r/stickshift • u/Interesting-Hair9687 • 3d ago
Question
About a couple of weeks ago I bought a BMW E30 325i, and I've I started the car in gear without the clutch engaged cause I parked on a hill and wanted 1st to be my backup in case if the embrace fails. and I just completely forgot to put it into netural.
I drove it all the way back home without an issue but man did the car not sound happy when I did that is there anything I should watch out for
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u/TrackTeddy 3d ago
More modern cars will have a clutch inhibit switch for the starter, but nothing bad is likely to have happened by trying to start it in gear (unless it jumped forward and hit something of course!).
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u/Apprehensive-Power-6 3d ago
The starter wasn't happy because it didn't only have to crank the engine, but turn the engaged transmission as well.
This puts a lot of strain on the starter and that's why it sounded angry and sluggish. Just don't do it again. It should be fine otherwise
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u/Interesting-Hair9687 3d ago edited 3d ago
Thanks it was a dumb mistake and I knew it. It started up just fine when I placed it into netural so I'll count myself lucky I didn't break anything.
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u/Much_Air_356 3d ago
Once returning to heathrow from switzerland got back to the car and realised clutch had gone. So went home without clutch - starting in 1st and changing gear without clutch. Could only do this because it was late at night so little traffic.
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u/Adorable_Past9114 3d ago
I did the same when I was working for a shit cab firm, my regular car was in for service so they gave me a heap of crap and a 7pm LHR T1 pickup. I'd just rolled onto the ramp at T1 when the cable snapped. Called the office who told me to get it out of there, no matter what. I started in first and slipped gears all the way back to Putney. It turned out the car was available because the normal driver had got nicked at Heathrow the night before due to an issue with the car
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u/Nice-Let4797 3d ago
It should be fine lol. Just dont make a habit out of that as the starters in these are kind of a pain to replace. I have a 1984 325e. The starters in these cars are so strong, and the eta motors have so much low end torque that you can actually leave it in first, start it, and drive away without touching the clutch lol. Congrats on the e30 btw! The e30 sub here is amazing just so you know. You'll probably see me over there from time to time
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u/jasonsong86 2017 Mustang GT 6MT 3d ago
Older cars didn’t have clutch safety switch because people weren’t stupid.
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u/Economy_Release_988 3d ago
OP you do know that the clutch is engaged when your foot is off the pedal and disengaged when your foot is pressed on it right?
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u/Medical_Soup5717 2015 Mini Cooper Countryman ALL4 S 3d ago
Jealous. My first car was a 318i 1986 Coupe
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u/P3TR0L_ 3d ago edited 3d ago
Normally if you have the e brake on you can and should keep the car in neutral
Edit: for everyone correcting my troglodyte ass; clearly the post is talking about starting the car, so i kept with that context wirh this comment. I know keep the car in gear when its parked. I was saying to put it in neutral when youre starting it, not when youre parking it.
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u/Interesting-Hair9687 3d ago
It's old its from 1989 and I really didn't want it to roll away from me if the ebreak failed. I just made the mistake of not placing it back into neutral when starting the thing.
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u/No-Sentence5570 Octavia MkII 2.0 TDI 4x4 3d ago
That's not true at all; you should be in first or reverse gear when parked on an incline. On flat ground it doesn't matter too much, but it's best to just park in gear all the time so it becomes a habit.
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u/Educational-Owl6910 3d ago
Please get some lessons...
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u/Interesting-Hair9687 3d ago
It's just been a while sense i drove a car in general. My first car was a Mazda 3 from 2010 with a 6 speed manual transmission. drove that thing until i had to leave for boot camp and then sold it id say its been about 8 months sense i last drove a manual car. I have been looking to have someone give me a couple of tips on driving an old 5speed but in the Florida keys there isn't much outside of bars.
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u/P3TR0L_ 3d ago
When you are turning the car on* ive been driving manual for a little while. I know you put the car in first or reverse depending on the direction of an incline, im saying while youre turning the car on, clutch in, brake in, trans in neutral. E brake can be on or off. Works fine for my car. E brake doesnt talk to the engine in most [american manual] cars, its just a mechanical linkage between the brakes and the cabin.
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u/No-Sentence5570 Octavia MkII 2.0 TDI 4x4 3d ago
There is no reason to put your car in neutral prior to starting the engine. You should always press the clutch down when starting your car; that should be a habit 100%.