Steering damage when parking sloppily

[*monkey*]

Monkey, thanks for the explaination.

Adi, for most fwd inline 4 cars, I'd think transmission rebuilds cost more than changing mounts. mounts and labor are a couple hundred while rebuilding a transmission is closer to a 1000, right? talking USD.

Hardly anybody rebuilds transmissions to order these days. You usually give the transmission shop your old unit and they give you a previously rebuilt unit off the shelf. You're probably looking at US$1500 for the transmission and warranty (probably just 12 months!) and another US$1000 in labor. For a car with over 100,000 miles on it, it's usually more sensible just to scrap it than pay for a new transmission.

[Chris]

I grew up in a hilly neighborhood. I learned that you always chock your wheels when parking in order to stop the car from rolling down the hill should the brakes fail. "Up up and away" was the mnemonic: when you're facing uphill, turn your wheels away from the curb. Do the opposite when facing downhill.

I was surprised to see nobody chocking their wheels here in mountainous Taiwan.

As for odd behaviors based on myths, I've seen people turn their engines off while still rolling, and then coasting in to park. As if that would save gas. (Yes, perhaps a few microliters of gas.) But... won't the steering wheel lock????

[Ducked]

As for odd behaviors based on myths, I've seen people turn their engines off while still rolling, and then coasting in to park. As if that would save gas. (Yes, perhaps a few microliters of gas.) But... won't the steering wheel lock????

Never has for me. I think that's a myth.

Can I make the following suggestion, which would have avoided a lot of the discussion above, re the definition of myth? :

Things that are demonstratively (or even, perhaps, arguably) TRUE, but which you don't happen to think are worth bothering with, are not myths. They are things you don't happen to think are worth bothering with.

Myths are (generally widely held) beliefs that are unfounded.

For example, "coasting in to park" , on the above posters own admission, will save a few millilitres of petrol, so, as a fuel-saving behaviour, it is not, even arguably, based on a myth.

[Chris]

Yes, it might save a few milliliters of gasoline, but it's so negligible an amount that it isn't worth the effort.

In many cars the steering wheel does indeed lock when the engine is turned off. I've heard of accidents that have happened when an angry passenger yanks the key out of the ignition mid drive.

In any case, when coasting in to park with the engine off, you'd have no power steering...

[psidriven]

Monkey, thanks for the explaination.

Adi, for most fwd inline 4 cars, I'd think transmission rebuilds cost more than changing mounts. mounts and labor are a couple hundred while rebuilding a transmission is closer to a 1000, right? talking USD.

Hardly anybody rebuilds transmissions to order these days. You usually give the transmission shop your old unit and they give you a previously rebuilt unit off the shelf. You're probably looking at US$1500 for the transmission and warranty (probably just 12 months!) and another US$1000 in labor. For a car with over 100,000 miles on it, it's usually more sensible just to scrap it than pay for a new transmission.

thanks for the info. though my point to adik was the cost of a reman/rebuild transmission would be greater than replacing motormounts. adik statement seemed to suggest that it was worth sacrificing transmission to save mounts, which i thought was incorrect.

who knows. I had a buddy that lived on a hill and parked facing downhill so he could roll start the car. said it saved him gas.

[adikarmika]

...For a car with over 100,000 miles on it, it's usually more sensible just to scrap it than pay for a new transmission.

thanks for the info. though my point to adik was the cost of a reman/rebuild transmission would be greater than replacing motormounts. adik statement seemed to suggest that it was worth sacrificing transmission to save mounts, which i thought was incorrect.

When I started working in Taiwan, I didn't have lot of money to spare, but I needed a car. So I bought a 96 corona with 160,000 believable ks on the clock for $65K. My intention was (and still is) to get at least 100,000 ks out of it without spending any money unless absolutely necessary, after which time I'm prepared to junk it, or keep driving it if that's still possible, given the minimal maintenance it will have received.

So far (20,000 ks), apart from servicing, I've only had to replace the brake pads, 2 tires and a belt.

Apart from the engine vibration experienced when the car is in Drive and stationary, a six inch crack has developed in the windscreen, the paint on the hood has begun to peel and the central locking has stopped working using the key (though the central locking switch in the armrest still works). These are things that I'm prepared to live with.

The transmission seems fine, but needless to say, if it ever got to the stage where it needed to be replaced or have serious money spent on it, I would most likely just junk the whole car. Hopefully nothing like that will happen until after 260,000 ks.

[*monkey*]

Toyota does know how to build good engines and transmissions. Particularly their transmissions are famous for being able to take a real beating and still last forever. If you visit Africa or the Middle East you can see decades-old Hilux pickups that look as if they have served in war zones (they often have!) and are still going strong.

I really wish I had a Toyota transmission in my Rodeo instead of the piece of crap General Motors supplied.

[Ducked]

In many cars the steering wheel does indeed lock when the engine is turned off. I've heard of accidents that have happened when an angry passenger yanks the key out of the ignition mid drive.

In any case, when coasting in to park with the engine off, you'd have no power steering...

IIRC there is usually more than one "off" position, one of which is a simple off, and one which locks. Removing the key would cause a lock, but you don't need to do that to shut off the engine.

I was assuming this was general, but there might be exceptions. I only have experience of old cars, some of which didn't lock at all.

I've also always assumed that power steering was for girls. Don't think I've ever had it, but clearly if you did, and couldn't do without it, then you wouldn't coast.

[Abacus]

IIRC there is usually more than one "off" position, one of which is a simple off, and one which locks. Removing the key would cause a lock, but you don't need to do that to shut off the engine.

I was assuming this was general, but there might be exceptions. I only have experience of old cars, some of which didn't lock at all.

I've also always assumed that power steering was for girls. Don't think I've ever had it, but clearly if you did, and couldn't do without it, then you wouldn't coast.

I think PS has been standard for the last 20 years on most vehicles except perhaps the absolute cheapest models. the only vehicle that I've driven w/o it was a 1986 mazda B2000 (Ford Ranger size) truck. Regardless the only time that you really need it is turning at really slow speeds (like parking). It shouldn't make much of a difference during coasting since you aren't turning sharply unless you need to do an evasive maneuver.

There was one time that I really needed it but I got lucky. I was working on F250/350/450 prototypes and one of the trucks was getting the engine rebuilt. We pushed it out of the garage with another truck and I realized how important PS was when I turned to park it. I was basically standing up turning the wheel with everything that I had so I didn't smash up two prototypes. I think I was also standing on the brake. Luckily I picked a parking spot that was two spaces wide.

[Ducked]

IIRC there is usually more than one "off" position, one of which is a simple off, and one which locks. Removing the key would cause a lock, but you don't need to do that to shut off the engine.

I was assuming this was general, but there might be exceptions. I only have experience of old cars, some of which didn't lock at all.

I've also always assumed that power steering was for girls. Don't think I've ever had it, but clearly if you did, and couldn't do without it, then you wouldn't coast.

I think PS has been standard for the last 20 years on most vehicles except perhaps the absolute cheapest models.

Well that lets me out, especially from my UK perspective. I'm not absolutely certain now that my Ford Sierra didn't have it, though I don't think so. Nothing else did (apart from company cars) , including a 4-ton Dodge commercial. I don't recall that being impossibly heavy to park, though it had a very big steering wheel, presumably for leverage.

Generally I'd view PS as something else to go wrong. The F250 is a pretty big vehicle (huge by UK standards) with pretty fat tyres, so I imagine you'd miss it on that.