Tales from the Auto Shop: Oh Yes You Will Pay

[Seshat]

Even totally new parts can fail. My father replaced the radiator hoses on my car once. He took it for a test drive, then I took it for a short drive - only a few km.

On my way back to his place, I heard the 'marbles in a milo can' sound. I don't actually remember flipping my hazards on, checking my mirror, emergency braking and flicking the ignition switch off; but I got the engine off before the temperature gauge hit serious levels.

The new lower hose had split along its length. All my radiator water was running down the hill, steaming. I'd saved my engine, so the repair was just a hose replacement: but all the car-savvy people here went cold at the 'marbles in a milo tin' description!

But yes: I'll second (or rather, nth) all the people who've said 'get your car serviced at the proper intervals'.
Just also be aware that all parts are fallible, even the brand new ones, so make sure you know how to emergency brake safely; and always carry a phone and some sort of emergency number.

Tip: in older cars - maybe or maybe not newer ones - your gears and handbrake are a brake of last resort. Keep your foot off the accelerator and let the car slow, then gear down even if it crunches the gearbox. Once you're in first, use the handbrake. You can gear down in an auto as well, just try to slow down before you go into second.
This works because an engine that's not being fed gas will slow down the wheels; it's big and heavy and if it's connected to the wheels (ie, not in neutral) the wheels have to make it turn for them to keep turning. The gear ratio for the lower gears makes the wheels have to push harder for each full turn of the engine. (well, kinda.)
If you can find somewhere to steer yourself uphill, do so. Also, sand, gravel and grassy surfaces will slow you down faster than asphalt or concrete.
If you have to do this, TELL YOUR MECHANIC. You will probably have damaged the gearbox. But a damaged gearbox is better than a damaged you-and-your-passengers.

[Nunavut Pants]

Wet grass is an exception--it generally has less traction than the street does, so avoid grass if things are wet!

BTW, we call the new-part-failing thing "infant mortality". If you check the failure statistics over time for car parts in general, there is a big spike at or just after installation. Sometimes the parts are bad out of the box, or have a flaw that quickly shows, or they get damaged on installation. Once they've been in place for a little while, the failure rate drops to almost nothing, slowly growing over time as parts age and wear out.

That's why it is best to not have major work done on your car immediately before a major trip.


....Uhh, yeah, I do kinda geek out on some things....

[Chromatix]

Tip: in older cars - maybe or maybe not newer ones - your gears and handbrake are a brake of last resort. Keep your foot off the accelerator and let the car slow, then gear down even if it crunches the gearbox. [...] If you have to do this, TELL YOUR MECHANIC. You will probably have damaged the gearbox. But a damaged gearbox is better than a damaged you-and-your-passengers.

Actually, if you have an automatic transmission, engine braking probably won't work. The torque converter won't transmit power in the reverse direction, and the lockup clutch disengages as soon as you take your foot off the power. If yours has a hill-descent mode, though, try to engage that.

But if you have a manual transmission, engine braking is *normal* procedure for experienced drivers, not just as an emergency measure, and won't damage either the engine (as long as you don't over-rev it) or the gearbox. See this picture from a country where manual transmission is common:



Also consider this guide for Land Rover drivers. The 4x4 specific info won't apply to ordinary cars; read it as if you only have "high" range and no diff-lock.

[Shalom]

Engine breaking does indeed work on an automatic, unless you've got an old East German car, like a Trabant or Wartburg. Those freewheel like a bicycle, because they have 2-stroke engines.

I always downshift on long downgrades; never forget the time I was coming down Pike's Peak in a rented car, back around 1992, and passed a tow truck creeping down the hill. He had a chain attached to his front bumper, with a VW on the other end of it, holding it back from rolling out of control down the mountain. There's break check station halfway down where they check the temperature of your brakes, and if they're overheating they make you pull over and wait for a half hour.

[RealUnimportant]

Seconding engine braking in autos; it works best if you use the selector to lock it into a lower gear, but it'll work either way. Engine braking should never be considered "last resort" either, but part of your normal everyday driving; any descent can be made much more pleasant by selecting a lower gear.

1:14? That's nothing. My commute takes in a 1:8 hill (both ways, depending on if I'm coming or going), but I once saw a 1:4 in the Lake District - I had no need to use it, and feel bloody happy about it - it looked absolutely terrifying!

[Cia]

The same thing happened to my first car. It decided to crap out on me while I was sitting in traffic, in a construction zone on the interstate. I didn't realize anything had happened until I tried to give it gas. I had to push it through the cones to get it off the road.

