Embarrasing question about my car.

[Joves]

dont turn it off in neutral or you will flood your catalytic converter.

Since when?

 

[TwoRails]

Huh?

 

[Easy_Target]

Does your car have a shift lock? If so, it requires the brake to be depressed before you can shift. I remember my mom's old car had a shift lock on it and if you did that it would grind to a halt regardless of speed.

My car on the other hand, is a 1990 Dodge spirit and has no shift lock. I can bump from neutral to D without the slightest problem unless I let the RPMs drop too low for the speed I'm going.

 

[Josh66]

Once I was crusing along on an empty highway...

Can't remember what, but something was in the road so I had to hit the brakes. A CD binder with probably about 300 CDs in it flew and hit the shifter. It pushed it from drive to park while doing about 50 mph. It just died and I coasted to a stop.
I thought I had destroyed my transmission...

I was only a few miles from my girlfriend's house, so I called her and she came out and towed me to her place. My jeep started right up and ran fine when we got there.
I think the computer just shut everything down when it happened.

Another time, in another jeep, I accidentally shifted from 3rd to 4th without pushing the clutch in...lol. The timing must have been perfect, because nothing at all happened.

 

[xtort-]

dont turn it off in neutral or you will flood your catalytic converter.

How would operating a transmission setting have any effect on your exhaust system? And what would you flood your catalytic converter with?

 

[DigiJay]

Just make sure your headlight fluid is topped up before trying anything crazy.

 

[monkeykoder]

Another time, in another jeep, I accidentally shifted from 3rd to 4th without pushing the clutch in...lol. The timing must have been perfect, because nothing at all happened.

I do that all the time just pay attention to your engine and it is downright easy. The harder one is downshifting without the clutch.

 

[monkeykoder]

Then again I tend to have weird luck with cars... I had a 1993 Escort with an automatic transmission and the battery went dead on me one day and I randomly figured out that I could bump start the thing...

 

[TwoRails]

Not familiar with that phrase (bump start): what is it?

 

[Easy_Target]

I'd guess it's something similar to push starting a manual.

 

[monkeykoder]

When your battery is dead or your starter doesn't work and you have a car with a manual transmission (at least they only say you can do it with a manual transmission). You can put the car in neutral with the key turned to on (remember your car isn't on because of certain problems) push/get it moving with a decent velocity and shift into first gear and the engine will start (except in specific models from dodge possibly).

 

[monkeykoder]

Same thing just different wording. Perhaps it is just a local dialect...

 

[Easy_Target]

Perhaps it is just a local dialect...

May very well be.

 

[ryan7783]

I don't think I would do it on a highway, if you accidentally hit reverse, that car would stall so quick! :thumbdown: Also if you goin 85 or so, that engine would really rev. I imagine it would red line it.

Is it a wives tale that if you put it in neutral you'll save gas?

Not to mention your transmission would pass you in he left lane. You'd hear a "CHUNK!" kind of noise and then watch it roll past you at 60 mph

 

[Easy_Target]

Is it a wives tale that if you put it in neutral you'll save gas?

I think that would be more towards hyper-miling than anything else. It's something I do a lot in my Dodge since the transmission is going so I can't do fast accelerations. It takes me about 15 seconds at max acceleration (@1800rpms) to get to 30mph.