Towing broken down FWD & AWD

[Oreopride18]

I've wondered about this (no, I don't park in "No Parking" zones)

If my AWD gets towed by two wheels and the differential gets fried do I have to pay for the damage done or would it come out of the private property/towing companies pocket?

 

[My99LaserAWD]

i had my car towed the wrong way and my rear diff locked also, but it came loose after a lil bit, hasnt seemsed to give me problems since, but in sure theres probabaly like metal chunks in my diff, is it that bad if i still keep driving it? ive had NO problems no noise no traction problems nuttin

 

[My99LaserAWD]

ohh the car also wasnt towed that far im pretty sure the guy noticed the car was awd after the rear lock, and they ended up toowing it on a flat bed, and i alwaso havent check for damage but i mean as far as driving it goes i noticed no change

 

[Mjag60e]

I have to tow a AWD about 500 miles and only have a two wheel dolly. Is it possibly to remove the drive shaft from the transfer case going to the rear differential and not have any damage? Or how about removing the half shafts from the differential to the rear wheels? Anybody with any experience in this...I know I should flatbed this thing but don't have the resource. Thanks for the room.

 

[toddinsb]

i don't have any firsthand knowledge but i do know you have a two options.
1. Remove the Transfer Case and Driveshaft from the car
2. Unbolt the Driveshaft from the Rear Diff and hang it up so it's not dragging on the road.


I'm working on a system to use one of these techiniques to dyno a car like mine on a two-wheel drive dyno.

 

[Mjag60e]

Thanks for the response. So you think it's okay for the rear differential to spin with the tires if I remove the drive shaft from the transfer case? That to me sounds like the simplest way...don't want to have to remove the transfer case at where I am buying the car...messy!

 

[Defiant]

You might check prices with a regular auto transporter, if you haven't. It might be worth it in the hassle vs. safety equation.

 

[4pistons]

The easiest way to do it with the least amount of work and stress on components is to drain the rear diff, remove the axles and let the hubs freewheel just like the rear wheels on a FWD. Just be sure to only unbolt the axle with the small bolts that attach to the cup. Don't remove the cup and the big nut inside it.

Dropping the Xfer case and driveshaft is a pain in the ass and then the rear diff and axles still spin and heat up.

Rick - '91 GSX

 

[4pistons]

The above advice is for the 1G AWD. You didn't state what year car you were towing. The 2Gs would be a little more involved to remove the axles. I'm not sure you can and still tow it.

Rick - '91 GSX

 

[Sotarts]

Flatbed will save you a headache.

 

[AWDPetmitsu]

Just rent a trailer and save yourself the aggravation and worries.

 

[airraid]

the way we did my freinds awd ws to disconnect the driveshaft from the rear axle. By removeing the 4 bolts that connect it and zip tieing it out of the way. had no problems and everything went smoothly.

 

[westwind1124]

ok i have the same problem here except I only have to tow it about 25 to 30 miles. Is that distance even worth messing with or will i still mess up the transfer case over such a short distance. I can maybe get a trailer but if its not going to hurt anything just to use a two wheel dolly that would be great.

thanks
Brent

 

[4pistons]

You can damage the Viscous Coupling not the Transfer Case. ANY distance that could cause the VC to overheat can ruin it. What is that distance?? Who the hell knows cause no one is going risk the damage for a lousy tow.

DON"T DO IT!!

Rick - '91 GSX

 

[white20gfwd]

i am planning on moving my car from NY to Penn. its about an 8 hour drive. i wanted to know if i could just pull the rear drive shaft and get a unit from u-haul or somthing. any info would be helpful

 

[Morphius]

Originally posted by white20gfwd
i am planning on moving my car from NY to Penn. its about an 8 hour drive. i wanted to know if i could just pull the rear drive shaft and get a unit from u-haul or somthing. any info would be helpful

Yes, I've done this numerous times. This is the preferred method.

If not possible (ie can't get a dolly or full trailer) you can tow them using a tow bar. However note the following:

Auto tranny, The car MUST be running. The trans fluid needs to be cooled. Let the engine run with the car in Neutral.

Manual tranny, Nothing needed here. Car doesn't need to be running. Cooling fins on external body of trans do as intended. Cool. Whether it's running or not.

 

[Defiant]

Originally posted by Morphius
If not possible (ie can't get a dolly or full trailer) you can tow them using a tow bar. However note the following:

Auto tranny, The car MUST be running. The trans fluid needs to be cooled. Let the engine run with the car in Neutral.

Oh hell, there go the cell phones as soon as some pinhead sees a wisp of smoke... "Eeeek, he's towing a car and he doesn't know IT'S ON FIRE!!"


sigh.

 

[white20gfwd]

i dotn have a tow bar but i can get a thing from u-haul that holds just the front wheels and the back ones are on the ground. its very cheap but i didnt want to hurt anything on the car.

 

[FiReBReTHa]

good luck on renting that, i got some price quotes and saw i could BUY a CHEAP ass flat bed for the same price. why not see if you can get it taken up there, some guys might only charge like a 100-200 or something

 

[Morphius]

Originally posted by FiReBReTHa
good luck on renting that, i got some price quotes and saw i could BUY a CHEAP ass flat bed for the same price. why not see if you can get it taken up there, some guys might only charge like a 100-200 or something

I rented on for around $125. Made a one-way rental. 1400 miles. 4 states away. So, given his close proximity. It should cost less than that.

 

[98RedGs]

Originally posted by Morphius
I rented on for around $125. Made a one-way rental. 1400 miles. 4 states away. So, given his close proximity. It should cost less than that.

Consider purchasing a trailer?
You could use a trailer to tow the car plus your stuff up there.

Originally posted by Defiant
Oh hell, there go the cell phones as soon as some pinhead sees a wisp of smoke... "Eeeek, he's towing a car and he doesn't know IT'S ON FIRE!!"

.............. .................... :laugh:

 

[white20gfwd]

ok guys we got off topic. i just want to know how to tow a awd dsm with a front wheel dolly.

 

[Morphius]

Originally posted by white20gfwd
ok guys we got off topic. i just want to know how to tow a awd dsm with a front wheel dolly.

Like you specified in your first post. Disconnect the driveshaft from the rear diff. Besure to chain it up good.

You'll be good to go.

 

[whitetalontsi]

We just disconnected the driveshaft on my buddy's 90 AWD. Hooked it up to a dolly from UHAUL and locked it in good and tight. We didn't have any problems whatsoever during the 4 hr tow.

 

[NOAHSR10]

sure why not...

http://members.shaw.ca/costall/1000Q/answers-genops.htm#towinganAWD

 

[unlikely hero]

Ok well I just bought a tsi awd and the headgasket it blown on it. Well I live 400 miles away so I need to tow it back. Only way I can do that(that I can afford) is by dolly. So I'm going to need to disattach the drive shaft. I looked under there for a bit and it looks like you can easily do that where the driveshaft bolts to the rear end. Looks like theres like 6/8 12mm bolts. Do I just need to unbolt that, keep it from dragging, and thats it? Yea I know that i should use a flat bed but I don't have 900 bucks handy. Thanks
=Jason-