<VV> throwout bearing follow up

[Sethracer@aol.com]

In a message dated 5/8/2004 6:36:28 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
slmizel@juno.com writes:
My
clutch cable snapped on me about two miles from my house yesterday.  I
had to drive the remaining two miles in second gear through stop signs
and lights...had to cut through one parking lot and almost took out a
pedestrian!  She was walking slowly and I couldn't bog the engine any
slower!  I am sure she thought I was an impatient rude driver...but I
wasn't going to the let the car die that close to home! 

All manual transmission Corvair owners should practice, at least once or 
twice, driving without a clutch cable, i.e. without a clutch. It is something that 
can be hard on various systems on the car, notably the starter and the 
transmission, but it is possible to drive it even in traffic. Not easy, but 
possible. It is best not to learn late at night when you have to get home, etc. 
Driving without the clutch is based on two separate activities, starting the car in 
gear (thus the pain for the starter) and shifting using 
"match-the-gear-speeds-in-the-trans" methods Thank heavens for synchros! If you are stuck without a 
cable and really need to get home, you can do it. First, start the car up in 
neutral and let it warm up. (Turbos are so prone to hot-start problems that I 
wouldn't necessarily warm up a turbo) once the engine is warm, it is more 
likely to start easily - as in first gear! Aim the car the way you want to go, put 
the car in first, and start the motor - the car will start moving along with 
it. Stay alert, because you may have to turn the ignition off to stop the car 
at any point. When you hit a comfortable speed in first and want to shift to 
second, feather the throttle and pull the trans into neutral, let the RPMs drop 
a bit, and slide (shove) it into second. Repeat for third/fourth. The final 
trick is pulling up to a light or stop sign, as you will invariably find several 
on the way home (Arrgh!). As you coast up to the light, feather the throttle 
and pull the trans back into neutral. Don't let the engine compression be 
slowing you down at this point, the trans won't like being moved into neutral 
under any load. Just coast up to the light/stop sign and turn off the motor. Put 
the trans into first and wait for the green light!
Repeat as needed to get home! Again, trying this out with no traffic and 
plenty of room for mistakes is the best idea. - Seth Emerson (rescuer of wife when 
clutch cables have failed)