Guys today my car was parked on my drive way in 4th gear with the E break on.

I released the break while the car was still in 4th gear and shut off, the car rolled back like 5 feet and felt weird.

I thought I was in neutral for a second then realized I was in 4th Gear rolling BACK and it felt weird. I stopped immediately after realizing what is happening.

I took the car for a spin after and I don't feel anything different.

Did I mess up the transmission? How can the car roll back while in gear? its not even reverse gear??

What kind of damage have I caused?

 

I just did some testing, the car doesn't roll back in 1st, but 2nd and 3rd it rolls back very very slowly, like maybe 2mm per second, but 4th it rolls back easily...

is my transmission on its way out??

The car was fully in gear each time, the clutch doesn't slip and the car pulls hard when accelerating so I don't think the compression is low.

 

Simply being in gear won't keep a manual transmission from turning if the incline is enough to offset the weight from static to kinetic energy. Doesn't really matter what gear you're in, despite your observations. Your tranny is fine. That's what the e-brake is for.

 

Thats normal Khar....
Dont worry your gearbox is fine...
But if the car rolls back with the Ebrake up then the cables are probably not tensioned properly or there is another problem
The E brake should hold the weight of the car if it is operating correctly... turn your wheels to the proper side when parking on a hill if you think the E brake isnt working properly

 

Your e-brake should work better than that, even in neutral. It's what I would check first.

 

It sounds like the parking brake is working just fine. The car didn't roll until after the brake was released, just like it's suppoed to do.

There is nothing wrong with the transmission, in fourth gear, on a hill, the engine is being turned by the weight of the car through the wheels and gears allowing the car to roll. This will happen on any car with a manual transmission.

It is better to put the transmission in first or reverse when parking, the lower gears will try to turn the engine faster and internal friction will prevent the car from moving, unless you are on a real steep hill!

Dave

 

Thanks for the replies guys, my e brake is fine and I always use it.

I only noticed this when I took off the e brake while the car was in gear still, I wasn't expecting it to roll back.

I've driven manual cars before and i always leave it in gear and I don't recall any of them ever rolling back but I think I always left it in first, the car doesn't roll back in first or reverse.

Good to know there is no damage Phew! But how does a car roll in gear? Is the clutch slipping allowing that to happen? It didn't sound like the engine was cranking so all I cant think is the clutch slipping...

If the car has an LSD would that change anything?

Thanks for the input everyone

 

Manual transmissions don't have any mechanism to stop movement in that situation like autos do. When you're in Park in an auto, you're not in a 'gear' that is able to engage and turn, but with a manual, you are. Given that, it can and will turn given enough force applied. Just a matter of physics.

 

You wouldn't hear the engine turning, but it is. The wheels turn the engine just like they do when you have a dead batterey and you bump start the car by rolling it down a hill with the ignition on and releasing the clutch.

There is no clutch slipping. A limited slip differential would act the same way.

Dave

 

With it in 4th gear and no e brake that compression of the engine is not enough to keep the car from rolling. If you put it in 5th or 6th you might hear the engine going through the cycle.

 

What everybody else said. If you think of your transmission gearing in reverse, you'll understand why 4th gear won't keep your car from rolling on an incline. Lower gears make it easier for the engine to turn the wheels, since they make the engine turn faster in relation to wheel speed, but harder for the wheels to turn the engine. That's why it's more difficult to start from a dead stop in 2nd than in 1st, and about impossible in 3rd without burning the crap out of your clutch. You can't get into the higher gears until you're already moving, because there's just too much leverage for the engine to overcome to get the car moving from a stop.

Now turn that around and apply it to the effort required for the wheels to turn the engine. In 6th gear, it would roll almost as easily as in neutral, as the leverage is now in favor of the wheels turning much faster in relation to engine speed. While in 1st, the tires would probably skid before turning the engine over. That's why it's suggested that if you have to jump-start a car with manual transmission, you do it in 2nd, or preferably 3rd gear.

So a suggestion for you: If you regularly park on an incline, which it sounds like you do, leave it in 1st AND keep the e-brake on.

 

When you stop you need to use first or reverse because the gear ratio in those gears are lower and much better to prevent the car from rolling away on you. You should still use the parking brake when parked.

Don't worry, there is nothing wtong with the transmission.

 

I agree that what you're seeing is normal and no cause for alarm. The only way you would run into trouble would be if you were to *tow* a car backwards with the transmission engaged in a forward gear, or if you lost control of your car, spun it, and ended up traveling backwards while still in gear.

When the car moves backward while in a forward gear, the engine actually rotates in the opposite direction compared to when the engine is running normally. Since the oil pump is engine-driven, the engine will become starved of oil very quickly.

Again, this isn't a problem while slowly creeping down the driveway for a short distance like you're describing.

 

I like how Florida people are giving hill parking advice. Cause we all know some of the steepest hills are in Florida

 

Ask me about snow tires.

 

^LOLZ!! Hey if you are on the Big Island up in the mountains. Oh man I miss it out there.

 

We have a hill here in Florida that if you park at the bottom your car will actually roll up the hill.

That make us Florida citizens experts on all hills.


http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2058

 

Thanks for all the replies guys, I feel much better now