As stated, leave it in gear, I have a stick and I leave it in gear myself, if you take it out you are asking for trouble......

 

Yea that's my biggest fear. I definitely will stop with this. Damn, I didn't think this would get so many posts. Thanks a lot everyone. You all probably just saved me a ****load of $$$.

 

We are all here to help man.

 

So your not suppost to coast in neutral even with a stick? I only do it when I gotta stop ahead......like at a stop sign or red light.

 

Low speed ok but not high speed. I hit the clutch and coast at like 20mph when im stopping ao a red light.

 

it actually states in the manual to not tow a vehical in neutral with the drive wheels down. i think this has something to do with the fact that the oil pump inside the tranny no longer moves the oil thru it and then u fry ur tranny.

 

Ford says that you can flat tow an automatic Ranger up to 50 miles at no more than 35 MPH. Rangers with manual tranmissions can be towed up to 55 MPH with no distance restriction. It has been that way for many years.

 

huh. i just read the manual and you are right. i read it wrong.

 

So it is ok to coast in neutral?

 

I have a question that is similar. I am an automatic. If i go up a steep hill and cannot make it, and my truck rolls backwards whille still in drive. Is that bad? what should i do in that instance that i cant coem to a stop on the hill to go in reverse.

 

With a stick shift comming to a stop yes it's fine. Automatic, pointless.

As for coasting down hills, I know of no state that it's legal to do so. I read that from the Drivers Handbook when you study for the permit test. It's even in the CDL books.

 

Uh oh i hope nothing happens, cause i defnitly just did that the other day, damn two wheel drive.

 

You're saying that while driving forward, the truck starts rolling backwards against the transmison? Yea, thats bad.

 

that means you have WAY too much weight in your truck...

 

FYI for anyone worried about accidentally shifting an electronic automatic into reverse while driving forward:

Even if you select reverse with the shift lever, the PCM will not command it except at very low vehicle speeds. This is to protect the transmission (and occupants) from driver error.

Nonetheless, I still say that there is no benefit in shifting to neutral going downhill and several good reasons to avoid it.

 

I not only leave it in gear i usualy downshift so i basicaly never use the breaks. I try for the lowest rpm that i don't need more then a very gently tap of the breaks. I only coast up to red lights

In an auto i take it out of OD and go to D and if its a serious hill like 2 lane and twisty i might even go to second or even first.

gas mileage seems slightly less important than your breaks working properly. I found that the best things for gas are keep rpms under 2,500, never accelerate up a hill if you want to accelerate wait till down hill, CRUISE CONTROL.

 

I've shifted to neutral many times and back again into Drive on hills and other terrain with my A4OD transmission. It doesn't hurt it by any means. The torque converter is built to stall out at certain RPM's. It can also withstand a sudden jump in RPM's, like if you were to come off the ground, or shift out of neutral while decelerating.

Also, the gear shift lever has a certain design to it to prevent accidental shifting to neutral. If you push forward on the gear shifter (towards the dash) while moving it up and down between Neutral and 1st gear, it will shift. If you're in Drive, it won't shift UP into Reverse without PULLING the shift lever towards you. If you understand how it works, you can use it most effectively.

 

When you're in an automatic coasting down hill, the RPM is so low you're probably getting like 60 miles to the gallon...pop it in neutral and you're probably getting 65.

I have a manual and never go into neutral to go down hills...I just leave it in a proper gear and take advantage of engine braking to help save my brake pads. I figure it can't be using much fuel because it has no choice, the engine has to be turning because there is no torque converter to let it slip.

 

32-24-2.

Coasting downhill in neutral or with clutch out as misdemeanor. The driver of any motor vehicle when traveling upon a downgrade shall not coast with the gears or transmission of such vehicle in neutral. The driver of a truck or bus when traveling upon a downgrade shall not coast with the clutch disengaged. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.

 

Have you read any of this thread? When you are coasting down hill, you are getting infinate MPG because you aren't using any gas at all. The injectors shut off.

 

If you have driven a fuel injected vehicle with a trip computer, the instantaneous MPG will often go to the maximum when coasting. It will usually read 99 MPG because that is the highest value that the display can show. As Matt points out, it is actually infinite because the injectors shut off completely above a certain minimum RPM at closed throttle. You can see the same effect using an A/F meter which will go to the most lean indication during extended, closed throttle coasting.

 

I have a Scanguage. It never has maxed out the MPG figure, it's capable of above 100. The most I've seen it go is 70 when I had the ranger. That only happened if i pushed in the clutch to allow the RPM's to drop. Usually was around 50 MPG, and went down as vehicle speed slowed. In my F150 now it'll go to 35 when coasting to a stop.

With this it appears the injectos do not shut down, but inject enough fuel to make sure the engine keeps running. That's my theory anyhow.

 

No, they shut off completely on decel after a short time delay. Zero fuel is needed to keep the engine turning when it's in gear being pushed by the vehicle.

The injectors become active again when the RPMs fall low enough to risk stalling or when the throttle is moved from the closed position or when the clutch pedal is depressed in manual trucks.

 

Thats pretty interesting, I didn't realize that's how it works. Makes sense.