2 questions: Car reverse made a crunch noise + Wind cause the door slammed

[James1087]

1. I was at give way and my front was sticking out too much so when I selected reverse there was a crunch noise.

Will it damage the gearbox or transmission due to the crunch noise in reverse gear? The car is a Vauxhall Astra,5 speed, manual transmission.

2. It is windy here in Scotland and when I was unpacking bags into the car but suddenly the wind forced the passenger car door to be slammed hard closed which cause the whole car to shake? I'm worried if it can damage the car door electrics or mechanical parts or windows/speakers.

[Dave B.]

1. I'm guessing that the car was parked in such a way that the 'drivetrain' was in a bit of a bind. Either that, or, maybe you didn't have the clutch pedal all the way to the floor. A little 'crunch' now and then shouldn't do any real damage to the gearbox, but I wouldn't make a habit of it.

2. The wind blowing the door closed is also a pretty normal occurrence in most windy places. While I try never to slam the doors on my vehicles, they're designed to take fairly rough treatment. I watched my neighbor (who was having a first-class snit at the time) slam her door so hard that the glass shattered. The door worked just fine afterward, but she did have to pay the deductible for a new window!!

Hope this helps!

Dave B.