Flat towing a XJ

dyna · Feb 1, 2006

Feel free to offer any reccomendations of a towbar set up for occasional towing of my 95 4x4 sport with auto. Any particular issues I need to be aware of? Auto in park or Neutral? and of course T/C in neutral, key unlocked in ignition, what else.
Thanks a bunch.

esrasmu2001 · Feb 1, 2006

Cannot forget lights. Either a set of magnet mount lights attached to the XJ in tow, or wire the XJ for light hookup.

I would have to say leave the transmission in park, with the transfer case in neutral. I flat towed an XJ like that from Maryland to Tennessee without any problems. The spare engine in the back of the towed XJ caused the rear to bounce some, but minimally affected me.

dyna · Feb 1, 2006

Who makes a decent towbar? Oh yeah, I forgot about the lights

XJ_ranger · Feb 1, 2006

please dont put yout t-case in nutral...

that locks the front and rear driveshafts together - i.e. when truning, you will have big problem...

and leave the key in the "on" position...

lazyxj · Feb 1, 2006

I have been flat towing 2001 XJ behind my motorhome for two years for a total of about 10,000 miles with zero problems. There are thousands of XJs being pulled behind motorhomes. They must be 4X4s.

Follow the owner's manual instructions on flat towing. Put the trans in Park and transfer case in neutral. The key needs to be in the first position that unlocks the steering but leaves the ignition off.

I use a Roadmaster towbar and a home-made base plate, similar to the Roadmaster design.You can find drawings in the Roadmaster website under the instructions.
I wired in a second set of bulbs into the rear taillight housing to simplify the wiring.
I have an SMI vacuum assisted braking unit in the XJ that is control by the motorhome's brakes. Toad brakes are required in many states and in Canada.
Pulled behind a 23' class C motorhome with a Ford V-10, you do not notice the XJ except on uphills.

dyna · Feb 1, 2006

Good deal, thank you.
Locking the diff`s together in N on the TC? who told you that one? either that or your TC is screwed up.

JohnX · Feb 1, 2006

dyna said:
Good deal, thank you.
Locking the diff`s together in N on the TC? who told you that one? either that or your TC is screwed up.

Actually he is half right....the driveshafts do lock together, but no, It will not cause any problems. This is the way a Jeep is designed to be towed. It will not harm anything by cornering unless maybe you have lockers front and rear. The NP231 tcase has an oilpump in it that lubricates the upper bearing, so their is no problem in that respect.

This only applies to the NP231 from my 97 and 94....I have never owned anything else to compare.

lazyxj · Feb 1, 2006

JohnX said:
Actually he is half right....the driveshafts do lock together, but no, It will not cause any problems. This is the way a Jeep is designed to be towed. It will not harm anything by cornering unless maybe you have lockers front and rear. The NP231 tcase has an oilpump in it that lubricates the upper bearing, so their is no problem in that respect.
This only applies to the NP231 from my 97 and 94....I have never owned anything else to compare.

Are there different versions of the NP231?

On my 01 XJ, when the XC is in neutral, the front and rear driveshafts spin independently of each other. I put the rig on jack stands, got under it and grabbed on to each shaft. They were not connected together.
I had read about the front and rear being connected in neutral and wanted to make sure it was not true.
Being connected would cause the same driveline binding that you get when driving in 4X4 on dry pavement..not a good thing.YMMV

XJ_ranger · Feb 1, 2006

lazyxj said:
Are there different versions of the NP231?

On my 01 XJ, when the XC is in neutral, the front and rear driveshafts spin independently of each other. I put the rig on jack stands, got under it and grabbed on to each shaft. They were not connected together.
I had read about the front and rear being connected in neutral and wanted to make sure it was not true.
Being connected would cause the same driveline binding that you get when driving in 4X4 on dry pavement..not a good thing.YMMV

yeah - it changed when New Process re-designed the t-case.

My first case that was in my 92 and locked the shafts together as per the shift mode
i replaced it with a t-case from an 99 TJ and that one kept them indipendant...

it is just easier to tell people that they lock together...

My Webpage said:
Here are 2 comparison shots of the "chunk o metal" that decided range and 4wd and their distinct difference in the two years. Notice the nicely curved edge on the old style and the cut out for neutral on the new style. This cut out allows the range hub to have its spines in between the input shaft and the planataries - making this a true neutral. With the new case my driveshafts will NOT be locked together in neutral like they were in the old t-case.
I dont know when New Process decided to swap the "chunk o metal" or what models the new and old pieces come in...

From the 1992 notice the sommth round edge

From the 1999 note the gouge for the 4wd shift colar in the neutral position

cLAYH · Feb 2, 2006

I flat towed my '89 for quite awhile before I got the trailer. Always had the t-case in N and tranny in P. On my '89 the front and rear shafts were locked together in N. Didn't make a difference in towing though, even with a rear locker.

lazyxj · Feb 2, 2006

XJ_ranger said:
yeah - it changed when New Process re-designed the t-case.
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XJ ranger

The photos explains it better than words, thanks.

Anyway of telling which model it is without taking it apart (preferably with tools, not a big rock; looks like you hit something hard with the old one)

Flat towing a XJ

dyna

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esrasmu2001

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dyna

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XJ_ranger

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lazyxj

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dyna

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