| Author |
Message |
Dick Bell (Richardkan)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 04, 2005 - 5:47 pm: | |
O.K. Here's a new wrinkle to me regarding the towability of your favorite vehicle with a "NON-TOWABLE" automatic transmission.
I have an acquaintance that says he has figured out how to tow any vehicle four wheels down.
From what I understand, the reason that vehicles are not recommended for towing is that the all parts of the transmission do not receive the required oiling and therefore will cause failure in short order. His secret was to install a reservoir under the hood that holds automatic transmission fluid. This is plumbed to the transmission cooling line going to the radiator with a "T" fitting. A manual valve is placed between the fitting and the reservoir.
Prior to towing the vehicle, the valve is opened and the reservoir empties its fluid contents by gravity into the system. This overfills the transmission to the point that all moving parts are covered with fluid.
When it comes time to drive the toad, the engine is started, the valve is again opened and the transmissions pump pressurizes the line and refills the reservoir.
I am a little skeptical of the whole scenario, but he swears that he has towed his Caravan thousands of miles with no ill effects to the drive train.
I am sure there are plenty of auto trans experts reading this post and the rest of us would welcome your input. Is this doable? Many inquiring minds would like to know. |
TWODOGS (Twodogs)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 04, 2005 - 6:38 pm: | |
I know a guy that takes 4 bolts out & the driveshaft comes off...sounds much simpler |
Richardkan (Richardkan)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 04, 2005 - 7:09 pm: | |
You're right, a driveshaft is removable. But I'm talking about most cars made today. Front wheel drive. On top of that, even if your toad does have a drive shaft, I would think raising the hood is a lot simpler than crawling underneath and wrenching. |
john w. roan (Chessie4905)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 04, 2005 - 7:17 pm: | |
used to be able to buy an electric pump that circulated trans. fluid while towing. Towed our Ciera for 30,000 with no problems |
Vin (Billybonz)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 04, 2005 - 7:18 pm: | |
Dick, many front wheel drive cars have automatic transmissions that get their lube only when the engine is running. Towing the car doesn't get the lubrication to the required areas so there are aux. pumps that can be installed. Not sure that overfilling the tranny would accomplish that. The pump that I saw was wired into the coach embilical cord.
Even my 2wd manual trans Geo Tracker can't be towed 4 down without first removing the drive shaft, but a 4wd manual Tracker can. Just depends on the vehicles design.
Bones |
John that newguy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 04, 2005 - 8:02 pm: | |
here: http://www.remcotowing.com/lube.asp
I have one. I used it with two Caravans. I'll remove it when
I get rid of the present van and use it in the next one. It's
the best thing for towing 4-down with an automatic. |
Jim Stacy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 04, 2005 - 8:35 pm: | |
Remember drive trains are not as simple as "the good old days". Many vehicles cannot use the Remco pump or the drive line disconnects they sell. Varies with make and model. Remco will tell you what works.
Tranny fluid extra tank idea has been around for years. Not reccommended by any vehicle mfr. Might work on your tranny, might be a $2000 experiment. FWIW
Jim Stacy |
TWODOGS (Twodogs)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 04, 2005 - 8:59 pm: | |
If I had the money...I would just buy an old car & leave it down here...the Eagle is SOOO much fun to drive without the toad..been comeing down here for 8 winters...seems silly to tow back & forth...Los Indios is one block long... |
Chuck Newman (Chuck_newman)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, March 04, 2005 - 10:59 pm: | |
Dick,
As Jim said, someone makes (or did make) a commercial version of the gravity feed of fluid from a reservoir higher than the tranny. In the mid 90's it was advertised in either MotorHome or FMCA magazine. Don't remember the asking price. Haven't seen it for several years. Don't know how effective it was.
Chuck Newman
Oroville, CA |
Johnny
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 05, 2005 - 12:32 am: | |
Rather than deal with funky disconnects, tanks, pumps, etc., I'm just going to tow a 4x4. |
Jim-Bob (Pd41044039)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 05, 2005 - 9:42 am: | |
I have an older BMW automatic that I would like to tow. But they don't make a driveshaft disconnect.
