Reloading the boat (?)

[khoi30]

I will back my boat trailer down to the boat ramp . Put my car in to park. Load my boat back up . My question is .Every time I put my car back into drive to pull the boat out of water. My transmission will make a sound . Is this normal . Will it hurt my car. Is there a proper way to do this. Any info will be helpful. Thanks

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Reloading the boat (?)

what kind of sound? klunk, if so , engage parking break before putting into park, when pulling up the ramp, put the car in forward, left foot on the brake, right on the gas, holding the brake, release the parking brake, then gentle apply gas, while releasing left foot slowly off the brake. there is a locking pin in the transmission. when parking on a grade, the pin jams, that the klunk you are hearing, when it releases.

if the sound is a WHINE, better see MAACO.

 

[khoi30]

Re: Reloading the boat (?)

Thanks for the info.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Reloading the boat (?)

If you saw what a parking pawl in a transmission looks like you will never again put your vehicle in park again before firmly setting the parking brake. a parking pawl looks like a portion (five or six teeth) out of of a gear. When you engage park, these teeth engage teeth on the a drum attached to the transmission output shaft and therefore prevents it from turning. As you take your foot off the brake the vehicle rolls backward slightly putting tremendous stress on the two sets of teeth. When you pull the vehicle out of park, the teeth snap apart which is the noise you hear. If you continue to do this the ends of the teeth get rounded off and the transmission may eventually fail to hold and your vehicle gets a bath. In some cases, such as a very steep ramp, there may be so much pressure you can't get it out of park. In that case another vehicle needs to pull you slightly forward to relieve that tension. Tash said it right. Set the brake. Then put it in park. When leaving -- foot on brake, remove from park, release parking brake and then drive out. I once removed a tranny that had a hole in the case due to the parking pawl mount being ripped out.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Reloading the boat (?)

Yeah and I once saw a car and trailer submerged at the end of the ramp where the pawl didn't hold. A wrecker was trying to get it out but the end of the ramp had a sheer dropoff and the car was stuck behind it. Don't know what happened; it was Sunday afternoon and the family was out for some water skiing and so we just found another ramp at a nother site.

Mark

 

[WTPhantom309]

Re: Reloading the boat (?)

could be a u-joiunt loading up or the slack in the pinion

 

[khoi30]

Re: Reloading the boat (?)

Thanks for all your help and info.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Reloading the boat (?)

Nope -- not a U-joint. The man is talking about the "bang" that results from this operator error.

 

[WTPhantom309]

Re: Reloading the boat (?)

have heard neglected u-joints bang just as i have heard parking poles bang was just tryin to give em a place to look. wouldnt hurt to check em. not dissagreein just tryin to help

 

[gungalunge]

Re: Reloading the boat (?)

try an auto transmission flush . then see what happens .go have it done , new fluid good results

 

[am_dew]

Re: Reloading the boat (?)

If you saw what a parking pawl in a transmission looks like you will never again put your vehicle in park again before firmly setting the parking brake. <snip>

I just stumbled across this thread and I want to be sure I clearly understand Silvertip's comment above because I don't like the sound of the potential results of doing it wrong.

So, when un-launching, after I've backed my rig down the ramp and am about ready to get out of my vehicle and get the boat onto the trailer, I should always set the parking brake before putting it into Park? Does this apply to any situation where you set the parking brake or just when you're parked on an incline?

BTW, thanks Silvertip for bringing this up!

 

[troypolla]

Re: Reloading the boat (?)

Parking on an incline. It wouldnt hurt to do it on less steep inclines.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Reloading the boat (?)

Backing down: Set the parking brake FIRST, then shift to PARK.
Pulling out: Foot on regular brake. Shift out of PARK, then release the parking brake. When pulling out, if you release the parking brake first (without holding the vehicle with the regular brake), the car rolls back against the parking pawl which defeats what you did when you backed in.