flat towing 96 4runner manual trans & tc

[sweet trav]

I'm getting different "opinions" from a variety of different sources on whether to disconnect the drive shafts for flat towing my 4runner. (2 most reliable sources in my view) Called remco and they said it's good to go just put trans and transfercase in neutral. Then I called marlin crawler and they said disconnect the drive shafts but gave no reason why (which is what I get from everyone who says disconnect, it seems to be more precautionary rather than actually needed). Does anyone have any real data or information on this situation? I know it's only 4 bolts (or 8 if I disconnect both front and rear ds) but I'd like to know just for my own info. Thanks for any hard data...opinions are welcome but will not be taken as hard data.

...a couple pics of our setup going from socal to yosemite and then to lake tahoe...

 

[keezer37]

I've seen plenty of small "get around" vehicles towed behind motorhomes and given the average age of the people that I see drive these things (68 I'd venture to guess), I can't imagine grandpa makes a habit of removing and reinstalling the driveshaft when it's time to hit the road.

 

[SilverBullet]

I research this heavily last spring for my summer trip. I came to the opinnion that disconnecting has no ill effects on mine (AT) while leaving them MAY have some bad effects. 1000 miles, I played it safe. Of course, the death wobble pushed the F250 off the road, so it went slowly home and was not towed more than 50 miles, not sure what happened, but the 4runner (at least mine) did not like being dragged. FWIW, be careful.

 

[sweet trav]

yeah, I've been trying to find some solid info on this setup but no one seems to be able to give definative info, although I think that remco is probably the most reliable with their manuals and that is what they deal with. My setup is a bit different thatn most 4runners in that my tc is manual and therefore I can just put it in neutral along with the trans. It did great on our test run but that was only maybe 10-15 miles. I was gonna disconect the ds but those nuts/bolts weren't budging. I might just disconnect to play it safe but it realy doesn't seem necessary...although I gues peace of mind is worth the disconnect time and effort.

 

[sweet trav]

anyone have anymore info on this???

 

[dms1]

Unless you have manual locking front hubs, you should use a tow dolly and remove the rear drive shaft. On my 85 4Runner I pull the rear driveshaft and use a tow dolly (even though I have manual hubs) because towing all four down puts tremendous strain on your steering components. I can disconnect the driveshaft on my 85 runner in 5 minutes as Ive done it hundreds of times.

When I get around to towing my 99 4Runner I will use the tow dolly and remove the rear drive shaft - however since I have not removed it yet I don't know what is involved.

I do know that if you don't remove the rear drive shaft the bearings in the transfer case will not get lubed properly because the transmission needs to be engaged for it to be lubricated, the drive shaft turning will nut lubricate the transfer case bearings.

You should search on Marlins Board as they have posted the reasons why the drive shafts need to be removed and manual hubs be unlocked for flat towing. Doing a little extra-research is much cheaper than replacing or rebuilding your transfer case.

Good luck

 

[sweet trav]

Thanks for the info! I was just curious why I shouldn't tow with the ds connected and even when I called marlin they didn't explain the reasons but simply said to disconnect the ds so I figured it was just a precautionary step but not really needed.

I'll check out their forum, thanks again.

 

[SilverBullet]

yeah, I've been trying to find some solid info on this setup but no one seems to be able to give definative info, although I think that remco is probably the most reliable with their manuals and that is what they deal with. My setup is a bit different thatn most 4runners in that my tc is manual and therefore I can just put it in neutral along with the trans. It did great on our test run but that was only maybe 10-15 miles. I was gonna disconect the ds but those nuts/bolts weren't budging. I might just disconnect to play it safe but it realy doesn't seem necessary...although I gues peace of mind is worth the disconnect time and effort.

My TC is a manual too, so I still aired on the side of safety.

 

[sweet trav]

ok, for anyone interested...finally figured out (by crawling under there and testing some things) that the f ds is disengaged when the tc is in 2H and therefore when towing just keep the tc in 2H and dont disconnect the f ds, the rear does have to be disconnected due to it rotating during towing and not properly lubing the bearing/seal in the tc. I might just disconnect the entire r ds and put it in the 4runner while towing since it's only 8 bolts (but they're SUPER tight!).

So, to sum up, we'll flat tow with the tranny in neutral (5spd) and the tc in 2H with the front ds fully connected and the rear ds disconnected.

BTW- the front ds is engaged by vacuum only when the tc is NOT in 2H (or it IS engaged in any other position on the tc including neutral).

 

[SilverBullet]

Cool, with my AT, the front DS still spins in 2H on the manual tranny (ADD) so good to hear.

Save the time of 4 bolts, just undo the rear bolts and strap teh DS up to the frame.

 

[AlexJet]

I talked to Toyota some time ago and found that in Auto the oil circulates only when input shaft is rotated, so if driveshaft are not disconected you have AT and TC rotating with no oil support = BAD. Eliminating driveshafts makes towing the same as stand parking from engine/tranny/TC point of view as they don't get rotation. The only thing may affect is ABS sensors as they may give data about rotating tires while everything else is stand still, but with ignition off it shouldn't be affective. I'd pull the battery cable off just as precaution.

 

[ckblum]

Not only those reasons but disconnecting d-shafts keeps your odometer from racking up all those towed miles.

 

[corax]

A bit late to the party, but you can only flat tow a manual trans with manual locking hubs in the "unlock" position and the transfer case in neutral - anything else you'll need to unbolt the drivesahft from the differential (front and rear, strap 'em to the frame or remove completely) to keep the trans/transfer case from spinning.

Here was my first Toy w/ the JCWhitney tow bar many years ago - now I use a tow dolly (but not for the truck anyway)