[newbi]

Hi.
I'm not mechanically inclined what-so-ever! Hubby and I are start starting to restore my 1979 Plymouth Arrow GS (2.6L). We have her jacked up and when we turned on the car I noticed that the passenger side back wheel was turning!
Can anyone tell me why?

 

[TWX]

I don't know much about the Arrow, I assume that it's rear wheel drive...

In the Mopar-domestic RWD cars, the input and output shafts of the transmission are not completely isolated from each other. There's a bearing or ball bearing between the shafts depending on year and model. If the transmission is in neutral rather than in park or if the park pawl is broken then I could see how it may be possible for an unloaded driveline to begin to move a little if the car has a torque converter with a low stall speed. As for why only one wheel, since it probably has an open differential in the rear axle, if one side has smoother bearings or less resistance from brakes that the other, that side would be where rotation manifests.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Plymouth Arrow was front-wheel drive, so unless someone butchered it into RWD, any rotation of the back wheels is just free spinning, and setting the parking brake will stop it, if the parking brake works.

 

[KOG]

Ah, that name was used on RWD for several years. Mitsubishis and the 2.6 "Fire Arrow" was pretty quick in its day.

 

[newbi]

I've confirmed that my 1979 Plymouth Arrow is a RWD. Check out the facts at this address... http://www.allpar.com/model/arrow.html
She is up on jacks and we had her in neutral. She's a five speed, standard. She looks pretty good underneath. We know her parking brake needs repairing, in addition to her brake pads. Other than that, she just needs a really good cleaning underneath. Engine is great too, again just needs a good cleaning.
Any other suggestions as to what we should check out to see why that one tire is turning?

 

[KOG]

It's just friction and oil drag in the transmission, nothing unusual. One rear brake may be dragging slightly, but also nothing unusual.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Correct, my car does this for a few minutes when cold, and stops turning when warmed up.