Best Direction for Parking on Slope?

[IPreferDIY]

I park on a sloped driveway and stay as close to the road as possible to keep the car as close to level as possible. I used to park front in, but I changed to rear in some years ago [due to a noise that was probably from a small bit of JB Weld (from a temporary intake manifold patch) that ended up in a groove in the A/C pulley]. Parking too close to the road apparently causes problems for the neighbor's snow plow guy, so she wants me to park farther back, which will increase the car's slope considerably. I don't drive much, so it might sit like that for a week or more at a time. Is there a preferred end to have facing down?

[sly]

They are rear sump oil pans... so I would think rear down would be better for insuring lubrication.

[knucklehead0202]

^^^Yes, that.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

They are rear sump oil pans... so I would think rear down would be better for insuring lubrication.

Not if you have less than stellar engine rear main and transmission tailshaft seals!

I'd park nose down. Difference in pan depth is quite significant, gotta be one hell of a slope to make the oil vacate the rear sump and migrate to the front.

You can always buy or make small ramps, put the car nose up on the driveway then so the rear wheels just climb the ramps nice and easy.

[sly]

Not if you have less than stellar engine rear main and transmission tailshaft seals!

I'd park nose down. Difference in pan depth is quite significant, gotta be one hell of a slope to make the oil vacate the rear sump and migrate to the front.

You can always buy or make small ramps, put the car nose up on the driveway then so the rear wheels just climb the ramps nice and easy.

True. I've seen some driveways like that though.

[gadget73]

If your driveway is so pitched that running the sump dry is a legit concern, I'd be more worried about the park pin. Wheel chocks would be a must-carry item.

[IPreferDIY]

From the perspective of rain runoff, I prefer rear down so that water doesn't accumulate behind the trunk seal under the window. The specifics of the engine/tranny internals is something I don't know a lot about. The seals have never been an issue. I guess there's no particular issue with what's under the valve covers? I've never had an issue with the anti-drain-back vavles on the oil filters, but I'm thinking in terms of how the oil can flow away from the cams when left to sit. I guess it would have to be the same from side to side.

My approach for the parking pin has always been to use the brakes to ease the weight onto the pin and then set the parking brake. I figure that's better than just setting the parking brake before releasing the regular brakes, since the weight would end up bumping the pin if things slipped. I've never had it steep enough to be concerned about it, but sticking my ramps behind the rear wheels to use as wheel chocks seems like a good idea.

[gadget73]

I don't trust parking brakes. Last time I relied on one as the sole means of holding a vehicle on a slope, it ended up under water. I have always set the brakes before shifting to park but frankly I don't trust either one of them on a serious grade. Not sure if I didn't have it in park, or if the pin failed when that happened but either way the parking brake didn't get it done.

Grab a hunk of 4x4. Its more portable than a set of ramps and would be as effective for this purpose.

[GM_Guy]

Tell the neighbour that her snow, or her snow plow driver is not welcome on your property. I harbor a deep hate for most all residential plow drivers as they illegally spread the snow on the road, or push the snow onto somebody elses property, or in your case, is he going to clear the end of your driveway of the snow he packs down making your shovelling miserable?

Alex.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

I guess there's no particular issue with what's under the valve covers?

There shouldn't really be anything under there anyways - the heads have oil drainage holes in the bottom corners, so any oil under the valve covers should find its way down into the crankcase well before it reaches as high as the VC gaskets...

Also I wouldn't trust the 4-by-4 on a steep driveway as I've seen them roll, I'm thinking your basic wheel chocks would be more effective since by the time the tires are trying to push them to roll over they're also pushing them harder into the ground.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

Tell the neighbour that her snow, or her snow plow driver is not welcome on your property.

is he going to clear the end of your driveway of the snow he packs down making your shovelling miserable?

There is that as well - if the plow is not cleaning your driveway as well just tell them both to go pound sand, there's no reason why you should be more inconvenienced just to make their life/job easier.

[IPreferDIY]

... Grab a hunk of 4x4. Its more portable than a set of ramps and would be as effective for this purpose.

I happen to have a couple of pieces that I use for jacking purposes. I'll see how things go when the time comes.

Tell the neighbour that her snow, or her snow plow driver is not welcome on your property. I harbor a deep hate for most all residential plow drivers as they illegally spread the snow on the road, or push the snow onto somebody elses property, or in your case, is he going to clear the end of your driveway of the snow he packs down making your shovelling miserable?

Alex.

The big problem has been the municipal drivers. They tend to leave snow banks in front of my car. With my car right at the end of the driveway, that at least prevents the snow banks from ending up in the driveway.

I don't really know what the neighbor's plow guy is feeding her. I have a hard time imagining how the position of my car affects his work. But, she can be a "nasty woman", so I'll play along and see how things go.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

It's your driveway, he has no right to access it. If he can't do his job without trespassing onto other people's property and inconveniencing them he needs to either improve his skills, or change his equipment (for example regular cab shortbed truck works great for tight residential areas due to maneuverability, whereas a 4-door longbed makes clearing out wide parking lots a breeze cause you can fly at high speed and truck is still stable), or both. And she can take her nastiness and shove it where the sun never shines, neighbors should help neighbors not try to tell them what to do and not to do like some overlord.

Tho honestly I'd always go for keeping the car as far away from the street and any dangers it hides as possible - way too much stupid going on there, better leave it as large of a buffer zone as possible.

[IPreferDIY]

It's not that he wants to use my driveway, it's apparently a matter of needing to come as close to the curb as possible without risking damage to my car. I still think it's bs, but she came over with a coconut chocolate treat for me while I was working on my car with the front end in the street for levelness. She's kind of like a Jekyll and Hyde person: tries to be nice when it suits her purposes but can be nasty when it comes to my landlady's messiness (sometimes deservedly so, but oftentimes just being a property Nazi). I'm living in an illegal basement apartment in a largely orthodox Jewish neighbourhood with big houses where one would think people would have a shit fit about the car work I do, but thankfully everyone's been cool about it.

Speaking of stupid on the street, when I had my car up on ramps with the front end in the street for levelness for a prolonged period when doing either my front or rear end stuff, some idiot went racing by one early morning and hit an older female pedestrian down the street while I was in bed. There was a cop car sitting on the side of the road a few houses down from me for awhile, but no-one said anything about my car. (I've even seen a parking enforcement officer go by relatively recently without showing any concern about me working on the front end in the street.) It's otherwise a pleasantly tame neighbourhood, and there hasn't been much to worry about.

[His Royal Ghostliness]

Oh, so she brought you a version of cookies - she knows her stuff then, that's the international symbol of peace Joke aside it sounds like it's really not that big of a deal, I'd say just move the car and call it good. It will keep the neighbor happy, it will keep the plow guy happy (I bet he's worried about his rear axle hitting ice and sliding out on him, having put a truck in a ditch myself by hitting the exhaust brake at the wrong place/time I think that's a very valid concern on his part), and you'll probably be happier as well knowing you have more distance between your car and whatever dangers the public street may present.

If you're sorta but not really worried about code enforcement people, instead of steep car ramps or wheel chocks use a pair of cheap RV leveling platforms - just a few inches height may be all you need, yet they're not tall enough to attract unnecessary attention and make people think the car is unstable/unsafe cause one end is way up in the air.