towing an automatic

[enginewizard1969]

hi

my sister in law has a 1998 grand voyager 3.3 auto which has a problem with the gearbox . I need to get the car over to my place which is about 5 miles from where the car is. I have an a frame to tow the car but have been told that you cant tow an auto you will break the box. is this true if so I will have to find someone to recover it (trying to get it back without costing her too much!!) any feed back would gratefully received

[xbo11ox]

I don't think you'll have any problem towing it 5 miles, it depends what box it is but most, if not all, are OK to be towed up to 30 miles or so at 'sensible' speeds.

[tonycocacola]

what xboll said.
i had my '95 merc e220 towed 20 miles by the AA when the waterpump let go and the box was fine afterwards.

[bstardchild]

Problem with towing an auto is the internals spin with the prop but no fluid is pumped round

As other have said - keep the speed down and if the distance isn't far it'll be fine

from memory Vauxhall guidelines was 30mph and 20 miles but thats from dim memory

[cairyhunt]

What BC said!

Should be fine for 5 miles. Could always take the driveshafts of.

[loudandproud205]

Is the A frame one that lifts the front wheels of the floor?

If so you wont have an issue at all as the driven wheels are of the ground.

We towed my auto Jeep Cherokee 10 miles with no adverse effects.

[cobblers]

5 miles will be perfectly fine.

If it's already got a problem with the gearbox, then you are more than likely going to be just putting a salvage box on it anyway so I wouldn't worry. I can't really imagine you'd be spending cash money on a gearbox recon of the existing box on an old voyager?

[HARDCORE]

Apologies in advance if I've overlooked something that makes this a stupid idea, but couldn't you leave the engine running while you tow it in Neutral (so the ATF fluid is still pumped around) ?

[enginewizard1969]

thanks for the advise will try and get the car back this weekend. the a frame that I have is one that fixes onto the lower arms and drags the car on all four wheels

[chairchild]

As above - the problems come when the ATF isn't being pumped around - the torque convertor runs the auto gearbox's oil pump. As long as the engine itself still runs fine, just put it into neutral, and leave the engine running.

Depending on the design of the box', this would be fine to tow for hundreds of miles like this


There's actually a kit available in america, for when people tow their slushmatic gearbox'd cars behind their motorhomes, which consists of a small electric pump, that sucks from the sump, and T's into the ATF cooler lines, to keep fluid moving around the bearings and seals

[bstardchild]

Jan 5, 2012 12:48:58 GMT HARDCORE said:

Apologies in advance if I've overlooked something that makes this a stupid idea, but couldn't you leave the engine running while you tow it in Neutral (so the ATF fluid is still pumped around) ?

Good point sometimes even the obvious is overlooked - only autos I've ever towed have been Senator 24v'rs that have snapped the bloody timing chains so engines have been dead - proper dead

[ChasR]

Jan 5, 2012 12:48:58 GMT HARDCORE said:

Apologies in advance if I've overlooked something that makes this a stupid idea, but couldn't you leave the engine running while you tow it in Neutral (so the ATF fluid is still pumped around) ?

Some autoboxes AFAIK(I think the ZFs are some of them) only pump fluid around when a driven gear is engaged.

But for 5 miles you should be OK .

[bmboy]

I would avoid running the engine if the gearbox is anything like the one on my E24. Once you have it running the clutch plates pressurise and if the car is moving it will just destroy the A pack. Tow it with the engine off and 5 miles should be fine.

[mikezed]

I had to tow my wifes grand cherokee auto last summer, 15 miles at 30-40 mph, put it in nutral, and alls been well.

[thetattoostudio]

Couldn't get the prop of a c3 in a granny once, towed it from london to glasgow at the speed limit, replaced the dead engine, box was fine. Towed a renault 20 auto from wandsworth to battersea, about 3 miles at walking pace, box never worked again, coasted a bmw 740i auto down a hill in neutral with the engine on tick over, box siezed and locked the back wheels.

Moral of the story, if the manufacturer of the box doesn't recomend towing, don't tow....same goes for manual boxes, ive heard iveco boxes don't like being towed as they can wind up?

Also tow starting some vehicles, turning the stresses on the syncros the opposite direction.....hardly anyone considers that. best of luck though

[ChasR]

Jan 5, 2012 18:54:33 GMT bmboy said:

I would avoid running the engine if the gearbox is anything like the one on my E24. Once you have it running the clutch plates pressurise and if the car is moving it will just destroy the A pack. Tow it with the engine off and 5 miles should be fine.

That will be the ZF 4HP22 item. I thought it was only fitted to the E30 320i and 325i?

I only know as I have the mentioned gearbox on my Stag. Even an MOT tester I know was saying he was too scared to test such equipped cars on emmisions (I know Volvo and BMW outline a procedure on just how to go about testing a 4HP22 equipped car).

One thing can be said though. It is a much nicer drive than a BW Type 35!

Anyway, back on topic, but AFAIK alot of modern cars have rev limiters which are enabled in neutral and park to stop the clutch packs from dying.

[workinprogress]

just drop the prop off the back axle,,,10 minute job,,,problem solved,,,or take it off completely,,,sounds like your going to have to when you get it back to your place anyways.

if not keep it under 30mph and be as smooth as you can and no more than 10 miles or you wont be repairing the box you'll be replacing it as the valve bodies in the box will be burnt to death,

[xbo11ox]

Jan 7, 2012 17:38:26 GMT workinprogress said:

just drop the prop off the back axle,,,10 minute job,,,problem solved,,,or take it off completely,,,sounds like your going to have to when you get it back to your place anyways.

Good tip that (for rwd vehicles, which this is not)