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Can you damage a car by parking on a slope?

  • 06-04-2006 11:46am
    #1
    Registered Users Posts: 1,163 ✭✭✭


    Can you damage a car by leaving it parked on a 45 degree slope for 2 weeks? My girlfriend did this. Today is the first day she has driven it in almost two weeks and her engine is heating up a lot. She has had to pull over several times to let it cool.


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Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 116 ✭✭The_Magoo


    Parking at a slope should not be a problem, but you might want to check the radiator for coolant/water, might have a leak in your system, if left sitting for two weeks there might be feck all water in it!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,613 ✭✭✭Big Nelly


    shnaek wrote:
    Can you damage a car by leaving it parked on a 45 degree slope for 2 weeks? My girlfriend did this. Today is the first day she has driven it in almost two weeks and her engine is heating up a lot. She has had to pull over several times to let it cool.

    Only way would be if you forgot to pull the handbrake and it rolled down the hill


    Parking on a hill will not cause damage to a car


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,788 ✭✭✭MrPudding


    Is there a chance the brakes are seized slightly which could be causing extra work for the engine?

    MrP


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,163 ✭✭✭shnaek


    MrPudding wrote:
    Is there a chance the brakes are seized slightly which could be causing extra work for the engine?

    MrP

    I'll check that out.


  • Registered Users Posts: 22,818 ✭✭✭✭Anan1


    Have you checked all the fluids yet? I'd be thinking along the same lines as the magoo on this one.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 116 ✭✭The_Magoo


    If the brakes were seized to the point of having to stop the engine to let it cool, there would be smoke also coming off the brakes. Do you find you have to work the engine harder to maintain progress?
    Possible causes of over heating engine
    - No coolant
    - Blockage in cooling system
    - Thermostat not opening
    - Head gasket fecked
    - Fan not working

    What year is the car, make, mileage, last serviced, normal driving envoirment, town or country, whats the coolant level like?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 116 ✭✭The_Magoo


    Edit - - Double post sorry!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,078 ✭✭✭tabatha


    can a car be damaged by parking half on a footpath. left side up and right side down? just wondering thanks.


  • Registered Users Posts: 22,818 ✭✭✭✭Anan1


    tabatha wrote:
    can a car be damaged by parking half on a footpath. left side up and right side down? just wondering thanks.

    As long as the car is not completely upside down, you should be OK.


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,475 ✭✭✭daymobrew


    tabatha wrote:
    can a car be damaged by parking half on a footpath. left side up and right side down? just wondering thanks.
    Probably only by pedestrians extracting long overdue revenge for this unpunished offence :p (it's even listed in the old "Rules of the Road").


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 116 ✭✭The_Magoo


    tabatha wrote:
    can a car be damaged by parking half on a footpath. left side up and right side down? just wondering thanks.

    Depends how high the footpath is! And how fast you mount it!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 465 ✭✭Kermitt


    shnaek wrote:
    Can you damage a car by leaving it parked on a 45 degree slope for 2 weeks? My girlfriend did this. Today is the first day she has driven it in almost two weeks and her engine is heating up a lot. She has had to pull over several times to let it cool.

    Is there such thing as a 45 degree slope on any public road/street in this country? thats a 1 in 1 slope.. never seen this other than offroad.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 107 ✭✭ek942


    Anan1 wrote:
    As long as the car is not completely upside down, you should be OK.
    Ha Ha..Like this?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,038 ✭✭✭Litcagral


    Kermitt wrote:
    Is there such thing as a 45 degree slope on any public road/street in this country? thats a 1 in 1 slope.. never seen this other than offroad.



    Yes, I think the steepest roads are 1 in 4 or 5. The only time I recall seeing a car at 45 degrees would be some car transporters.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,163 ✭✭✭shnaek


    The_Magoo wrote:
    If the brakes were seized to the point of having to stop the engine to let it cool, there would be smoke also coming off the brakes. Do you find you have to work the engine harder to maintain progress?
    Possible causes of over heating engine
    - No coolant
    - Blockage in cooling system
    - Thermostat not opening
    - Head gasket fecked
    - Fan not working

    What year is the car, make, mileage, last serviced, normal driving envoirment, town or country, whats the coolant level like?

