REAL NEWBIE QUESTION bout TRANNY

[Hus5LaH01]

Hey ,
I had a question about the tranny, WHAT IS IT? i heard that you can mess it up when you tow yer AWD car w/o the flatbed, what is it exactly?
thanks

 

[Hus5LaH01]

ok...just some slang for transmission? maybe? well whats the worse thing that can happen with a #@%#@%#@%#@%ed up tranny? like i towed my car once, w.o a flatbed(IT WAS THE ONLY THING I COULD DO) like what could it affect?

 

[MC-97-GSX]

The Tranny, (transmission) is part of the drivetrain, it is the actual gearbox, it holds the 5 forward gears and the 1 reverse gear, if you tow without a flatbed, ur car probably wont be AWD anymore .

 

[sparrow]

awd has a rear differential (axel) and a driveshaft that connects it to the tranny. When the car rolls with the car off, the driveshaft spins inside the tranny, while the tranny isnt pumping fluid. You might be fine for a really short distance at low speeds, but anything more u better get it on a flatbed.

If you really wanted to tow it, like behind a truck with a chain and u steering, u would need to disconnect the ujoint where the driveshaft connects to the rear dif.

I dont have AWD though, so dont take that as expert truth, its more of just an educated guess. Someone back me up or prove me wrong?

 

[Tevenor]

Originally posted by sparrow
awd has a rear differential (axel) and a driveshaft that connects it to the tranny. When the car rolls with the car off, the driveshaft spins inside the tranny, while the tranny isnt pumping fluid. You might be fine for a really short distance at low speeds, but anything more u better get it on a flatbed.

Pumping fluid? Close but no cigar.

The AWD have a Viscous Coupler that is uses to normalize rear wheel speed with the front wheel speed. The concept is that as teh two spin at different rates, the fluid becomes more viscous and 'makes' both the front wheels and rear wheels spin at the same rate. Hence AWD vs 4WD. (Note: Its a lot more complicated than this but you get the idea).

Now when you tow an AWD with 2 wheels on the ground, the fluid heats up and becomes more viscous, trying to turn the other wheels. Unfortunately this isn't going to happen so the fluid heats up even more. Eventually it burns up and no longer gives your your AWD. This is bad.

If you need the car towed, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS flatbed it. If you call a tow truck company, specifically ask for a flatbed (even though any tow company worth their salt should know).

 

[mrmadmax]

Originally posted by Tevenor


...The AWD have a Viscous Coupler that is uses to normalize rear wheel speed with the front wheel speed... ...ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS flatbed it. If you call a tow truck company, specifically ask for a flatbed (even though any tow company worth their salt should know).

Amen.

If they show up with an ordinary wrecker, tell them they need to use the dollies (small wheelset used to keep all wheels off of the ground). I've done this many times (former tow truck driver) and it's the only other way.

 

[Hus5LaH01]

thanks guys how do you know if yer car isnt AWD "anymore" what kinds things can you notice at first?

 

[Hus5LaH01]

oh yeah how could it be possibly repaired if thats messed up?

 

[sparrow]

Originally posted by Tevenor


Pumping fluid? Close but no cigar.

The AWD have a Viscous Coupler that is uses to normalize rear wheel speed with the front wheel speed. The concept is that as teh two spin at different rates, the fluid becomes more viscous and 'makes' both the front wheels and rear wheels spin at the same rate. Hence AWD vs 4WD. (Note: Its a lot more complicated than this but you get the idea).

Now when you tow an AWD with 2 wheels on the ground, the fluid heats up and becomes more viscous, trying to turn the other wheels. Unfortunately this isn't going to happen so the fluid heats up even more. Eventually it burns up and no longer gives your your AWD. This is bad.

If you need the car towed, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS flatbed it. If you call a tow truck company, specifically ask for a flatbed (even though any tow company worth their salt should know).

2 wheels on the ground? Ok, so what would happen if u towed it with 4 wheels on the ground? And how much difference if its a manual or auto. I'd like to know for my own piece of mind. Plan on gettin a GSX real soon.

 

[Tevenor]

Answer this question and you should have your answer:

When you tow a car with all 4 wheels on the ground, do all 4 wheels spin at the same rate?

Want you want to avoid is having 2 wheels stationary and 2 moving. So having all 4 turning at the same rate is good. Having all 4 not turning is good. Anything else is bad. And it doesn't matter if its auto or manual.