed as well.

Now they are rotating at a faster speed than before, you can depress the clutch again and change down into the next gear as normal having matched the engine speed to the gear you want to change into rather than the one you were in.

This all happens very quickly – barely half a second with practice – and when done correctly will speed up how fast you can change down gears as you don’t have to wait for the transmission/wheel speed to drop before making the change.

[Kaiserjeeps]

I always come to a complete stop or just barely moving to go into first. It is a crawler gear and typically you don't use it unless you have really big tires or are working the truck with a load etc... I am about to do a complete rebuild of our transmission. So you will be able to see the gear and that it is not synchronized. Take it easy on the gear trying to get it in gear. You can chip up the leading edge of all the teeth grinding it. All 1st gears have some chipping to a degree. I will title the rebuild thread as T98 rebuild. I should start it in about a week or less. So that way you can see the internals.

[Don Cavey]

Welcome to this madness! Glad to see a new young member with an interest in the M-715 which was so maligned by many.

The guys above have answered your questions, I think. I have an M-715 here in Florida but drove one in the army during 1969-70. I put a lot of miles on them back then. I never used 1st gear even when the truck was loaded. Now, I am talking on roads, not in the dirt or mud. And yes, ya gotta stop completely before attempting to sift into 1st (or reverse). The differentials are low enough that 2nd gear is appropriate for starting out without slipping the clutch too much.

[Bruce3445]

Okay thanks i will try that

[teking]

Bare in mind that although correct those telling you not to use 1st gear to start that really only applies if you have stock gearing. My diffs had 4.56 gears and 1st was used all the time.

[Bruce3445]

Ya we still have all the stock transmission gearing and axles we didn’t change anything because we didn’t want to spend a lot of money on it but we might change the engine and the transmission if the engine breaks

[k8icu]

Ya we still have all the stock transmission gearing and axles we didn’t change anything because we didn’t want to spend a lot of money on it but we might change the engine and the transmission if the engine breaks

Drive the old girl with respect. She was not built to be a race car and can't be driven that way. 50 mph top speed and be gentle with her and give her lots of love and maintenance like changing the oil regularly and she will last a long time.