I have read all kinds of articles and posts on towing 4 flat with a manual trans. I realize that unhooking the driveline is the best scenario but I'm towing such a short distance, it's a little annoying. I have my motorhome parks 10-15 miles from where we do all of our camping and hunting. We drive the 89 truck to it, hook on to the motorhome and drive into camp. From what I gather, the trans can't really oil itself when in neutral but many say short distances is not a big deal. Once and for all.....will it be okay to tow in neutral 4 flat if I'm 10-15 miles and about 55 MPH? Also, it seems that my trans case doesn't have a neutral. Do I just leave it in 4H? Thanks!

 

it's your Transfer case output bearings..if you have to put transmission and transfer case in neutral.
I destroyed a transmission and transfer case when one of them went into gear because I was too lazy to unhook the D/S
Roll the dice

 

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but if you started the engine and left it idling in neutral wouldn't it lubricate properly? On such a short trip it's not like you'd burn a ton of fuel. Another option if you do this often would be a driveline quick disconnect kit, I'm not familiar with them but I know they are out there.

 

Mine is automatic, and with an automatic you must disconnect the driveshaft, because you can't back-drive the transmission (or the transfer case, in my case) without the hydraulic pump running in the transmission.

Which means, every tow truck driver out there disconnects drive-shafts 4-5 times / day. While lying in the snow. On the side of the embankment. In the dark.

I'm not a tow truck driver. So first I'd slide under my truck and match-mark the flanges (you only need to do it once). I have a pair of wrenches and some "baling" wire. That's all you need. It'll be faster than reading all these posts.

 

The transfer cases behind the manual transmissions have an oil pump that is driven from the input shaft. Therefore, you MUST leave the tcase in gear so that the output shaft drives the input shaft and thus the oil pump. Otherwise the tcase output shaft will get no lubrication. 10 miles is actually quite a distance to go with no lubrication.

The transmission is somewhat different. There appears to be no oil pump, so it's possible the transmission is splash lubricated and might be OK being towed in neutral. Toyota does not recommend this, however, so I can't either. Leaving the engine running in neutral will turn the transmission input shaft and presumably improve lubrication, but again, you're playing test engineer here, with limited budget and sample size of one.

Disconnecting the drive shaft is certainly the safest approach. Once you do it a time or two you'll get pretty good at it. Just remember to torque the bolts properly when you put it back together. They're special bolts and need more torque than feels normal for their size. You don't want it coming off while driving.

 

Maybe I'm being crazy about this really. It's 4-6 times a year and takes 5 mins max. It's not like I have to jack the thing up either. Hmmm......I may have answer my own question. Looks like my MANGINA got in the way on this one. LOL

Thanks guys!

 

Depending on the model, they're 54 or 56 ft-lbs. http://web.archive.org/web/201204171.../3propelle.pdf (I have a calibrated torque wrench, and I'm not sure I could reliably split that hair, but the Book says what it says.)

 

it sounds like you have decided to just pulled the shaft but I thought I would post some pics for motivation, here is what happened when i was too lazy to pull the rear d/s after a day of wet wheeling

not supposed to see the spline coupler from the transmission when you pulled the T/C


crappy pic but you can see the bearings have been roasted

 

Well that certainly settles it right there!!!! Thanks a ton for the scare and slap in the face!

 

Rule of thumb real wheel drive

Rear wheels on the ground The driveshaft comes off .

Then it is your vehicle if you feel lucky go for it!!!