Eeeeek !!

[Physician]

I've just remembered an incident at Donington Park last Saturday. I did something REALLY stupid but thought I would tell you what happened because it isn't something anyone would normally 'test'.

I'm also interested to hear from any of you experts about what actually happened within the gearbox when it happened.

I had just spun the car on the track and had to restart the engine. Put it in auto mode, although I normally use the manual side on track and started off again down the straight.

On track, so I was accelerating hard and the box had auto changed to 3rd or 4th - can't remember BUT I was talking to my daughter and at some point I think I HEARD the engine at high revs or noticed it about to redline and so I pushed forward on the gearlever to change into 4th or 5th (or whatever).

Eeeeeeeeek! I had managed to push it from DRIVE to PARK on the auto side at 70 mph 'ish. There was a loud noise and no power - I looked down at the gear lever and instantly realised what I had done and pulled it back to DRIVE. The car continued without any further issues although I now recollect that I thought it would all drop to bits shortly having done that. :sad3:

I'm almost certain that there is a safety system to negate this sort of stupid move - anyone know?

The sound, by the way, was a 'ratchet' type sound - I could hear/envisage a gear whirring at high speed with a ratchet type locking arm running over the top of the teeth (making the noise) but not engaging and locking. If you get my drift ...........

Not a squeek from the box since then - all is working normally. :dozey:

[Roadrunner]

There is no safety system to stop you doing this. One of very few bugbears I have with the car. I've done exactly as you described on several occasions (never at the redline though ;) ) and there's never been any consequent problem with the gearbox. I'd guess, with no load, the revs might hit the limiter in neutral (assuming there is one) but, as it was only for an instant, I doubt if any damage would be done.

I know you're not supposed to let an auto car run in neutral but, again, doubt if any damage is done for the short time it happens.

I can't think why Mitsubishi don't put a gate between D & N (other than to make it easy to slip the lever back and forward in traffic) but, equally, would have thought that they would have done so if major damage could be suffered by doing what you (we) have done.

Brian

[simpsonm]

I concur with your views, from another post it states you should not change from drive to neutral when sat in traffic. So a there is no excuse not to have a so called gate in place.

[Physician]

Sorry guys ........ you are referring to NEUTRAL - that wouldn't present a problem to my mind.

I went from DRIVE to PARK via NEUTRAL and REVERSE ! :sad3:

[adam_shaw]

Don't you have to push the button down on top of the stick to do that?

I'm sure the hardware can cope with such things, on the rare occasions it happens.

A

[Physician]

Don't you have to push the button down on top of the stick to do that?

I'm sure the hardware can cope with such things, on the rare occasions it happens.

A

Errrr! I don't know if I did or didn't this particular time. I was obviously confused at the time .......... age probably :sad3: (gearbox alzheimers)

[Kieran]

On my GLS, you could tap it into neutral, but you had to push the button to engage reverse or park....

I think it's a case of whistle nonchantly and hope nobody saw! :-D (and then just repair it if something does go bang! :$)

[Nick Mann]

Aye. The button needs to be pressed to go further than N.

I don't know what the mechanism is, so I can't help, I'm afraid. The nearest I got to that was taking my foot off the brake just before going from R to P, instead of just after. The car started moving, but then slammed to a stop as it went into P.

Hopefully it is a simple rachet system and no harm has been done. A short time in N or R wouldn't make much difference, I dont think.

[Roadrunner]

Sorry, just re-read your post. Hadn't appreciated you went through to P.

Em, I'm guessing (because your car is still running and the gearbox isn't in a thousand bits) that the electronics disregarded what you did to protect the box. Couldn't have got away with that in a manual! ;)

[Kenneth]

Park usuall works by having a sprung pin. this pin slots into hole in a disk of some sort. this is why if you put it in park, but dont pull the hand brake, the car will roll forward or back, then stop.
it also explains why the car rocks forward and back a bit, the pin has clearance on eithier side.


I have done what you have described in my Galant.
Fortunatly you were going to fast for the pin to engage, you dont have to be going that fast for it not to engage, it just sounds worse if you are going slower!

If it did engage, you would have eithier rooted the mechinism (more likely) or locked the wheels.

dont worry about it, just avoid doing it if possible.

[Physician]

Park usuall works by having a sprung pin. this pin slots into hole in a disk of some sort. this is why if you put it in park, but dont pull the hand brake, the car will roll forward or back, then stop.
it also explains why the car rocks forward and back a bit, the pin has clearance on eithier side.


I have done what you have described in my Galant.
Fortunatly you were going to fast for the pin to engage, you dont have to be going that fast for it not to engage, it just sounds worse if you are going slower!

If it did engage, you would have eithier rooted the mechinism (more likely) or locked the wheels.

dont worry about it, just avoid doing it if possible.

Aha! that's interesting Kenneth ...... I don't know (obviously) what the mechanical bits are like but what you say makes complete sense ... each time the pin jumped over the locating hole it made the noise similar to a ratchet I guess.

[Kenneth]

Aha! that's interesting Kenneth ...... I don't know (obviously) what the mechanical bits are like but what you say makes complete sense ... each time the pin jumped over the locating hole it made the noise similar to a ratchet I guess.

Yep, spot on! :thumbsup:

[Grinder]

My two penneth...

Years ago we had a BMW auto and the brakes failed (my dearly departed dad had a penchant for bangers). He stuck it in park to try to stop the beast, and it just sounded like a friction sound, like a brake pad with no wear left on it. The car didn't really slow down much either.

Car was fine (no worse!) afterwards.

[Jimbo]

I concur with your views, from another post it states you should not change from drive to neutral when sat in traffic. So a there is no excuse not to have a so called gate in place.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but the point above is very interesting simpsonm, I'd not heard this before.....and since I've developed the habit of doing this recently, can anyone tell me why it's bad?

(I tried searching for the post you mentioned but my criteria is a little too generic to begin narrowing it down :laugh: )

[Grinder]

http://www.clubvr4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3493

[Jimbo]

Cheers Grinder :)

[jalford]

I had recently started switching to N and putting the handbrake on so as to avoid stationary contact between heated pads and discs. :rolleyes5

Guess I won't be doing than anymore.

[Grinder]

Yes thats a good point jalford, I understand the condition often referred to as 'warped discs' is in fact overheated pad material sticking to the disk when sitting stationary with your foot on the brakes.

Either way your screwed! Which is the cheaper thing to replace - disks and pads I suppose.:)

[aaron68nz]

I actually read in a Mitsubishi handbook for the 87-90 model galants that you should in fact put the transmission into neutral when waiting for extended periods in traffic etc. This was when I owned an Eterna ZR4 auto some years ago. But then those older boxs made the car vibrate a bit if kept in drive while stationary at the lights whereas the newer ones give no vibrations at all.

[I-S]

Use the handbrake to avoid warped discs.

There's no need to take the car out of drive though when you do this. When you release the footbrake the car will move a little as the handbrake takes the strain.

All this will do is heat the fluid a bit, which in normal road driving will not get to an uncomfortable temperature. If it makes you feel better put it in N for extended stops, but be aware that shifting the box into N and then back into D will cause more wear than leaving it in D.