Should my wheels spin?

[Module Unknown]

99 gst, 5 speed.

Ok, this is something I noticed not too long ago and it didn't seem right to me. Had the car up on stands and I started it up to check somethin out. Of course the car was in neutral, but I noticed that the front wheels began to start spinning slowly while the car was just chillin in neutral. However, if I pressed the clutch in, the wheels would come to a stop and not spin at all.

Why would my wheels spin while in neutral?

Is this normal or is something wrong?

 

[ASZRAEL1266]

My car is AWD spd. When my car was in the air out of gear none of my tires would move. It does not sound normal for a car to try to move when it is out of gear. I am not sure what it could be.

 

[xinfiniter]

do you have some type of lsd?? I know when we installed mine, that was the first thing we noticed when it was started and sitting in neutral.

 

[Module Unknown]

No lsd, unless of course something was done by the previous owner, but i highly doubt it. I picked up the car when it only had 30k miles on it and it was bone stock, and I can spin/hop the wheels for days if i want to So i'm pretty sure that would be a no on there being some sort of lsd.

I have not done any drivetrain modifications at all. Only thing that would even come close was that I replaced the driver side axle a few months ago.

 

[steve]

If the car was running and no load on the drivetrain I'd assume it's nothing more than some coupling between the input shaft and output shaft via the fluid spinning around in the trans case.

Pressing the clutch in disconnects the input shaft from the engine and it stops spinning.

Steve

 

[GTM]

Originally posted by steve
If the car was running and no load on the drivetrain I'd assume it's nothing more than some coupling between the input shaft and output shaft via the fluid spinning around in the trans case.
...
Steve

Some cars do it more than others of which a constant mesh countershaft plays a big role. If you have counter rotating shafting in the gear train they will usually cancel each out and thus no tire spin. Hot or cold oil viscosity will play a factor, placing stands on suspension vs on body will influence spin because of angular deflection of CV joints. I usually associate this with a healthy transmission though bad adjustment on shift rails/forks or shims can cause a syncro to drag more than it should. I think it's safe to say it will not happen if badly worn unless an intermediate shaft bearing has some problem.

Cheers,
GTM

 

[mccurdy]

i put my new downpipe on it we took off the stock and had open exhaust to see what it sounded like..it was on jackstands....both...of my tires were spinning in neutral =). We just changed my plugs though, so it was running clean as fuq

 

[Cesar]

my 89 corolla Sr5 front wheel drive does it too...

 

[cbellsondsm]

mine did it when it was in the air mine is a FWD and i heard the axle spinning when the wheel was off on a caliper change

 

[Turbo98]

They should not be spinning at all... I forgot what it means when that happens... I'll get back to you on that but they shouldn't be spinning on any kind of car.

 

[98TalonTSi]

I think its perfectly normal. I have an AT FWD, and when I just installed my new valvebody, we had the car on a lift in neutral, and the wheels were spinning ever so slightly.

 

[1999GSX]

It is normal for the wheels to rotate when in neutral. It is the movement in the fluid that causes this. This will happen in many RWD cars as well.

It will depend on the type of tranny fluid u use.

 

[GTM]

Originally posted by 1999GSX
It is normal for the wheels to rotate when in neutral. It is the movement in the fluid that causes this. This will happen in many RWD cars as well. ...

I think you will find that because the gears are counter-rotating the fluid is also counter-rotating which will cancel the drag with a manual transmission Let's not corrupt the thread with A/T problems and urban theories.

For a manual transmission try this, drain the oil and see what happens... trust me it's the drag of the components against each other which will cause it to turn. You would know this if you had rebuilt as many as I have for you always bench test. You will rarely (never?) find this on crash boxes where there are no syndro/balk rings.

Cheers,
GTM