Towing a 120 Prado auto

[Ovensy Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Ovensy]

I was just asking the question if you break down in a 120 series auto can it be towed? Do you disconnect front and rear tail shafts and slip the auto into neutral.
I am asking this cause if you are in a remote situation you won't get a flat bed out to you back to civilisation. I have looked on the web and can't find anything close to my question.

Cheers Ovensy

[Guest Close Guest]

Transmission and transfer case needs to be in neutral.

[Craigo72 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Craigo72]

Yep, transfer in neutral, won't matter where the shifter is then.

[Whitey1 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey1]

If your going to tow it any real distance(over 50km) remove both driveshafts. then it doesn't matter where the gear lever is. If you dont remove the driveshafts, no matter if its in neutral, things are still spinning around in there without proper lubrication.

[Craigo72 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Craigo72]

Disagree with you on that one Whitey, putting the transfer in neutral will disengage within the transfer case putting no drive at all to the transmission. The idea behind removing the tail shaft on an auto car is because it relies on the engine running to drive the oil pump, usually driven off the torque converter. Transfer cases are just like a manual gearbox that is splash fed. No drama towing without removing the shafts, that's a waste of time.

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

When my engine went south, whilst I was up north, I rang my dealer and asked the chief mechanic. I was advised to drop both shafts which I did for the big tow home. But they couldn't actually explain to me why I should drop them. Surely, if the transfer is in neutral, then there will be no moving bits other than the wheels, axles, and drive shafts. If the car won't move when the transfer is in neutral with engine running and auto box in drive then my way of thinking is that if the wheels are turning the axles and shafts which are driving the transfer which is disconnected from the box then where's the problem?

[Whitey1 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Whitey1]

Ah yes good point. I stand corrected.

[Terry Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Terry]

Re: towing a prado

Yeap auto in N transfer in N and tow it anywhere

[Corigator Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Corigator]

What about auto in park transfer in N to be sure nothing is moving in the gearbox?

[cfryback Find all posts View Profile Close cfryback]

What about auto in park transfer in N to be sure nothing is moving in the gearbox?

That is only good on a flat tray, the thread is about towing behind another vehicle. Besides, wouldn't you destroy the Auto Park prawl?


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[adrian5800 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close adrian5800]

Transfer cases are just like a manual gearbox that is splash fed.

Careful there with that assumption, some manual boxes have an oil pump running from the layshaft.




Ades

[geograzza Member Find all posts View Profile Close geograzza]

I'm not sure of the answer to this, but the thought occurred to me that with the transfer in N obviously nothing is connected to the transmission, but could the axles still be locked to each other? The reason I question this, is that the transfer case shift pattern is H (unlocked) - HL - N - LL. Because N is between the two locked positions, I wonder if the front/rear axles are still locked to each other, and the only thing unlocked is the linkage to the transmission. If this is the case, then it would be advisable to remove at least one driveshaft. Can anyone advise for sure?

[geograzza Member Find all posts View Profile Close geograzza]

Further to my previous post, I just jumped in my car, and noticed that the centre-diff-lock lamp on the dash stays lit, even when the transfer box is in N, so it very well could be the case that the front & rear axles are still locked to each other.

[Chriso57 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chriso57]

When my engine went south, whilst I was up north, I rang my dealer and asked the chief mechanic. I was advised to drop both shafts which I did for the big tow home. But they couldn't actually explain to me why I should drop them. Surely, if the transfer is in neutral, then there will be no moving bits other than the wheels, axles, and drive shafts. If the car won't move when the transfer is in neutral with engine running and auto box in drive then my way of thinking is that if the wheels are turning the axles and shafts which are driving the transfer which is disconnected from the box then where's the problem?

Bushy - jack your car up, start the engine and leave the trans in Neutral (auto or manual doesnt matter). Release the hand brake. 9 times out of 10 you will get some limited roll over of the drive wheels. Some vehicles more than others.Im a mechanic not an engineer so my thoughts are that the fluid is dragging amongst the gears and causing the energy transfer. In an auto trans/transfer case situation you could potentially be turning the output shaft of the auto which could cause severe damage to the unlubricated bushes etc. Especially if towing for a long distance at sustained speed.Best idea is to remove the shafts if you are going to tow long distance.HTH Chriso

[Chriso57 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chriso57]

What about auto in park transfer in N to be sure nothing is moving in the gearbox?

That is only good on a flat tray, the thread is about towing behind another vehicle. Besides, wouldn't you destroy the Auto Park prawl?Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free

Corigator is probably on the money here.With the Auto in Park the park pawl is locking the trans output shaft. Nothing will be turned by the wheels provided the transfer case is in neutral. Thats how I would probably suggest towing it if I had to.Chriso