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Flat towing harmful yes or no?

M

muddeprived

NAXJA Forum User
Location
PA
There's different opinions on another forum and I wanted to see what you guys say. This dude wants to flat tow his XJ. It's a 99 auto np231. I told him to put it in Park, t-case in neautral, and key to the position that unlocks the steering wheel. Another guy says flat towing xj is bad on the tranny unless you disconnect the driveshafts. Is this true?
 
Neutral in the transfer case disconnects the automatic transmission. That makes you good. Without the transfer case neutral, you would need to disconnect the driveshaft to keep the tranny from turning (with no oil pump running).

You are right, other guy is wrong. This is what makes XJ cool to haul behind a motor home.
 
muddeprived said:
There's different opinions on another forum and I wanted to see what you guys say. This dude wants to flat tow his XJ. It's a 99 auto np231. I told him to put it in Park, t-case in neautral, and key to the position that unlocks the steering wheel. Another guy says flat towing xj is bad on the tranny unless you disconnect the driveshafts. Is this true?
Click to expand...

winterbeater said:
Neutral in the transfer case disconnects the automatic transmission. That makes you good. Without the transfer case neutral, you would need to disconnect the driveshaft to keep the tranny from turning (with no oil pump running).

You are right, other guy is wrong. This is what makes XJ cool to haul behind a motor home.
Click to expand...
Yes, the reason you put the trans in park is that the fluid will still flow thru it, otherwise it would just burn up.. unless you did pull the d-shafts.
 
winterbeater said:
Neutral in the transfer case disconnects the automatic transmission. That makes you good. Without the transfer case neutral, you would need to disconnect the driveshaft to keep the tranny from turning (with no oil pump running).

You are right, other guy is wrong. This is what makes XJ cool to haul behind a motor home.
Click to expand...

This is why JEEPS are good for hauling around behind motorhomes.
 
Everything you need to know about towing is in the owner's manual. Tranny in Park, transfer case in neutral, steering wheel unlocked, parking brake off. It's really hard to tow if you leave the parking brake on and the rear brakes get very hot. I'm a little more attentive to the parking brake now.
 
PaulJ said:
Everything you need to know about towing is in the owner's manual. Tranny in Park, transfer case in neutral, steering wheel unlocked, parking brake off. It's really hard to tow if you leave the parking brake on and the rear brakes get very hot. I'm a little more attentive to the parking brake now.
Click to expand...

And please, please don't leave the dog tied to the XJ's rear bumper!
 
PaulJ said:
Everything you need to know about towing is in the owner's manual. Tranny in Park, transfer case in neutral, steering wheel unlocked, parking brake off. It's really hard to tow if you leave the parking brake on and the rear brakes get very hot. I'm a little more attentive to the parking brake now.
Click to expand...
joe_peters said:
And please, please don't leave the dog tied to the XJ's rear bumper!
Click to expand...
And don't leave your MIL on the roof in the rain. LOL
 
Always test and make sure the Jeep rolls with the trans in park and t/case in neutral before pulling it with a car or motorhome. Sometimes they don't go right in. How do I know this? When I had my towing business, I got a call for a Jeep with a flat tire needing a change. It turns out they thought the t/case was in neutral, and the lever was indeed in that position, and they took off out their driveway and down their dirt road towing it with their diesel pusher motorhome. Well, 1/4 mile down the paved road they turned on the tires started popping from being dragged down the road!! Needless to say, we flatbed towed the Jeep to the local tire store as it didn't have 3 spare tires to install on it.
 
Johnnie Walker said:
Yes, the reason you put the trans in park is that the fluid will still flow thru it, otherwise it would just burn up.. unless you did pull the d-shafts.
Click to expand...

The reason you put the transmission in park is so the transmission won't move. The fluid in the transmission is only circulated when the engine is running.
 
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