Car Over-revving

skywalker_208

The girlfriend tells me she reversed a bit up a steep hill yesterday in the car - and ever since it seems to be over revving in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears! rev counter goes up to 3000 really quick but the car doesnt seem to be going anywhere!

Did she do damage? Anyone know whats wrong with this? I suspect a clutch problem....

thanks

Downtime

It's not a 206 is it?

skywalker_208

no Hyundai Accent

528i

She's burnt out the clutch, you shouldnt have let her out in the car in the first place.. why was she reversing up hills ?

wimen :rolleyes:

Downtime

skywalker_208 wrote:

no Hyundai Accent

Oh ok - just heard of a similar problem in a 206.

skywalker_208

You think its that serious?

sirlinux

most definetly sounds like the clutch, are they made out of paper on those accents seen so many with shagged clutches, is it not pulling away when you ease up the clutch just revving?

skywalker_208

it is pulling away.. but not as much... very slow to take off... while over revving...

how much is that to fix then?

528i

The clutch is slipping (ask her did the car smell like burnt eggs afterwards) you should get it to your nearest garage while still driving under its own steam.. probably around 4-500quid repair job, maybe think about trading in for an automatic for herself instead

sirlinux

also tell her to stop resting her foot on the clutch!!! one uphill experience is unlikely to have done this it's long term clutch riding.

John R

That very much depends on how long she took to reverse it up the hill.

I witnessed an ol' bidddy destroy the clutch off a micra a few years ago, it took about 5 minutes of full throttle reverse with plenty of clutch riding.

Esel

If the OP's gf fried the clutch so easily, then maybe "think about trading in for an automatic for herself" is not such a good idea?

It is *so* easy for a beginner to wreck lots of animate and inanimate objects by driving an automatic 'badly'.....

"I slammed my foot on the brake and the car shot forward/backward into the bus queue/house/expensive Mercedes Benz!"

Professional driving lessons are a lot cheaper than clutches in the long run.

AMurphy

skywalker_208 wrote:

.....and ever since it seems to be over revving in 1st, 2nd and 3rd gears! rev counter goes up to 3000 really quick but the car doesnt seem to be going anywhere!
......

thanks

Well there is the possibility that the clutch was on the way out anyway, just the last straw.

Good test question..... how much smoke was generated reversing up this hill.
None?. how strong was the gale at the time?.

Either way it certainly smells of a smoked clutch.

Good test for a wearing/weak/worn clutch is get it up to a steady speed about 40~50mph & in top gear. Then punch down on the accelerator, assuming it develops any power, it will begin to slip.

Canis Lupus

Sorry to jump in with my own question but I've noticed my car (focus) "jerks" if I put my foot down while say in 5th at low revs say if I'm doing 30mph.... When in high revs everything is fine it's just if I try to accelerate quickly when going slowly apart from that the clutch doesnt slip in the regular sense ie revs stay normal. Just wondered if anyone could shed some light on that for me rather than me pay to take it to a garage first although I figure it is the clutch coming to the end of it's life.

omb0wyn5ehpij9

Canis Lupus wrote:

Sorry to jump in with my own question but I've noticed my car (focus) "jerks" if I put my foot down while say in 5th at low revs say if I'm doing 30mph.... When in high revs everything is fine it's just if I try to accelerate quickly when going slowly apart from that the clutch doesnt slip in the regular sense ie revs stay normal. Just wondered if anyone could shed some light on that for me rather than me pay to take it to a garage first although I figure it is the clutch coming to the end of it's life.

Your in too high a gear for the speed and revs! When your doing 30mph in say 3rd gear, put your foot down and the car will accelerate a lot smoother. There is nothing wrong with your car so dont bring it to a garage!

lomb

skywalker_208 wrote:

no Hyundai Accent

the clutches are paper as mentioned above. a friend hired a BRAND NEW accent last year and in the space of 200 miles of hard driving burnt it out.
500+euro job. to do it u have to remove the gearbox, drive shafts etc .

lomb

AMurphy wrote:

Then punch down on the accelerator, assuming it develops any power, it will begin to slip.

wont work in ireland cars here are totally impotent and come neutered from the factory

Esel

Canis Lupus wrote:

Sorry to jump in with my own question but I've noticed my car (focus) "jerks" if I put my foot down while say in 5th at low revs say if I'm doing 30mph.... When in high revs everything is fine it's just if I try to accelerate quickly when going slowly apart from that the clutch doesnt slip in the regular sense ie revs stay normal. Just wondered if anyone could shed some light on that for me rather than me pay to take it to a garage first although I figure it is the clutch coming to the end of it's life.

What you are doing is called 'lugging' the engine - asking it to make power when it is revving way too low. You can also lug an engine by asking it to make more power when your slows down going up a hill.

It is *very* bad for the engine - will damage main bearings etc. You will be looking at a major rebuild if you keep this practice up.

Be in the proper gear before calling for acceleration.

