Car stuck on sloped driveway!!

OCD

Hi All,

Looking for a bit of help diagnosing a problem.

The basics are:

- driveway is sloped up towards house
- car is facing house, i.e. i need to reverse out (or just let handbrake off and push clutch in)
- car is stuck when handbrake is released
- handbrake doesn't feel any different from before problem
- clutch doesn't feel hard or notchy. same as before problem
- have tried handbrake off and jumping car in 1st gear, 2nd gear and Reverse gear < none worked.
- tried handbrake off & neutral gear and pushing car backwards
- want to be 99% sure of diagnosis before I call a mechanic or worse, have a tow truck come and pick it up.

Nothing's worked so far. I *think* I know what the problem is but rather than prejudice your responses I'll keep silent and see what you all think.

Thanks in advance!

robbie99

There's a kerb in your driveway that you're parked up against with full lock on

Seriously, could the brakepads be jammed?

scudster

You more than likely have drum brakes on the rear as the main brakes (or just for the handbrake) which have probably jammed.
Does the back of the car sink down a bit when you try to move forward?
Does the back of the car rise if you try to reverse?
If either of these happen one of your brake drums have jammed/siezed.
You dont drive a Clio by any chance?
I've seen them do that a few times.

woop

yeh Id say youre handbrakes jammed

just adjust youre handbrake and see if that works

omb0wyn5ehpij9

Were you driving in any of the floods last week?

sc4rf4ce

has the car been sitting up long?

OCD

thanks everyone! I thought it was seized drums myself but I'm not very car savy when it comes to inner workings.

Back of car rises in reverse and dips in 1st just as you say (similar to when you try to move and have forgotten handbrake is on!!)

Car was in regular use but I did get caught in floods. I saw the water up to half-wheel level on some smaller cars and no where near door cills or air intake level so drove through the water.

It's a focus saloon and to be fair to it, it's brought me up and down some of the worst mountain and forest tracks in Ireland and I've never had a problem with it.

Assuming it's seized drums, do I just let them dry out and contract or free them up with a heavy handed technique? Should i force a reverse? If I do get t moving, do I need to get the drums replaced?

ewj1978

This used to happen to my corsa after heavy rain or really cold nights..what used to work for me was putting it in reverse and basically flooring it... I'm not a mechanic so its probably not the best thing to do but it always worked for me. Said it to my local garage and he said that theres not must else I could do apart from not park on the slope..(damn near impossible in my locale)

milltown

If the car isn't too close to the wall of the house I'd suggest putting it in first and letting the clutch out and in, letting the engine and gravity alternate to "rock" the car and hopefully free it. Worst case scenario though, it could be a seized wheel bearing.

My wife's Focus tends to seize at the back wheels after I wash it if it's not driven until the next day, so hopefully that's all it is.

mmarks

If its a focus, should have discs at the rear (this problem is normally with drum brakes).

Few things to try.

Firstly, as was suggested, ensure there is no-one or nothing behind you and floor it, it should eventually make a horrible noise and move, then stop quickly!!!!

Secondly, remove the rear wheels (if it is on a slope, chock the front wheels to prevent it moving) and gently loosen the bleed nipples on each calliper. Then press the brake pedal a few times. Once released, ensure you top up the brake fluid and bleed the brakes.

Try undoing the handbrake cable or linkage at the brake end. If it has seized then this will sort out the problem. Dont forget to re-attach or replace the cable!

Just my 2c worth!

Mike

JoeySully

mmarks wrote: »

If its a focus, should have discs at the rear (this problem is normally with drum brakes).

no some hve drums.

mmarks wrote: »

Firstly, as was suggested, ensure there is no-one or nothing behind you and floor it, it should eventually make a horrible noise and move, then stop quickly!!!!

i dont think its nessessary to floor it you may do more damage. jst rock it from forward to reverse

mmarks wrote: »

I

Secondly, remove the rear wheels (if it is on a slope, chock the front wheels to prevent it moving) and gently loosen the bleed nipples on each calliper. Then press the brake pedal a few times. Once released, ensure you top up the brake fluid and bleed the brakes.

dont do this you will have spongy brakes after !! air will get in.

Do you have a sledge hammer??

a crisp slap of a sledge is what it needs - not a huge force but a nice crisp tap to the wheel.

yknaa

Gas. Exact same happened to me in a Focus. I too got caught in the floods but nothing too drastic. I didn't use the car for a few days afterwards and was stuck in the drive way. In the end I just used a bit more power reversing than normal and managed to move the car. It appears to be fine again... fingers crossed

bazz26

mmarks wrote: »

If its a focus, should have discs at the rear (this problem is normally with drum brakes).

Mike

Believe it or not Ford still persist on fitting rear drums to most Focus models even in 2008. :eek:

Marcus.Aurelius

rather than slam them with a sledge (Albeit gently) you might prefer to let someone sit in said car with foot on brake pedal (disc brakes will tighten). Tap the brake drum gently with a hammer behind a piece of wood so you don't warp the whole lot. Car should free up! alternatively get it towed out slowly with the engine off and front wheels down. (Very slow, FWD cars are not supposed to be towed at any speed in that manner)

OCD

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

I'm going to try the rocking first and the sledgehammer with a block of wood. Believe it or not, I'm not the type that has a sledgehammer (weird, I know! ) so I'll have to go get a lend of one first.

I know what a disc brake looks like and I definitely have these on the front wheels but I'm not sure what the back wheel brakes are (not discs anyway). Are the pads on a drum usually hidden? Where exactly to I tap with the hammer?

Am I correct in saying the footbrake brakes the front discs and the handbrake applies the rear drums?

Cheers!

Marcus.Aurelius

OCD wrote: »

Am I correct in saying the footbrake brakes the front discs and the handbrake applies the rear drums?

Cheers!

The foot brake will actuate all brakes, front and rear. The handbrake seems to have locked the rear ones. Make sure the front brakes are holding before you tap the rear ones.

All you want to do is loosen the brakes sufficiently to let them go back as far as the footbrake is actuating them, not total release.

For extra measure, put chocks or something in front of the wheels so it doesn't go forward into your house or over you!

JoeySully

here is what's inside the DRUM at the back
water has got in and caused some rust or corrosion that have cauesd them to seize but shouldnt take much to get them to pop back out



if you have alloys be careful that you don damage them when hitting. normal rims you can belt away. dont hit the nuts though. if you get the wheel off then a hammer should get them free - just tap the hammer all around the edge of the hub. you will havee to do both sides

OCD

just a quick update:

just rocked the car back and forth and it worked a treat!

really appreciate everyone's help, thank you all!

Marcus.Aurelius

Good stuff.

Del2005

OCD wrote: »

just a quick update:

just rocked the car back and forth and it worked a treat!

really appreciate everyone's help, thank you all!

You'll want to take you back wheels and drums off to clean out the drums, don't want the corrosion getting worst. A little bit of copper grease on the linkage wouldn't go astray, but make sure none gets on the shoes or drum.

OCD

Del2005 wrote: »

You'll want to take you back wheels and drums off to clean out the drums, don't want the corrosion getting worst. A little bit of copper grease on the linkage wouldn't go astray, but make sure none gets on the shoes or drum.

it's due an NCT so a full service was on the cards anyway. thanks to everyone i can actually drive it to the garage instead of getting it towed!