question about towing?

[1970mule]

I was just wondering why people say to disconnect the diveshaft when towing. i was thinking about having one of the trailers that just take up the front tires and the rear on on the ground. would i be ok, if i just put the tcase in neutral?

 

[bronko69er]

I was just wondering why people say to disconnect the diveshaft when towing. i was thinking about having one of the trailers that just take up the front tires and the rear on on the ground. would i be ok, if i just put the tcase in neutral?

For short distances yes, but the reason it is recomended to remove the rear driveline is that when the t-case's input shat is not spinning (motor not running) the output shaft bearing is not being splashed with oil and can dry out over a long distance tow.

That being said, I towed mine 350 mi round trip one time prior to knowing this and the bearing is still good and tight 8 years and 60,000 miles later.

 

[barronj]

Speaking of towing, the Bronco will push you around on dry pavement (take corners slow), and can totally jack you up in wet weather.

I found this out the hard way the other morning, towing to the exhaust shop for a little welding work. MF'er pushed me through an intersection sideways, eventually ending up jack-knifed in the middle of a busy intersection, in the middle of the rain, in the middle of morning rush hour. You bet your ass that I romped it over the curbs, EB in tow, and made it to my destination.

Tore up my rear bumper, damaged the quarter panel on the Tahoe. Barely bent the bumper on the EB.

 

[00gyrhed]

I use to tow my jeep with the xfer case (also a D20, just right side out instead of left) with it in nuetral all the time. Towed it for 15 years without ever having a problem. Most were 3-4 hr tows to the lease or the ranch but I did tow it twice from Dallas to Denver and only stopped for gas.

There are some people on this site that are almost violently oppossed to flat towing a bronco so you will probably get a lot of responses. This is just one of the reasns they spout.

I like flat towing and find it much easier that loading the damn thing on a trailer, even if I take off the driveshaft.

I have looked at both the jeep and the Ford D20 and I dont see enough difference to say that you will definately have a problem. I flat towed my bronco for two years, then I found this site and started takeing off the driveshaft due to all the horror stories.

But this year I will probably go back to flat towing with the driveshaft on it again. Even if it is true that long dstnces might dry out the bearing and cause problems I figure I will just get out and lock the front hubs for a few miles to get everything lubed up good again.

Whats funny is that there are a few people they say they know someone who knew someone who had this bearing burn up. Even if it is true you have no idea what kind of maintenance or condition that vehicle was in before it locked up.

But the truth is, if it is set up right, and lubed right under load, dragging it with the driveshaft on will probably never hurt it. There is no load on the bearing and very little heat will be generated, without the heat it will stay lubbed. Heat is the killer.

Do it at your own risk. when you tow it get out and check the tcase housing every so often too see if it gets hot.

My rear seal leaks. and it continues to leak when I flat tow it which is an indication that it is still lubbed.

 

[bronko69er]

Why not just put it in 4 hi, tranny in neutral, hubs unlocked?
Wouldnt that keep the bearing oiled?

 

[garberz]

Why not just put it in 4 hi, tranny in neutral, hubs unlocked?
Wouldnt that keep the bearing oiled?

The bearing on the rear output shaft is oiled by the spinning of the input shaft or spinning of the front output shaft. I usually don't pull the rear driveshaft for short tows, less than 2hrs. But when I tow longer, I remove it completely because if I need to disconnect, I can drive it in front wheel drive. I've done a few trips where I never put the rear shaft in at all. My front axle is an open carrier.

 

[bronko69er]

Right, so locking the front hubs would spin the front output shaft.

 

[garberz]

Right, so locking the front hubs would spin the front output shaft.

Yes, technically it works. But who wants to spin all their front end stuff at 65mph on the Fwy? I think I would rather take my chances on the output shaft bearing being OK.