ok today i was driving a 16 plate man with a manual gearbox. 8 gears 4 low range 4 high range going up the box everytime i was in 4th if i hit the switch then changed to 5th some times it would crunch and i struggled to get 5th. if i did flipped the switch as i changed gear it didnt crunch but the box seemed to take longer to change range and allow me to select 5th.
comming down the box was even worse only way i seemed to be able to do it so it actualy changed down was slow down enough to get it into 5th (aprox 25 mph) then drop it into neutral then flip the switch depress and realease the clutch (it would change range then select the appropriate gear. by this point i would almost be stopped causing no end of muppetry
There’s not much that the driver can do wrong to mess up a range change it’s all done by the box and interlocked with the clutch actuation.
It’s synchroniser has possibly been wrecked by other driver/drivers who have confused it with the splitter and tried to make a range change at a silly road speed for 4th or 5th.
Its a few years since I last used a range change. Just use low box in 30 mph areas. When changing up go to neutral Raise the switch then go into the 5th gear which is the old 1st gear position. Take time when changing gears.
Sounds like a range change box to me, why do you mention a splitter switch?
From what you say it sounds like you are not changing gear at the correct time ,ie wrong speed for the particular gear.
If it is a range change box you should flick the switch before moving the stick rather than as you move it.
I presume it is a synchromesh box therefore double de clutching may not help and may cause damage I was once told.
Then again I am way out of touch with the latest boxes so can’t be certain. Practice usually helps, in a yard or a quiet road till you sort your problem out
rather than causing problems for others.
Hi is it comfort shift or are you using the clutch every time you change gear? The MAN I used to drive had comfort shift which was great but as the truck got older it became hit and miss as to whether it would actuate the clutch. You say it’s 2016, things could just be worn out after many many bad gear changes etc. As mentioned about when in 4th you should flick the switch up then change up into 5th.
Also if you aren’t used to driving a manual truck then the gear changes are different to a car. You can’t rush them as they will grind. I would suggest tho that it is just a bit worn
Working off memory here with that box, been 12 years since i drove a manual MAN, as i recall it’s a synchro box and the synchromesh is probably worn on 1st/5th, so you’ll need to match the revs to where they should be for the new gear ratio same as you would in any constant mesh box in every gear.
You should be able to pre select the range shift.
Is it a ‘‘comfort shift’’ box with an extra button on the lever which operates the clutch for you? i ask because unless its a 16 speed that extra switch might indeed be the clutch control.
I personally dislike synchro boxes because they baulk the gearchanges constantly even if you do rev match where a constant mesh box would slide slickly in having no synchro ring to hold things up.
jakethesnake:
Sounds like a range change box to me, why do you mention a splitter switch?
From what you say it sounds like you are not changing gear at the correct time ,ie wrong speed for the particular gear.
If it is a range change box you should flick the switch before moving the stick rather than as you move it.
I presume it is a synchromesh box therefore double de clutching may not help and may cause damage I was once told.
Then again I am way out of touch with the latest boxes so can’t be certain. Practice usually helps, in a yard or a quiet road till you sort your problem out
rather than causing problems for others.
I mentioned the splitter to identify the box and also wondering if i should be using it to help gear changes but decided that was stupid so didnt mention it. im fairly sure (in my inexperience) that it is a splitter switch because i was in 8th and flipped the switch and nothing happened till i disengaged /reengaged the clutch at which point the engine rpm went up and speed remained the same. reverse happened when i switched it the other way
jakethesnake:
Sounds like a range change box to me, why do you mention a splitter switch?
From what you say it sounds like you are not changing gear at the correct time ,ie wrong speed for the particular gear.
If it is a range change box you should flick the switch before moving the stick rather than as you move it.
I presume it is a synchromesh box therefore double de clutching may not help and may cause damage I was once told.
Then again I am way out of touch with the latest boxes so can’t be certain. Practice usually helps, in a yard or a quiet road till you sort your problem out
rather than causing problems for others.
I mentioned the splitter to identify the box and also wondering if i should be using it to help gear changes but decided that was stupid so didnt mention it. im fairly sure (in my inexperience) that it is a splitter switch because i was in 8th and flipped the switch and nothing happened till i disengaged /reengaged the clutch at which point the engine rpm went up and speed remained the same. reverse happened when i switched it the other way
Yeah to split gears just click the splitter press& release clutch it will change half a gear. Not really worth messing around with unless you’re running at max weight and are desperate to keep max speed up hill.
