Reversing in parking garage

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enniroc
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by enniroc »

Rope-Pusher wrote:Sure, that's all fine for level, paved ground, but try that pushing a trailer up a grassy hill and you'll build up too much heat in the clutch. That's why Dog invented gear ratios, to spare the clutch.
My 6 gears & I have come a long way in the past 9 months, but today I had to reverse up a long, steep. narrow driveway. I couldn't bring myself to let off the clutch completely for fear of hitting a tree. First time I've smelled burning clutch since I got my car.

Will everything be OK as long as I promise to never, ever do that again?

What should I have done?
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by IMBoring25 »

It shouldn't be serious damage in most cases doing something like that once.

If you aren't comfortable getting enough speed to get off the clutch, you have very little alternative. The only definite arrow in your quiver at that point would be to keep the engine RPM very low. If you have time on your hands you can also do the climb incrementally, sitting idle in between.
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by tankinbeans »

If it's a long, steep hill you might want to let out completely. You don't really need gas and won't be going as fast as you think.
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by theholycow »

It's best to plan ahead to avoid that situation. Once you're there and it's too late you can let that clutch pedal all the way up and then brake down to a little below idle if you want, but sometimes you just need to cowboy up.

Anyway you didn't hurt anything. Even if you had (which you haven't), there'd be no sense worrying about it now.
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enniroc
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by enniroc »

IMBoring25 wrote:It shouldn't be serious damage in most cases doing something like that once.

If you aren't comfortable getting enough speed to get off the clutch, you have very little alternative. The only definite arrow in your quiver at that point would be to keep the engine RPM very low. If you have time on your hands you can also do the climb incrementally, sitting idle in between.
Thanks! Looking back, I do wish I had stopped mid-way up the hill.
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enniroc
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by enniroc »

tankinbeans wrote:If it's a long, steep hill you might want to let out completely. You don't really need gas and won't be going as fast as you think.
Got it-- thanks. I couldn't figure out in the moment whether letting it out completely would stall me or send me careening into a spruce.
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enniroc
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by enniroc »

theholycow wrote:It's best to plan ahead to avoid that situation. Once you're there and it's too late you can let that clutch pedal all the way up and then brake down to a little below idle if you want, but sometimes you just need to cowboy up.

Anyway you didn't hurt anything. Even if you had (which you haven't), there'd be no sense worrying about it now.
Thanks-- I figured this is what you'd say, but that burnt smell is like a doubt potion.

Wondering now how long the smell will linger and whether that's any indication I should get it looked at. Reversing episode happened Sunday. Biked to work yesterday, but took the car out for groceries last night. Caught a little whiff when I was parking last night-- only about 10-20% of what I smelled on Sunday, though. Car seems to be running fine, but it seems I now need to hold the clutch a fraction of a second longer when shifting into first.
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by tankinbeans »

enniroc wrote:
tankinbeans wrote:If it's a long, steep hill you might want to let out completely. You don't really need gas and won't be going as fast as you think.
Got it-- thanks. I couldn't figure out in the moment whether letting it out completely would stall me or send me careening into a spruce.
If anything you'd probably need to feed it a little gas on the way up because you're fighting against gravity. You'd just have to play it by feel. If the car is getting shaky your revs are too low and you should apply throttle; just pay attention to the car and you'll be golden.
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by theholycow »

enniroc wrote:it seems I now need to hold the clutch a fraction of a second longer when shifting into first.
That's subjective and easily mistaken via paranoia/hypochondria. That kind of thing happens to me sometimes. Then I wait it out, and either I forget about it and everyting's fine or it gets severely worse and I decide it needs fixing.

If it is real, it might be that the clutch got glazed. The remedy is to just drive normally until the glazed surface wears off.

