Steep drive parking issue

[Lance Flanagan]

I’ve just bought a house that has a really steep drive.

I drive a manual car with a handbrake but the brake barely manages to stop the car rolling when on the drive. I don’t want to wake up for work to find the car has rolled into the street during the night!

My question is; Will it damage the gearbox to leave the vehicle in 1st while parked on a steep incline (long term)????

I could use wheel chocks but this will get tedious quickly!

Topic

[Lorrin Barth]

It won’t hurt the transmission. If the transmission is strong enough to make the vehicle move it is strong enough to hold it in place.

I’ve seen some people question whether if the vehicle overcomes the holding force of the engine and the engine turns backwards, could it make the timing belt jump. My Subaru with manual has guards on the belt to prevent this from happening. My Mitsubishi with manual has nothing. Maybe the Mits doesn’t need it – dunno. Anyway, I’d recommend using both the transmission and the parking brake.

[Ingvar]

Can you park say sidewise across the driveway?

[Bret]

It will not hurt the gearbox at all, I drive a manual and always leave it in gear even sometimes without the handbrake (usually when i forget it) but I wouldn’t put all my faith in the handbrake either

[Author]

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