    Cheers for that - I will get her to look at the rad and the fan. The car is a 00 rover 25 with about 80k on the clock, serviced 5 months ago . The car was parked in Cork - hence the 45 degree angle!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,237 ✭✭✭AMurphy


    Unless something bizzarr, like the angle made it possible for rain to blow into the rad fan motor and siezed it, or rusting/siezed brakes, or rats took up residence in your intake or exhaust, parking on a slope has no effect on anything.
    You may have a slow waterleak from a pipe joint, or pump shaft. check the level.
    This is kinda normal long term parking pre-start procedure anyway.


  • Registered Users Posts: 17,819 ✭✭✭✭peasant


    Joking aside ...one thing to watch out for when parking on a slope regularly is rain water not running off properly.

    Happened to me on my old Saab hatchback. Water couldn't run off and crept over the seals inside, soaking my boot trim, causing some rust (and a whiff:o )

    Parked it facing the other way as soon as I found out ...problem solved:D


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,982 ✭✭✭Johnny Storm


    AFAIK If the brakes are seized you should be able to feel the wheels getting very hot


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,765 ✭✭✭ds20prefecture


    Did you check the oil level? Perhaps it drained out?

    Are you sure it was a 45 degree slope? You'd stuggle to walk up a 45degree slope, never mind park a car on one.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,107 ✭✭✭John R


    45 degree slope... hmm.

    776px-Toyota_Land_Cruiser_at_a_80Percent_slope_at_the_IAA_2005.jpg


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,237 ✭✭✭AMurphy


    For the oil to you'd need the 90 or 180 deg slope, I think. :D:D


  • Registered Users Posts: 991 ✭✭✭endplate


    More than likely the slope is about 10 degrees at the most. As for the brakes been siezed I think that is unlikely as brake fluid is water based and boils when overheated producing steam (heat will come from brakes sticking). This steam been a gas then compresses when the peddle is pressed resulting in no braking :eek:

    Most probably her problem is loss of coolant check the expansion tank is it empty? If so than this is probably why the car is overheating. Otherwise the thermostat is probably not opening fully


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,163 ✭✭✭shnaek


    I'll get her to check the coolant and oil levels. Cheers for all the help. And seriously - the slope is more than 10 degrees. Have you been to Cork? Have you seen some of the hills there - eg. Patricks hill? A friend of mine parked in the same spot with a hyundai coupe and he was burning rubber reversing into it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 465 ✭✭Kermitt


    Patrick's hill is steep- I've driven up it, but its not a 45 degree slope. Very few vehicles would be capable of hauling thier own ass up a slope like that. Its a physiscs thing. Anything 45 degrees or more there's more force acting vertically than horizontally. I think a 1 in 1.15 slope exists somewhere in the US- about 40 degrees.

    Anyway it shouldnt affect your brakes as the force of keeping the car on a slope would be far less than that needed to slow the car to a stop from 100kph.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,163 ✭✭✭shnaek


    She took it to a garage today and they told her the head of the engine could be cracked. That doesn't sound too good! He said he'd do a pressure test. He pointed out fumes coming from the exhaust. So I guess it wasn't the slope after all.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,613 ✭✭✭Big Nelly


    shnaek wrote:
    She took it to a garage today and they told her the head of the engine could be cracked. That doesn't sound too good! He said he'd do a pressure test. He pointed out fumes coming from the exhaust. So I guess it wasn't the slope after all.

    Head gasket?


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,163 ✭✭✭shnaek


    Could be. She just said head in her text. I know she had work done on the head gasket in the past.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,613 ✭✭✭Big Nelly


    shnaek wrote:
    Could be. She just said head in her text. I know she had work done on the head gasket in the past.

    Give some specs on the car, type, model, milage, age etc


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,163 ✭✭✭shnaek


    Big Nelly wrote:
    Give some specs on the car, type, model, milage, age etc
    The car is a 00 rover 25 with about 80k on the clock, serviced 5 months ago. She is the second owner and has it about 3 years now.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 22,818 ✭✭✭✭Anan1


    endplate wrote:
    More than likely the slope is about 10 degrees at the most. As for the brakes been siezed I think that is unlikely as brake fluid is water based and boils when overheated producing steam (heat will come from brakes sticking). This steam been a gas then compresses when the peddle is pressed resulting in no braking :eek:

    Brake fluid is not water based! It does, though, absorb water over time, which is why it needs to be periodically replaced. Brake fluid can boil, though, leading to loss of braking.


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