Hey guys,
Im going to put it out here quick and simple, is bump starting your car bad for the car at all? yes i had to bump start it this morning in reverse cause my battery died, i was going to grab jumper cables but my dad just told me to bump start it...as he got in his BMW and drove off.

 

NO.

 

anyone else?

 

I would say its a little harder on the car, but it is not something that will be done often. I have noticed starting other cars this way a hard lurch as you pop the clutch which may not be as friendly to the engine or mounts, but again if you do this once a year I doubt any life will be taken away from the car. Stangs are meant for some drag racing abuse after all.

 

what's a bump start?

 

For a manual...Roll the car in neutral then put it in gear and dump the clutch to start it up. (dont work on any autos that i know about)

 

i'm still not following. is that the same as a rolling start? i have a manual and well i just want to make sure i never do it if it is harmful.

i just turn the car on by depressing the clutch then lowering the e-brake and put it in reverse and get out of my garage.

 

What they are saying is do you turn the ignition and start it before leaving your garage or do you roll out of your driveway and then start it rolling backwards without cranking it....

 

Turn the key to the 'run' position. Get the car rolling by any available means (roll it down a hill, get a push, etc.). Once it's moving fast enough, put in reverse if you're rolling backward or in a forward gear if you rolling forward. Engage the clutch quickly.

As far as abuse to the car goes, it's not particularly worse than a hard launch from a stop light or a lurch and stall, and probably not as hard on the car as a day/night on the local dragstrip's grippier starting line.

If the battery is really weak, you won't be cranking it over. If it's really dead, you might not even have enough voltage to fire the injectors (9 volts or a little more under load is usually required - so turn off everything else electrical).

And yes, there have been some automatics that could be jump-started. 50's and early 60's Chrysler Corporation cars with the Powerflite or Torqueflite trannies could be emergency started in this manner. Unlike most other automatics at the time or since, they also had a rear oil pump driven off the output shaft that could operate the tranny to some extent once you got the driveshaft turning fast enough.


Norm

 

if rolling forward, use 2nd gear and be sure to put the clutch back in so you don't lurch forward out of control. WAYYYYYY back when I was a teen, we used to start our cars like this a lot when we wanted to make a quiet departure from places where we should not have been. We didn't want to risk the starter noise and the car not starting so we'd push it, all hop in, let out the clutch and off we went. Stories I'll never share with my own children.