As others said with the range change, if you’re in fourth flick it to high then depress clutch to change to fifth. Sometimes i find it helps to flick the range up & down a few times as a kind of reset even when you don’t want to change gear.
They take q bit of getting used to but you will soon feel like a real driver!
jakethesnake:
Sounds like a range change box to me, why do you mention a splitter switch?
From what you say it sounds like you are not changing gear at the correct time ,ie wrong speed for the particular gear.
If it is a range change box you should flick the switch before moving the stick rather than as you move it.
I presume it is a synchromesh box therefore double de clutching may not help and may cause damage I was once told.
Then again I am way out of touch with the latest boxes so can’t be certain. Practice usually helps, in a yard or a quiet road till you sort your problem out
rather than causing problems for others.
Only problem I can see is the op is doing all too fast and the cleanest garranteed smooth change is yes one press out of gear and another for the next selecting high range from neutral.
They take q bit of getting used to but you will soon feel like a real driver!
You are not wrong there! I had the pleasure Monday and yesterday of driving a 4 over 4 on my very first and second day in a Class 2 tipper after passing my test in an automatic. The first few hours were horrendous. I barely got out of 5th gear, couldn’t find second/fourth, crunching galore going on, I swear the switch flicked itself on numerous occasions, but no, I realised later, once I’d sussed it, that I was thinking I was in 7th but was actually in 5th Anyway, to cut a long story short, by the end of day two I was feeling like a real driver. That was until I got into my car to go home and had to reverse for a tractor…except I could not find reverse in my car - I kept shunting forward. In the end the tractor reversed for me. After being in the truck all day I had completely forgotten to push down for reverse in my car
jakethesnake:
Sounds like a range change box to me, why do you mention a splitter switch?
From what you say it sounds like you are not changing gear at the correct time ,ie wrong speed for the particular gear.
If it is a range change box you should flick the switch before moving the stick rather than as you move it.
I presume it is a synchromesh box therefore double de clutching may not help and may cause damage I was once told.
Then again I am way out of touch with the latest boxes so can’t be certain. Practice usually helps, in a yard or a quiet road till you sort your problem out
rather than causing problems for others.
It confused me when the split wasn’t mentioned ,like you going by the story the synchros on the range are gone
jakethesnake:
Sounds like a range change box to me, why do you mention a splitter switch?
From what you say it sounds like you are not changing gear at the correct time ,ie wrong speed for the particular gear.
If it is a range change box you should flick the switch before moving the stick rather than as you move it.
I presume it is a synchromesh box therefore double de clutching may not help and may cause damage I was once told.
Then again I am way out of touch with the latest boxes so can’t be certain. Practice usually helps, in a yard or a quiet road till you sort your problem out
rather than causing problems for others.
Only problem I can see is the op is doing all too fast and the cleanest garranteed smooth change is yes one press out of gear and another for the next selecting high range from neutral.
Possibly but not guaranteed when nobody has actually seen the op using the box or even knowing exactly which type it is. Any range change I ever drove was pre select and any split done by flicking the appropriate button/switch then using the clutch to activate.
So many variables with gearboxes and not many seem to get shown the correct method. Trial and error in most cases.
Don’t rush your range change, as Punchy said previously, flick your switch before you change gear, you don’t have to force it in give it half a second as you pass through neutral you will hear the gearbox engage its a distinct noise you will feel it in the gearstick.
Always treat your gearbox and clutch like you would want your ■■■■ & balls to be treated.
That’s what I was told when I started, worked out OK for me that pearl of wisdom.
use a name:
Don’t rush your range change, as Punchy said previously, flick your switch before you change gear, you don’t have to force it in give it half a second as you pass through neutral you will hear the gearbox engage its a distinct noise you will feel it in the gearstick.
Always treat your gearbox and clutch like you would want your ■■■■ & balls to be treated.
That’s what I was told when I started, worked out OK for me that pearl of wisdom.