One other possibility is that there is air in the clutch hydraulic fluid, maybe from bad luck, maybe from fluid boiling and fractioning off (which might be possible with the concentric release bearing in modern cars), maybe from a seal that allowed air in while it was overheated (again, might be possible with concentric release bearing). One easy solution that usually works is also a good maintenance idea either way: The no-tools fluid replacement/bleeding. It's so easy a caveman could do it. Here's how you do it:

1. Buy a 32oz bottle of DOT3 brake fluid (most clutches specify that, but do check your owner's manual). It's $6.50 at Walmart. Buy a turkey baster, $1.

2. Open the clutch reservoir. Your owner's manual will have an ilustration showing where it is, under the hood near the steering column. Use the turkey baster to remove all the fluid that you can and pour in clean fluid. (Dispose properly, please.)

3. Pump the clutch pedal 25-200 times while watching for cloudy or dirty fluid to come up, and especially watch for air bubbles to come up. If air bubbles come up visibly then you know it needed to be bled, severely. As the cloudy/dirty fluid appears, turkey baster it out and replace with fresh fluid again until it always looks good or you're tired of doing it.

That's all there is to it.
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enniroc
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by enniroc »

theholycow wrote:
enniroc wrote:it seems I now need to hold the clutch a fraction of a second longer when shifting into first.
That's subjective and easily mistaken via paranoia/hypochondria.
Autochondria. Heh. I was wondering about that.

I would guess that I glazed the clutch, but hey-- ZERO smell today. All gone. Encouraging. I was once a passenger in a car with a busted clutch and it smelled continuously. (Ugh.)

I'll give it a few days and if everything doesn't seem back to normal, I'll try your fluid trick. Never knew I could do that. Thank you!
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Just as men were designed with testicles that are highly sensitive to injury, that in order to avoid a repeat performance of the severe pain we take better care of them in the future, so it is with burnt clutch smell.
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enniroc
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by enniroc »

Rope-Pusher wrote:Just as men were designed with testicles that are highly sensitive to injury, that in order to avoid a repeat performance of the severe pain we take better care of them in the future, so it is with burnt clutch smell.
Duly noted!
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by Teamwork »

I was reading through this all and wondering if my reverse technique - has been done the correct way also? I don't have to reverse up a moderate distance into my driveway but I do have to apply throttle to get up the incline at an angle. When I reverse on level ground like say for instance out of a parking spot I would basically just blip the throttle "go into the friction point" for a second and then fully floor the clutch and just rinse and repeating this until I could safely negotiable the traffic variables and pull myself out of the parking spot. I realize that when I reverse up into the spot for my driveway that I typically just hold the clutch into the friction point while controlling the throttle (at a low rpm) steadily and never really fully lifting off or flooring the clutch until I stop completely. I don't have to go an extreme distance, probably under 15 feet but I am pretty much riding in the friction point the entire time. Should I stop doing this and use the technique I use normally or is it safe to continue doing this?
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by Rope-Pusher »

Teamwork wrote:I was reading through this all and wondering if my reverse technique - has been done the correct way also? I don't have to reverse up a moderate distance into my driveway but I do have to apply throttle to get up the incline at an angle. When I reverse on level ground like say for instance out of a parking spot I would basically just blip the throttle "go into the friction point" for a second and then fully floor the clutch and just rinse and repeating this until I could safely negotiable the traffic variables and pull myself out of the parking spot. I realize that when I reverse up into the spot for my driveway that I typically just hold the clutch into the friction point while controlling the throttle (at a low rpm) steadily and never really fully lifting off or flooring the clutch until I stop completely. I don't have to go an extreme distance, probably under 15 feet but I am pretty much riding in the friction point the entire time. Should I stop doing this and use the technique I use normally or is it safe to continue doing this?
Is there any clutch smell associated with this maneuver?
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Re: Reversing in parking garage

Post by Teamwork »

Rope-Pusher wrote: Is there any clutch smell associated with this maneuver?
Negative for either... I would definitely notice too- I pretty much keep my front windows cracked year round even in the winter.
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