| Author |
Message |
Jim Wilke (152.163.188.227)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 02, 2003 - 9:48 am: | |
Hi all,
I am considering the purchase of a diesel/manual shift Jetta. Does anyone tow one of these or know for certain if they are o.k. to tow 4 down?
Jim-Bob |
Henry R. Bergman, Jr. (Henryofcj) (65.194.145.39)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 02, 2003 - 6:07 pm: | |
Maybe you can. I will have you know my 1981 VW Rabbit Diesel has a Jetta engine. Or is it from a Golf? Forget which.
Anyway, If the diesel engine is sideways in the car, yes, you can tow it with all 4 wheels down.
If your engine is front to back, then I am not soossss sure. Need more input from others who know more.
My VW Rabbit came from an estate sale and they towed it thousands of miles on all 4 wheels behind a motorhome.
Good luck. Henry of CJ |
smoky (12.222.48.5)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 08, 2003 - 12:17 am: | |
Jim-Bob The VW Jetta has a tranverse drivetrain arrangement (same a rabbit) and is quite safe to flat tow however I would change trans fluid to synethic and make sure that that the transmission has no leaks what so ever! This transalxe holds a very small amount of fluid. I have seen toads that had a transmission leak have recive severe transmission damage while being towed because the driver had no idea there was a problem until the wheels of their toad locked up at 65 mph WOW!
Smoky |
Jim-Bob (12.46.52.74)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 10, 2003 - 2:41 pm: | |
Thanks Guys,
We went ahead & bought it. In addition to your comments, several people in the dealership including the service manager were completely certain that the stick shift car can be towed 4 down with no limit as to miles. The Service Mgr stated that towing had been considered by the VW engineers & the trans will self lubricate.
Good advice Smoky. This one doesn't leak. It's a 2003. (Mom's new ride!) I drive the beaters.
Henry, do you unplug anything to prevent it from racking up miles? The Dealer guys were unsure of this. |
FAST FRED (209.26.115.8)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 6:24 am: | |
REMCO frequently has kits to unplug the speedo electrically.
FAST FRED |
Jim-Bob (12.46.52.74)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 11, 2003 - 9:24 am: | |
Thanks Fred, I hadn't thought of that.
The dealer guys thought just unplugging might cause a fault code in the engine computer which would have to be cleared each time. Svc Mgr volunteered to set up a new one in the shop & do some tests. I'll let you know what they find out. |
Henry R. Bergman, Jr. (Henryofcj) (65.194.145.35)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2003 - 7:57 pm: | |
The prior owner did not unplug anything like the speedometer while towing. Road mileage was around 80K. Actual powered mileage about one half that.
He also had hung separate tail and brake lites like on a wrecker because of 3 prongs instead of 2 or something like that.
Your 2003 Golf probably has the newer seals allowing synethic oil in the tranny without all the normal leaks. Good luck. |
Jim Wilke (205.188.209.11)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 14, 2003 - 12:16 am: | |
Henry, you are right about the synthetic oil, at least for the engine. Synthetic is mandated for the diesel by VW! Not sure about the gearbox but I wouldn't be surprised.
Jim-Bob |
Jim Wilke (12.46.52.74)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 - 2:35 pm: | |
Well, the Volkswagen people got back to me about whether the car will rack up miles while being towed 4 down. It will.
If it's a diesel, they said to disconnect the battery to prevent that. BUT if it is a gas engine & you disconnect the battery (or have a dead one) the engine computer will have to be reprogrammed! The car will start but shut off immediately. It will have to be towed to a VW dealer. They said there have been some pretty irate owners!
Since I have the diesel, I am going to install a battery disconnect switch under the hood.
Jim Bob |
Gary Carter (68.26.230.97)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 24, 2003 - 1:08 pm: | |
You can also order a speedometer disconnect from Remco. Ihave used one for years. It get its 12vdc from the bus when hooked up. |
Jim-Bob (12.46.52.74)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 - 2:15 pm: | |
Not sure how that would work. Speedo is an electronic display. The odometer is in the engine computer now. Gets it's input from the Vehicle Speed Sensor. Pretty hard to fool it.
Jim-Bob |