Which way to park? Uphill? Downhill? Topic is solved

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 14 Jul 2004, 20:56

Hi all,
I just recently inherited a 1987 740 Automatic Turbo Wagon (great shape, 50K miles). Boy am I a newbie-- been driving a Honda Prelude for 16 years and am having some big time issues with handling a car this big.

OK here's the stupid question:

I have an incredibly steep driveway on which I must park: 40% grade (no its not up to code, we long predate SF's building codes, and yes, I did measure it, complete with level, plumb bob, etc...). I have to put a board over the hump at the curb to keep from bottoming out when I emerge. The wagon does not fit in the garage that the Prelude used to so I have to park on the slope and start from that angle. I block a wheel (I fear for the house) and roar my way out in the morning. My question: Which way should I be parking this car, with the back end down or with the front end down? This is important to the longevity of various parts I think, since my Honda took a major beating and began to require much more service on the clutch (even more than SF usually supplies) after we moved in.

Thanks for your advice!
JD

petershen1984 · Post by **petershen1984** » 17 Jul 2004, 09:18

Ah, so I guess you're concerned with the transmission. I've heard that the ideal practice is that, if you stop on an incline, place the shifter in Neutral, and then apply the hand brake before setting to the Park position--this is to prevent the wheels from stressing the park mechanism if the car rolls.

When you put the transmission in Park, the torque-dividing differentials are locked so that the wheels spin freely in opposite directions when the car is jacked up. This effectively immobolizes the vehicle, so it shouldn't matter which direction you're parking..

potroast · Post by **potroast** » 17 Jul 2004, 10:27

aye, with an automatic transmission, it does not matter. Just make sure the car is in "park" and your emergency brake is set.

In a stick, it also does not matter, simply put it into a gear opposite the slope you are on. For example, if you are nose-high, you want it in 1st gear, if you are rear-high, you want it in reverse.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 18 Jul 2004, 01:10

OK, so Park is the critical item for holding on an automatic from the car perspective when parking.

What about how you come out of park?

That is, is it better for the car, me, the house (slip potential), for the car to start up, shift out of park and into reverse and back out or start up and sift into 1st gear and front out of this driveway from a standing start?

I guess what I'm getting at here is, will the car be most likely to "fight to get up the hill" in reverse or in 1st gear (thus with a potential to roll back or forward into something if it doesn't catch)? I've never driven an automatic before, let alone one this heavy. I've already seen (by really scarey expericence) that the parking brake alone doesn't come close to holding this car on even a moderate hill. If I start the car and pull out, is reverse or first more likely to have the "pull" to do a clean exit here?
JD

ozzimark · Post by **ozzimark** » 18 Jul 2004, 06:23

it doesn't matter which way you park it, or go in reverse or whatnot. and also get rid of that common misconception that volvos are terribly heavy

as for the parking brake, you shouldn't need it if you put the car in park, but just so you know, i can get the rear wheels to lock up when moving by pulling the parking brake.. now that's some decent stopping power, and it definitly won't roll down a hill if you pull the brake up far enough

Post by **matthew1** » 18 Jul 2004, 10:46

will the car be most likely to "fight to get up the hill" in reverse or in 1st gear (thus with a potential to roll back or forward into something if it doesn't catch)?

If it doesn't catch, it's slipping, and you've got a problem with the transmission that would require some sort of repair/replacement. But to answer your question directly, I'd say Reverse is probably geared lower, so that would technically have more pulling power at lower speeds.

I've already seen (by really scarey expericence) that the parking brake alone doesn't come close to holding this car on even a moderate hill

That is a bad situation, especially in a hilly city. I'd take it to a shop and have that brake tightened, or get a Haynes manual and do it yourself. The parking brake should be the first thing you rely on to prevent a car from moving. That is its only job.

When I park on a slope, I move the shifter to N, apply the parking brake, test that it holds, set shifter to P and turn off the engine. I've found if I set the shifter first, the weight of the car is 'held' by the transmission, and when I use the car again the transmission feels 'bound' by the weight when I try to shift out of P.

Hope this helps.

DiezelV · Post by **DiezelV** » 29 Jul 2004, 07:37

I found that out the hard way one morning when much to my suprise I found my 84' saab had popped out of reverse and had rolled down the hill, amazingly had just stopped on level ground about hundred feet away from the curb with traffic passing around with puzzling faces

Post by **matthew1** » 29 Jul 2004, 10:46

Wow...

My mom's old '93 Saturn manual trans. rolled out of our garage one day in about 1993 and down the driveway, accross the street and knocked over a stop sign. It would have killed a child had there been a child in its path. The neighborhood was lucky there was nobody around.

Parking brake, parking brake, parking brake.