I find myself backing down steep hills and off rocks quite a bit due to my manual. Sometimes I need to brake and gas it at the same time when taking off from a stationary position when im in a hairy spot but I dont have enough feet, so I have to roll back down and start over again. Is there some sort of technique that I can use to help me out?? I had a hand throttle on my old Blazer and that made all the difference in the world. I was able to clutch, gas and brake at the same time. Is it even possible to have a hand throttle on a JK?

 

I have the same problem but its because i am not good with a stick yet.

I mean yes, on the road I can drive one pretty decent but when I go up very steep grades in 4lo , I like to crawl and on some hairy spots I will to have to roll back down and have to start over. I think its all about hitting that sweet spot with the clutch while crawling, im not good enough yet but making my way. But perhaps some others will have better suggestions?

are you new to a stick?

BTW - interesting screen name.

 

here is my 2 cents, what i do is have my foot on the brake and slowly let the clutch out until it grabs. Then i take my foot off the brake and gas it while doing this i continue with letting the clutch out. Do not stop letting the clutch out while moving your foot from the brake to the gas, i never roll back(be sure to let the clutch out all the way). make sure you practice enough to know when your clutch grabs (i think the proper term is friction point) on the road that way you dont burn your clutch. Also i have 5.13's, i can let the clutch out all the way without gas and it will still go even if i am off-road in a sticky situation.

 

I dont know what the other guy has but I have 3.21 Probably the culprit of my problems.....

I know the grab point, I just like to ease the gas to her, with 3.21's i should probably gun it, lol

 

that might be the problem, just try and give it more gas while doing what i explained up above.

 

you need to use your hand brake. even before you start your climb, pull your hand brake a couple of clicks up (or more if necessary) and it will help control your speed while allowing you to give your Jeep more gas. if you end up stalling, do the following:

1. pull your hand brake all the way up.
2. put your transmission in 1st gear
3. hold your hand brake with your right hand, take your foot off the brake and then put it on the gas so that you can begin moving forward - if you start rolling back, the hand brake will help keep it to a minimal and enough so that you can focuse on moving forward.
4. with the hand brake still up, begin accellerating and let off your clutch slowly. when you feel your Jeep start to grab and move forward, slowly let off on the hand brake so that it is syncronized with the movement of your Jeep.
5. once you get going, release the hand brake all together.

it may take some getting used to but it does work and will keep you from burning out your clutch.

 

If you are in 4lo and in first shouldnt the jeep move without you accelerating just letting yout foot of the clutch? I never used 4lo yet and on inclines i find my jeep bogging down and the tires don't spin they just slowly stop, in 4lo will that happen or will i keep on spinning the tires?

 

I have found that 4lo in first gear has enough power to just roll up the hill. If you stall just leave it in first don't push in the clutch in and start it back up. The clutch start is disabled in 4lo so this is what I have found works best in a steep hill stall situation.

 

Excellent advise this is exactly what should be done. You also will learn that this technic is the proper method for pulling a boat out on a steep load ramp.

If you want to practice the feeling and you have access to a towable item with let's say 1500lbs you find any grade of about 10 degrees to 20 degrees and pratice this procedure. It will only take a few minutes to get the feel of things.

It will be easy to also do without towing something in the rear you just need to make sure it's steep enough of a grade.

Here in the next town over there is a road locally with a 20degree grade. There is a stop light at the top of the hill so you need to learn this method unless you want a new clutch in a few short years. 20 years ago it was how you passed drivers education in my local area. I realize not all locations are hilly so this might be new to some.

 

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

it works differently for different people

i use everything, but in all honesty

the best way to drive a manual tranny off road is to have a properly geared vehicle

my Rubi with the low geared tcase and 4.88's drives like a dream, i used to work so hard on my YJ to get it to do the same thing as my JK does with ease all because the YJ wasnt geared properly

also there is an electronic hand throttle avaliable for the JK's

they are not a sponsor, but google it