and rotates the main drive gear (or input shaft), which meshes with the cluster or counter
shaft gear――a series of gears forged into one piece that resembles a cluster of gears. The
c l u s t e r - g e a r a s s e m b l y r o t a t e s a n y t i m e t h e c l u t c h i s e n g a g e d t o a r u n n i n g
engine,whether or not the transmission is in gear or in neutral.
T h e r e a r e t w o b a s i c t y p e s o f m a n u a l t r a n s m i s s i o n s . T h e s l i d i n g - g e a r t y p e a n d t h e
c o n s t a n t - m e s h d e s i g n . W i t h t h e b a s i c ― ― a n d n o w o b s o l e t e ― ― s l i d i n g - g e a r
type,nothing is turning inside the transmission case except the main drive gear and cluster
gear when the trans is in neutral. In order to mesh the gears and apply engine power to move
the vehicle, the driver presses the clutch pedal and moves the shifter handle, which in turn
moves the shift linkage and forks to slide a gear along the mainshaft, which is mounted
directly above the cluster. Once the gears are meshed, the clutch pedal is released and the
engine’s power is sent to the drive wheels. There can be several gears on the mainshaft of
different diameters and tooth counts, and the transmission shift linkage is designed so the
d r i v e r h a s t o u n m e s h o n e g e a r b e f o r e b e i n g a b l e t o m e s h a n o t h e r . W i t h t h e s e o l d e r
transmissions, gear clash is a problem because the gears are all rotating at different speeds.
Al l m od e rn tr a n sm i ss i on s a r e of the co n st ant - me s h t yp e , w hi c h s ti l l u s es a si m i la r
gear arrangement as the sliding-gear type. However,all the mainshaft gears are in constant
m e s h w i t h t h e c l u s t e r g e a r s . T h i s i s p o s s i b l e b e c a u s e t h e g e a r s o n t h e m a i n s h a f t a r e n o t
splined to the shaft, but are free to rotate on it. With a constant-mesh gearbox, the main drive
gear, cluster gear and all the mainshaft gears are always turning, even when the transmission
is in neutral.
A l o n g s i d e e a c h g e a r o n t h e m a i n s h a f t i s a d o g c l u t c h , w i t h a h u b t h a t ’ s p o s i t i v e l y
s p l i n e d t o t h e s h a f t a n d a n o u t e r r i n g t h a t c a n s l i d e o v e r a g a i n s t e a c h g e a r . B o t h t h e
mainshaft gear and the ring of the dog clutch have a row of teeth. Moving shift linkage
moves the dog clutch against the adjacent mainshaft gear, causing the teeth to interlock and
solidly lock the gear to the mainshaft.
To prevent gears from grinding or clashing during engagement, a constant-mesh, fully
" s y n c h r o n i z e d " m a n u a l t r a n s m i s s i o n i s e q u i p p e d w i t h s y n c h r o n i z e r s . A s y n c h r o n i z e r
typically consists of an inner-splined hub, an outer sleeve, shifter
plates,lock rings(or springs)and blocking rings. The hub is splined onto the mainshaft
b e t w e e n a p a i r o f m a i n d r i v e g e a r s . H e l d i n p l a c e b y t h e l o c k
r i n g s,t he sh ift e r p la t es po s it i on the sl ee v e o v er th e h ub wh i le als o h old i ng th e f l oat ing
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