So I was reading the manual about the trans & it says the car can be towed no more than 30 miles in Neutral. To tow farther than that, it instructs you to overfill the trans by one quart, and says to drain it back to correct level before driving. The book lists no limits on towing distance when flooded.
That would seem to be just what the tank device does. No manufacturer is going to approve something that they don't sell. The lawyers & bean counters won't approve anything that might cost them money (warranty or lawsuits) if there's no profit in it for them.
Jim-Bob |
TWODOGS (Twodogs)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 05, 2005 - 10:08 am: | |
does a bmw have a drain valve on the trans. pan ??most cars DO NOT |
Johnny
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 05, 2005 - 10:39 am: | |
They're easy enough to add. |
Richardkan (Richardkan)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 05, 2005 - 2:34 pm: | |
As far as aftermarket trans circulator pumps go, I doubt if any vehicle manufacturer recommends using them either. I agree that a runaround vehicle waiting at your destination would be the most desireable. I'm speaking for the people that would like to travel with their favorite vehicle in tow.
Still am inviting any auto trans specialists to check in here.
By the way 2D, as you said, my Eagle is an absolute blast to drive. |
Gary Carter
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 05, 2005 - 4:08 pm: | |
Do not try doing this with a Ford or most GMs. A little know truth about the Chrysler transmission is that they can be towed 4 down without modification.
The reason is the torque convertor drains back into the transmission when the engine is not running, therefore overfilling the transmission and providing lub to all the parts.
Most Chrysler service centers are aware of this if asked the correct way, but it does void the warranty.
Now here is the kicker, if you like to drive fast or in hot areas you can burn up the transmission fluid.
The Remco pump with move the oil thru the cooler and keep the oil from overheating.
I do know of a number of real life folks towing Chrysler mini-vans without any addition equipment. One van has been towed over 100K miles and still working flawlessly.
If you do this make sure you only use the oil type recommended by Chrysler. |
Stephen Fessenden (Sffess)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 05, 2005 - 7:58 pm: | |
If anyone is seriously thinking of keeping a vehicle at the destination, it would be best if it were diesel. Diesels always start after sitting. Todays gasoline gums too fast to let a car sit. I have restarted Mercedes Diesels after they sat for up to two years with just a new battery. Oh, and anyone can afford one now. The 1981-1985 300SDs are going at very low prices now because the used car market is flooded. Best engines they ever built. |
Johnny
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 05, 2005 - 8:36 pm: | |
"If you do this make sure you only use the oil type recommended by Chrysler."
Do this REGARDLESS of whether you tow the car! Anything but ATF+3 or better will, repeat WILL destroy the transmission. Half a pint of Dexron is all it takes. |
Vin (Billybonz)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, March 05, 2005 - 10:22 pm: | |
Here is a towing guide:
http://www.towingworld.com/towables.html
Why would they suggest doing this:
After 200 miles, the engine must be started and allowed to idle for more than three minutes before driving or continuing to tow.
Could this be to cool the trans down? Seems like many 4WD vehicles listed have this procedure listed...just wondering.
Bones |
Jim-Bob (Pd41044039)
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 06, 2005 - 6:05 am: | |
Aha! Saw a Chrysler minivan being towed by somebody delivering a new truck just last week. Wondered what they had done to be able to do that.
Starting the toad every 200 miles wouldn't seem that bad. That's about every 4-5 hours. We usually stop to stretch & de-water the dogs about every 4 hours.
If you don't want to stop, why not install one of those remote start systems on the toad? Then just hit the remote while you're driving along, and shut it off after a few minutes. Some enterprising guy is going to build a system with a timer that will automatically do this while the toad is rolling.
Jim-Bob |
Johnny
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, March 06, 2005 - 11:24 am: | |
Honda (among others) says to start the car & run it to circulate oil through the transmission. |
john wood
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, March 07, 2005 - 10:52 pm: | |
I had an old caravan that I towed probably 30000 mi or so using the flooding technique. Built my own tank with 6" pvc pipe and caps and worked fine. My caravan was a junker with many miles on it before I towed it. As is typical with these chrysler vehicles, the tranny died at about 130000.
(I conferred with a tranny builder. We looked at the innards of a similar transaxle and figured 3 extra qts covered all the bearings.)
Hope this helps.
John |