Mine being a twin plate clutch is enough to most drivers off
use a name:
Don’t rush your range change, as Punchy said previously, flick your switch before you change gear, you don’t have to force it in give it half a second as you pass through neutral you will hear the gearbox engage its a distinct noise you will feel it in the gearstick.
Always treat your gearbox and clutch like you would want your ■■■■ & balls to be treated.
That’s what I was told when I started, worked out OK for me that pearl of wisdom.
Mine being a twin plate clutch is enough to most drivers off
I’ve played many a fine tune in my time lol, the only one that I didn’t get on with was a Spicer,
In a 8W Constructer it hated me and I hated it.
alamcculloch:
Its a few years since I last used a range change. Just use low box in 30 mph areas. When changing up go to neutral Raise the switch then go into the 5th gear which is the old 1st gear position. Take time when changing gears.
The range change actuation is interlocked with the clutch and gear shift and synchronised no need to put it in neutral first before switching it.Its preselected before taking it out of ‘4th’.From memory switching it late in neutral could actually affect the synchronisation between ranges.Similar in the case of trying to double declutch a range change shift.
jakethesnake:
Sounds like a range change box to me, why do you mention a splitter switch?
From what you say it sounds like you are not changing gear at the correct time ,ie wrong speed for the particular gear.
If it is a range change box you should flick the switch before moving the stick rather than as you move it.
I presume it is a synchromesh box therefore double de clutching may not help and may cause damage I was once told.
Then again I am way out of touch with the latest boxes so can’t be certain. Practice usually helps, in a yard or a quiet road till you sort your problem out
rather than causing problems for others.
I mentioned the splitter to identify the box and also wondering if i should be using it to help gear changes but decided that was stupid so didnt mention it. im fairly sure (in my inexperience) that it is a splitter switch because i was in 8th and flipped the switch and nothing happened till i disengaged /reengaged the clutch at which point the engine rpm went up and speed remained the same. reverse happened when i switched it the other way
The splitter has nothing to do with the the range change they’ll be two seperate different switches or slap stick type range change and a switched splitter control.
It’s obviously less work for the range synchroniser to upshift from high split 4th (8th) to low split 5th (9th) all preselected and actuated automatically through neutral.
issue solved i think. It seams it was a case of too quick and poor understanding of how it operates. I was under the imprestion that the range change happened when you depressed the clutch not when you were in nuteral. As soon as i slowed everything down and did one thing at a time i could pin point at what point i heard the clunk. then everything else fell into place. it will just take some getting used to
cooper1203:
issue solved i think. It seams it was a case of too quick and poor understanding of how it operates. I was under the imprestion that the range change happened when you depressed the clutch not when you were in nuteral. As soon as i slowed everything down and did one thing at a time i could pin point at what point i heard the clunk. then everything else fell into place. it will just take some getting used to
Glad you are making progress. Like most trying to use a gearbox like that without being shown is not so easy. Like driving and reversing trailers some pick it up quicker than others.
Don’t ever try an eton twin splitter if you think that’s hard.
jakethesnake:
Sounds like a range change box to me, why do you mention a splitter switch?
From what you say it sounds like you are not changing gear at the correct time ,ie wrong speed for the particular gear.
If it is a range change box you should flick the switch before moving the stick rather than as you move it.
I presume it is a synchromesh box therefore double de clutching may not help and may cause damage I was once told.
Then again I am way out of touch with the latest boxes so can’t be certain. Practice usually helps, in a yard or a quiet road till you sort your problem out
rather than causing problems for others.
I mentioned the splitter to identify the box and also wondering if i should be using it to help gear changes but decided that was stupid so didnt mention it. im fairly sure (in my inexperience) that it is a splitter switch because i was in 8th and flipped the switch and nothing happened till i disengaged /reengaged the clutch at which point the engine rpm went up and speed remained the same. reverse happened when i switched it the other way
The splitter has nothing to do with the the range change they’ll be two seperate different switches or slap stick type range change and a switched splitter control.
It’s obviously less work for the range synchroniser to upshift from high split 4th (8th) to low split 5th (9th) all preselected and actuated automatically through neutral.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, by the end of day two I was feeling like a real driver. 
That was until I got into my car to go home and had to reverse for a tractor…except I could not find reverse in my car - I kept shunting forward. In the end the tractor reversed for me. After being in the truck all day I had completely forgotten to push down for reverse in my car 
