Concerned about my transmission

[GasSavers_rGS]

Ok, so I drove to an errand site and this site doesn't have the FE-style 'H' parking spot in the parking lot but a non-FE-style 'U' parking spot with a curb at the closed end of the 'U'.

So I tried to coast my car into the 'U' shaped parking spot and ended up nudging up against the curb. Since I was at a complete stop, I popped my gear from D to P, then shut off the engine. When I was done with my errand, I hopped into my car, turned on the engine, and when I tried to shift the gear from P to D, there was a somewhat loud "thump" sound. I'm guessing "thump" sounds are not good when it comes to trannies.

So I guess my question is, for future reference, would it be better to change gears from D to N, then from N to P before shutting the engine off? That way, it may release some of the rotational tension that was created due to "nudging against the curb?"

[ELF]

Originally Posted by rGS

Ok,

So I guess my question is, for future reference, would it be better to change gears from D to N, then from N to P before shutting the engine off? That way, it may release some of the rotational tension that was created due to "nudging against the curb?"

Yes, hit N and let the car roll back slightly. Sometimes parking on a steep hill will give the same clunk.

[Gary Palmer]

I don't think you have anything to worry about. What happens in an Automatic is that when you put the car into park their is a little pawl which moves and engages a tooth on the transmission. This keeps the car from rolling. If you put it into park and then it has pressure on it, like from nudging the curb, parking on a hill and so forth, it makes a thunk sound when it disengages. It is pretty normal.

[GeekGuyAndy]

I can attest to the hill thump. I use to have a steep driveway and hated that sound. I usually parked elsewhere so avoid that.

[itjstagame]

Originally Posted by Gary Palmer

I don't think you have anything to worry about. What happens in an Automatic is that when you put the car into park their is a little pawl which moves and engages a tooth on the transmission. This keeps the car from rolling. If you put it into park and then it has pressure on it, like from nudging the curb, parking on a hill and so forth, it makes a thunk sound when it disengages. It is pretty normal.

Yup, what he said, it's a mechanical sound as the parking 'lock' (if you will) disengages. I've parked slightly up on a curb and had the truck roll back and get even tighter on this lock. It was actaully bound up tight enough I could not get it to disengage (and get out of P). I had to jack up the rear of the truck to relieve the drive train tension.

Oh well lessons learned. But basically either hit N for a second or don't get right up snug to the curb (but either way you can't really hurt anything too bad).

[GasSavers_Red]

Another trick is to shift into neutral, set your parking brake and let the car rest against the parking brake, then put it into Park. Catch is your parking brake has to be in good condition for this to work well on hills.

[Raccoonjoe]

IMO, you're not going to kill a tranny, unless you do this every day, several times a day, etc.....Something else you might notice: The harder the car is against the tranny (steeper downhill, etc), the harder it is to get the car out of Park.

All you're seeing/feeling is the transmission releasing Park. When the car rolls forward (or backward) like that, its binding up on that gear.....