I know it's a lot, but please read this and gimme some feedback. pre-problem explanation: okay, so whenever i drive the other vehicles on long roll/cruise (i.e. a long downhill road) i'll pop it in neutral to save gas until i need to speed up again, sounds kind of stupid, but with gas the way it is now, every penny saved counts. the problem.: i had just pulled out of my driveway in the maverick and headed down my street (my street is one of these "long rolls") and about 1/4 of the way to the end i decided to do my "genius " gas-saving idea. the very second i popped in neutral she came to an instant screeching halt and shut off completely. i was going only about 10-15mph, but still. i pressed the brake, put 'er in park and turned the key, she started right up and i drove down to the next cul-de-sac and came back to the house and it drove exactly how it did before this event, but i never went past 30 for it to try to shift on the way home.. the questions: 1. why did this happen? 2. do you think i will have big problems in the immediate future? 3. did i ruin my transmission or did this engine cut-off save my a**? other details: the Maverick is a '72, base model with a 200ci inline 6 cyl with a c4 auto-trans. the "other vehicles" are a '01 Dodge Caravan and '08 Saturn Aura and this rolling shift from neutral to drive always goes smoother than a wet bar of soap soaked with WD-40 and crisco. i'm thinking i may have gone a hair too far and slipped to reverse as it was dark and my dash lights don't work so i couldn't see the needle showing the current gear. sorry for writing a small novel here, but the more you all know, the better the responses, right?
yeah, as soon as it happened i just thought "jesus christ, i no longer have a transmission." and thank you 3 who replied, it makes me feel alot better to know that was it, but still, i'm not gonna let my guard down just yet in case there was more damage done than i thought, but hopefully not. looks like i'll be kissing up to the car gods for a while
You said it. The money you "think" you are saving in gas will soon be surpassed by the money you are spending on rebuilding tranmissions and replacing brake shoes/pads (yes...your "in gear" transmission also helps slow your car down to a stop). You came here asking this question seeking our advice. My advice: Don't ever do that again.
In addition to everyone else's posts, in some states " coasting in neutral " is illegal! Now, to add to your busted trans and burned out brakes, you have a ticket!
I did that once in a 68 Caprice with a powerglide-doing about 60 mph! Locked up the big L-60-15's in a nanosecond! Killed the engine, no power steering anymore, no more power brakes after the first pump or so, scared the crap outta me! Coasted to a stop, throwed it up in park, cranked right up, pulled it down in drive and away I went, nothing hurt but my pride. Didn't try that no more!
I was going from 2nd to 3rd with a stock floor shifter... threw it up in reverse...I had already hit neutral a couple of times before...
on your newer vehicles that are fuel injected your actually using more gas doing this process. fuel injection will stop or minimally pulse the injectors when throttle blades are closed and the engine rpms are above a set point. usually around 1200 rpm. so in effect engine braking does not use any fuel. when you bump the trans into neutral, the motor is now idling and is being given fuel to maintain the idle speed. you would do better put your gas saving efforts into maintaining optimum tire pressures. this is free and has a great effect on gas mileage. dont just use the cheapest fuel. i have found the you will get worse mileage with cheap fuel. i would expect a 1 to 3 mpg gain with a good quality fuel. the factor at play here is the amount of alcohol being uses. the cheaper fuels use more alcohol which burns faster and contains less energy than gasoline. you may have to do some testing with different brands to find the best mileage fuel.
Chock this up as luck that it didn't cost u more I was doing a burnout with 3 on the tree in and missed 2 nd found reverse and when I released the clutch u joint gave way driveshaft ripped a whole in the floor and the trans was toast when I replace the drive shaft
I would say the trans is nice and "loose" since it squealed instead of dropping the contents of the geartrain all over the road or at least stripping the planetary, so consider yourself fortunate. I agree with the others considering fuel economy though. You will gain more by getting better quality, lower ethanol content and keeping the engine in good operating condition.
