for manual tranny, do you think it is ok to do this to tow the car in neutral with all four wheels down on the ground? and usually i cruise in neutral, for example, i go 50 miles in 5th then i just pop it in neutral and cruise to the light.

for auto tranny, can you do this same thing?

im only wondering bc my friend said that if you tow an automatic tranny car with all four wheel down on the floor it could mess up the tranny bc the car is off and the tranny is not made to do that bc it lacks lubricant.

 

im sure u can tow an auto car in neutral

 

I do that all the time with the SI. I just go to a certain speed and then just cruise specially in a street by my house that goes down hill.

 

theres a pump inside the trany to take care of that

 

how else would people tow cars. seems like somthing that happens every day with out a problem.

 

from what i was told if its a short distance its fine but if the car isnt running the transmission doesnt get lubercatied or cooled properly and you can run into problems. my manual for my s-10 says that if you have the auto tranny do not tow by the rear wheels unless you have to and dont go over 35mph and dont go further then 50 miles or else damage to the transmission will result.

 

well, seems like it could cause a problem, but only to the bearings at the outputshaft...not to the whole tranny since it disengages the whole output shaft from the rest of the tranny while its in neutral.

if you are concerneda bout it it... just start the car up if its not busted, and let it idle... the torque converter will pump the fluid thru the whole tranny while it idles, its just not at the sky-high pressure it normally is when you are on the throttle and under load, like accelertion. this will keep it lubed up while the car is being towed.

 

I read in my manual for my wagon something to the effect that in some states it's illegal to cruise in neutral.

Of course that's a 20 year old manual

 

with the drive wheels off the ground.

 

You can tow manual trannies in neutral.
Automatics must have the drive wheels off the ground or have the drive shaft removed, (rear wheel drive).

The latest Saturn and Cavalier are the only two autos I know of that can be towed in neutral.

Next time you're on I-75, notice all of the motorhomes coming out of the north with a car in tow. Most people choose a Suzuki Tracker, or Jeep Wrangler, because you can disengage all axles from the transmission through the transfer case.