Towing a 97 on a tow dolly

I've got a 97 aw4, 231, 8.25 XJ that I need to tow 1000 miles on a dolly. I've searched and got conflicting results on the best way to do this. The manual says to put transmission in park and tc in neutral, other people say to pull the rear driveshaft. The manual then also says that internal damage to the tc will occur if a sling restricting wheel movement is used when towing. I've also read horror stories of the tc slipping out of neutral and blowing things up. What would you recommend? TIA

its easy enough to pull the driveshaft. just pull it to just forget about any worries down the line

Yeah, sometimes when you put the transfercase in neutral it locks all 4 wheels together. That's no good either.

Blaine B. said:

Yeah, sometimes when you put the transfercase in neutral it locks all 4 wheels together. That's no good either.

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There was a long thread on this, and the upshot is that somewhere along the way, perhaps when they dropped the synchros in 1995, or perhaps earlier when they dropped the disco axle, this changed. I don't know whether it's ever been definitively determined where the cutoff is, or why it was changed. I have an 89 that definitely does lock the axles in neutral, but my 95 and 99 do not. I point this out because during that previous thread I had to eat my words on this point. Ptooie!

The posters Question...
Towing with the front axle on the Dolly and no rear drive shaft will be your best bet.

Do not put it in 4WD or the T-Case in Neutural and attempt to Dolly or Flat-tow it.

A quick summary of what you need to do:

With the tow dolly attacked securely to the tow vehicle...
Drive the front end on the dolly and put it in park. Now strap it down.
Next, put it in Neutural so that if the rear driveshaft is under tension, it will not cause you problems. Loosen or just plain cut the rear strap holding that boot on the front of the rear drive shaft. Do not cut the boot.
With a 5/16" socket, remove the straps holding the rear u-joint to the Axle Yoke. Save the straps and bolts in a zip-loc baggie.
Pry under the yoke to loosen the u-joint from the yoke. After it is loose, clear the yoke, then pull the drive shaft. The boot may be stubborn, if it is, push the boot off the shaft.

Ron

Hi guys,

I'm bringing this back from the dead because I'm in a similar situation. My wife and I are moving from Ohio to North Carolina and need to tow a vehicle. We either need to tow my wife's Passat or my Jeep (1998/AW4/NP231/Chrys 8.25").

I'm comfortable with loading the Jeep onto a 2-wheel dolly and disconnecting the rear driveshaft. My biggest concern is the rear end.

With the Jeep at an angle, aren't I going to loose some diff fluid through that silly rubber fill cap in the Chrysler 8.25"?

Are the gears going to have enough lubrication (rotating through the diff fluid at this angle?)

And I know I have pinion bearing play... with this in mind, is towing front up/rear down asking for trouble?

you won't lose enough to be of consequence.

diff angle won't matter, especially since you'll not actually be placing a load o nthe pinion/carrier bearings.
I'd not worry about the pinion bearing, again, you'll be putting next to zero sideload on the bearing since you won't be driving it.

I'd tow the jeep, the rear axle issues you've mentioned would manifest themselves quicker on a drive to NC than riding a dolly. I'm sure the passat also gets better mileage as well.

87manche said:

you won't lose enough to be of consequence.

diff angle won't matter, especially since you'll not actually be placing a load o nthe pinion/carrier bearings.
I'd not worry about the pinion bearing, again, you'll be putting next to zero sideload on the bearing since you won't be driving it.

I'd tow the jeep, the rear axle issues you've mentioned would manifest themselves quicker on a drive to NC than riding a dolly. I'm sure the passat also gets better mileage as well.

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@87Manche - thanks for your input - I think I'm okay but want to error on the safe side. BTW, I was able to meet up with your friend and he has your balljoints.

Anyone else have experience with this? I just put a ton of new parts in the Jeep to make it reliable for the move, and would hate to blow up the rearend on the way down or shortly after moving.

I have probably 3000 miles towing my XJ on a tow dolly. I used to always drop the rear drive shaft. No problems. I have the early tcase. Since I went with lockouts on the front axle, I just put the tcase in neutral and open the lockouts.

Thanks Guys, I got the truck and dolly booked today. It worked out that the 4-wheel carrier at Budget Truck was actually cheaper than the 2 wheel carrier so I don't have to mess with dropping the driveshaft.

But thanks... I knew I had options when I called around.

Just be forewarned that towing a vehicle with a big box truck may cut it's fuel economy in half, if its gas powered. Last time I towed a Jetta on a full car carrier we got 5-6 MPG. It may be absolutely terrible on WV I-77/79 if you're going that way.

md21722 said:

Just be forewarned that towing a vehicle with a big box truck may cut it's fuel economy in half, if its gas powered. Last time I towed a Jetta on a full car carrier we got 5-6 MPG. It may be absolutely terrible on WV I-77/79 if you're going that way.

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makes me glad mine is diesel then.

still got 8 on the way to Harlan with one in the back and one on a trailer. Grossed 25k.