Mine let go on I-90 in the middle of Montana. The closest exit was closed but I took it anyway, which turned out to be good because there was a golf course at that exit that had a port-a-potty. Got good use out of the biffy while waiting for a tow truck from Belgrade. And this was after we had to put a new battery in it after dying on the Canadian side of the Border.

[notalwaysright]

1:14? That's nothing. My commute takes in a 1:8 hill (both ways, depending on if I'm coming or going), but I once saw a 1:4 in the Lake District - I had no need to use it, and feel bloody happy about it - it looked absolutely terrifying!

My step-brother tried to go up a hill while learning to drive stick. After some googling, it appears that street is about 13% (2:15, is that the proper way to write it?), so it's pretty steep. At the top there is a stop sign. My step brother sat there killing it until some kind soul parked his car, walked out, and stood by his window to help him. I wouldn't want to contemplate a 1:4.

[Chromatix]

13% would be about 1:8 (or "1 in 8" for the older style). Up to 1:10 (10%) is allowed in motorway design; steeper than that would make it unreasonably difficult for HGVs to maintain adequate speed.

There are a few notorious roads with 1:3 gradients. One is the aptly-named Hardknott Pass in, yes, the Lake District. Not a road to attempt in winter unless you're properly equipped and *really* know what you're doing.

[protege]

We have some seriously steep roads here in Pittsburgh--Canton St. (37% ), and Negley Avenue come to mind. I've never driven down Canton, but I have done Negley many times. That one is a straight shot down to Fifth Avenue. It's not so bad during most of the year. But, considering that the city does a horrible job at keeping roads open, you'd have to be an idiot to come down that hill in the winter. I've seen people slide...all the way to the bottom

As for engine braking, it does work on an automatic. Several years ago, I was driving home from work one night, and lost my brakes. I was coming down the last big hill, and the pedal suddenly hit the floor! I threw it into 1st, and managed to get that heap stopped just before the red light. Ended up frying the transmission, but oh well. What was odd, is that the brakes were fine the next morning

[dendawg]

You want steep hills? Come here to Cincinnati and you'll get your fill.

[Bardmaiden]

I've been up Staxton Hill (25% gradient) quite a few times as it's the route to Scarborough from York and you do get some good views from the top

[Shalom]

My step-brother tried to go up a hill while learning to drive stick. After some googling, it appears that street is about 13% (2:15, is that the proper way to write it?), so it's pretty steep. At the top there is a stop sign. My step brother sat there killing it until some kind soul parked his car, walked out, and stood by his window to help him..

<cos> . . . Somebody had put a stop sign at the top of the hill. And I said you gotta be kidding. Nobody in his right mind puts up a stop sign at the top of a hill like this. I figured the city didn't do it; some nut went out to the Army & Navy store, bought himself a stop sign, he's got a spy glass, looks though it, Look Martha, we caught somebody down there. So I'm caught, and I put the brake on, and I know if I don't hurry I'm gonna lose my right leg, because all the blood's draining down to my hip. And I figure that in the time it takes me to get off the brake and get on to the accelerator, I will have drifted into the Bay, and if you die that way they won't let you into Heaven. You go up and you see St Peter, and he says "How'd you die?" Well me and a Volkswagen drifted backwards into the Bay, he says "Well you go to Hell." </cos> Driving In San Francisco

[wolfie]

figured as much... seeing as how it only takes a little bend to make the valve not seal. combine a borescope and rotating the valve and you might see a bend.

On some engines (including VW TDI), the valve head is parallel to the piston face, so they don't bend when they hit. Even so, they're damaged. It's no uncommon for someone to have a timing belt fail, put a new belt on, and the engine runs. They think they've dodged a bullet - until one of the damaged valve heads breaks off a few thousand miles later.

If you have a timing belt failure, ALWAYS get the head rebuilt with all new valves and lifters.

But if you have a manual transmission, engine braking is *normal* procedure for experienced drivers, not just as an emergency measure, and won't damage either the engine (as long as you don't over-rev it) or the gearbox.

Which is why there are so many signs on steep downgrades "Trucks use low gear".

[dalesys]

...Which is why there are so many signs on steep downgrades "Trucks use low gear".

And for those that don't see it...

"Runaway truck lane 3 miles"

[Nunavut Pants]

What was odd, is that the brakes were fine the next morning

They had cooled off, I guess!