Hi all,

I have a question regarding clutch slip when parked on an '04 with only 43K miles. I've had my baby since new and she is pampered. I don't really do any 'spirited' driving either but last week I came home and parked it in the driveway after a short (3 mile trip). I parked nose-in on a 20-degree incline and put it in 1st, shutoff the car and took my foot off both the clutch and brake. The car 'nudged' backwards about a half-inch. 5 seconds later, another half inch, happened one more time. I checked that I was in 1st (it was) and it happened again. I ended up parking in the street. The e-brake needs some adjustment so I didn't bother using it.
The next day I took it out and did some had accelerating to look for clutch slippage and couldn't detect any. I took it back home and backed in this time and put it in reverse. Car held fine. Did the same thing today (backed in) and now it seems to want to slip again.

Any ideas? Thanks.

 

The clutch isn't slipping, it's the weight of the car and the incline allowing the drivetrain, trans and engine to turn and allow the car to move.

 

I guess I could check to see that the engine pulleys move each time the car does. That would rule out slip. Thanks.

 

Yup, just mark one and see if it moves. If it's sliipping that badly you'd certainly notice the problem driving when under a load.

 

Or see if Reverse will do the same? Some people have said it's best to do the opposite way it will roll to prevent the engine from spinning backwards.

I'd imagine though there would be a limit to how steep an incline could be to make the car start rolling in the lowest gear.

 

OK, checked it out today. The serpentine belt is definitely moving when the car creeps (so that rules out clutch slip) both in 1st and Rev, regardless of whether it's nose-in or backed in.
Owned manuals all my 23 years of driving and I've never experienced this. Time to get the parking brake fixed.

 

this is quite odd, i know it would move if u parked it in 4th 5th or 6th. But it shouldnt move if its in 1st or 3rd.

 

Not saying the car is low on compression, but may cars with this condition will move when in gear. The rotary engines will not hold the car even when new as there is no resistance. The engine can be rotated by simply pulling on one of the accessory belts.

 

That's the only thing that makes sense to me as well (Compression), but the car runs like it was new. Granted, Albuquerque is a mile-high city (5200 ft where i live) and when I first drove my car after moving from sea-level, it felt slightly sluggish until the computer figured it out, but now it seems fine.

Could compression be so low as to allow this without showing any adverse affects on normal driving?

 

You had it diagnosed correctly! get the parking brake adjusted and use it!

 

Always use your parking brake with a manual transmission. It's not like an auto and there is no device that locks the gear or motor from turning. Some kids can come and just roll your car away you know.

Yes the resistance is greatest in 1st gear, but it's still not enough to keep the car in place.

It's best to use the correct gear when parking on inclines. If the car will roll backwards, use reverse. If the car will roll forward, use 1st. This keeps the motor from spinning backwards should the car roll. If the engine spins backwards, it "could" mess up the timing belt (though extremely unlikely). The timing belt tensioner is only designed to work if the motor spins in the correct direction. If it rolls backwards, it is possible for the hydraulic tensioner to compress. Should this happen, it would put slack on the front of the motor which could cause the belt to skip teeth somewhere.

 

Thanks to everyone for their input. I squeezed my hands in their and fixed the e-brake. Problem solved.

 

Many times, reverse is lower than first.

On the parking brake, make sure it's broken in and it will not require as much pull on the lever. If it's only applied when the car is stationary, it will never break in. A few pulls for a few seconds from 45mph will break the shoes in.

 

^Yes this will make a huge difference. It puts a layer of the brake shoe material onto the inside of the drum. This boosts friction probably 100%.