AMurphy

Canis Lupus wrote:

Sorry to jump in with my own question but I've noticed my car (focus) "jerks" if I put my foot down while say in 5th at low revs say if I'm doing 30mph.... .....

Just lugging the engine. Revs too low + gear too high. NOt a good practice.

Thx Lomb; Just as I thought.

Canis Lupus

I don't normally let it happen just the "jumping" never happens on any other car I've had/driven, in others u hear the engine labour and u change down but no jumping about, in this car it does. How bad, least I know it's not the clutch

Esel

Canis Lupus wrote:

I don't normally let it happen just the "jumping" never happens on any other car I've had/driven, in others u hear the engine labour and u change down but no jumping about, in this car it does. How bad, least I know it's not the clutch

When you can "hear the engine labour" you are listening to your bearings getting hammered.

AMurphy

Canis Lupus wrote:

I don't normally let it happen just the "jumping" never happens on any other car I've had/driven, in others u hear the engine labour and u change down but no jumping about, in this car it does. How bad, least I know it's not the clutch

"Jumping" about just means you have 2 problems to resolve.

1; Your engine mounts are a bit soft/sloppy/loose and the engine is jumping about, no big deal it happpens....
2; You are lugging the engine and should "cease and desist" immediately.

or get a much bigger engine + lower ratio gear box and/or an A/t.


Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeet, I'm teaching the 10yo exactly what you are repeating here as how NOT to drive.
Solution: Change down and rev up.

lomb

it could be pinging though couldnt it from preignition?.just try changing down and if it still lugs then there is a problem. everyone is right your crank bearings are getting hammered and they dont take lateral loading well. ur motor will destroy itself in short order if u kept that up.

sirlinux

Just as a note, all the hyundai service manuals are online free of charge

http://www.hmaservice.com/webtech/default.asp

If you want to have a go yourself

Canis Lupus

It doesn't happen often to be honest..... It's more a case of when I'm in a high gear and going relatively slowly in a different car acceleration is slow but gradual. I'm not talking about foot the the floor in 5th while at 20 miles an hour. In my car even if I tap on the accelerator while going through town at 30ish (just to keep momentum up) it can jump a bit until the revs increase. I'm not one of those ppl who drive around in 5th continually. I just found it strange as my brother took the car for a drive as well and said he couldn't stand the jumping so I really don't think it's my driving style. Like I said I haven't had a car do this on me before.


EDIT: Lomb what you mean by preignition? Recently I had the leads and sparks changed cos they were a bit knackered and letting damp in. Come to think of it the problem has become noticable from around that time. Now that might just be me putting thoughts into my own head but could that be the cause of my jumping?

sirlinux

Canis Lupus wrote:

It doesn't happen often to be honest..... It's more a case of when I'm in a high gear and going relatively slowly in a different car acceleration is slow but gradual. I'm not talking about foot the the floor in 5th while at 20 miles an hour. In my car even if I tap on the accelerator while going through town at 30ish (just to keep momentum up) it can jump a bit until the revs increase. I'm not one of those ppl who drive around in 5th continually. I just found it strange as my brother took the car for a drive as well and said he couldn't stand the jumping so I really don't think it's my driving style. Like I said I haven't had a car do this on me before.

if it's due for a service get the main stealer to run a diagnostic on it, have you checked spark plugs, leads, air filter, even a fuel filter could cause it, they are all cheap and easy to fix, how old is your focus? a failing set of leads or a dodgy spark plug could easily create that.

Esel

lomb wrote:

it could be pinging though couldnt it from preignition?.just try changing down and if it still lugs then there is a problem. everyone is right your crank bearings are getting hammered and they dont take lateral loading well. ur motor will destroy itself in short order if u kept that up.

Pinging is as bad (if not worse) for an engine as lugging.

Dagon

Just curious - how do you define "riding the clutch"? Is this accelerating as you bring the clutch up? For instance, I've often seen old ladies revving like mad between gears - is that riding the clutch, and accelerating before the clutch is out far enough?

lomb

Canis Lupus wrote:

EDIT: Lomb what you mean by preignition? Recently I had the leads and sparks changed cos they were a bit knackered and letting damp in. Come to think of it the problem has become noticable from around that time. Now that might just be me putting thoughts into my own head but could that be the cause of my jumping?

igniting before the piston reaches top dead center resulting in a jerk. why dont u try doing what i did with the carb cleaner, its a few posts below this one

Esel

Dagon:"riding the clutch" to me means keeping your left foot on the clutch pedal constantly, even when not using the clutch. It contributes to wear.

Canis Lupus: As lomb said, pre-ignition is when the fuel/air mixture in the cylinder ignites before the piston reaches the top of its stroke. The explosion tries to force the piston back down the cylinder, but it is being forced upward by the crankshaft. The force of the explosion is taken by the big-end bearing, causing serious wear. It is called 'pinking' because that is the sound you hear.
Causes can range from faulty ignition timing, to wrong petrol rating, to deposits on piston crown glowing red and so causing the mixture to ignite early.