Ok, this seems wierd to me!

Slammed0 · 06-17-2006, 02:59 PM

So I have my car jacked up doing an oil change. Now I go to start the car to make sure I have everything back to normal and nothing is leaking. Well my dad asks why my passenger side tire is spinning.

Now, I have the clutch out, nothing in gear, just straight letting the motor run. And the wheel is spinning. He said it wasn't spinning really fast or anything, but still it was moving around. Can this be normal? Doesn't make sense to me being that nothing should be engaged.

96 420a 5 speed FWD

VelocitàPaola · 06-17-2006, 03:03 PM

It's perfectly normal, don't panic. I don't know the exact mechanism behind this phenomenon (if anyone does know it, feel free to jump in and tell us), but I suspect everything begins to work similar to a viscous coupling when in such tight, enclosed quarters - only, instead of a viscous liquid, air is the agent responsible for transferring motion.

Slammed0 · 06-17-2006, 04:23 PM

Cool thanks man! Ya, just kind of stumped me and I got a little curious about it.

DSMcrazy3 · 06-17-2006, 04:49 PM

And of course the reason you don't roll when on the ground with the car in neutral and clutch out is due to the fact that the weight of the car is greater than the rotating force.

XMasta19 · 06-17-2006, 05:32 PM

That tripped me out the other day...had my car jacked up, let it run to check for leaks...and my rotors started movin lol.
I knew it was nothin bad, but hadn't actually seen it before haha.