I was wondering, is there any harm to a manual transmission when you cruise in neutral? I don't see any reason why there should be a problem, but the tow truck guy, who towed me down to Maxi Muffler last night, says he has to pull the car from the rear tires instead of the front tires. I asked him why, and he said because it would burn up my transmission otherwise.

Is this guy smoking crack? or is there really some danger to coasting with the tranny in neutral? Please, if anyone knows about this let me know so I can avoid doing that from now on.

Oh, the reason I wanted it towed from the front was because my exhaust wasn't hooked up and was dragging on the pavement. Hence, that's why I was getting it towed to Maxi Muffler.

Thanks in advance!

 

Come on, anyone? :lala: I know you all are looking here...

 

It won't hurt nothin. But if your exhuast was hanging and dragging, then he might be you.

All it would really do is spin the ring, pinion, drive shaft, and output shaft.

 

I assumed it couldn't hurt anything, but the guy was insistent and I didn't know for sure. Luckily he had some bungee cords and I was able to secure the exhaust so it wouldn't drag anymore.

I got the baby back yesterday, and boy I must say how good it feels to be able to driver her again. It's been almost 2 months since I parked her to pull the engine. Can I say that these cars just rock? :rockon:

 

Well from an automatic point of view, yes if the car is towed by the front and the back wheels touch the ground that WILL DAMAGE the transmission, mainly cuz the parts are not getting lubrication from the tranny fluid (cuz the car is not on).

Wait, wait?? Your exhaust was dragging so you wanted it towed by the front wheels, so then your exhaust would drag even more. Thats pretty dumb.

Words of Wisdom: Front-wheel Drive? Then tow from front wheels, with rear wheels on ground. Rear-wheel Drive? Then tow from rear wheels, with front wheels on ground. Four/All-Wheel Drive? Your car just plain sux, and most likely its an import.

 

:nono:

Don't you think that since I was THERE I know what I'm talking about?!? The exhaust was not hooked up at the headers but was hooked up in the back, so towing it by the front wheels would have lifted the pipes off the ground. I had wires suspending the pipes up front, but one of them broke and it dropped about 4 inches. Since I didn't have any wire with me, I THEN asked the guy to tow from the front. At which time he told me it would burn up my transmission.

Give me a little credit here...

 

Oh IC, you didn't tell me where exactly the exhaust was hangin, I thought ya meant near the rear.

 

Well, I still drive a tow truck part time so here's the low down.

You can tow a manual transmission with the drive wheels on the ground with out any problems. I just choose not to if I can help it so the customer can't accuse me of anything. You can not tow an automatic trans with the drive wheels on the ground because the lubrication pump runs off the engine not the outputshaft.

Four/all wheel drive? do what you should do with all performance cars and what I do with all of my cars anyway, specificly state you want a flatbed, NO wheels on the ground. Most insurance companies won't even let anything other than a flatbed tow a four/all wheel drive if they're paying for it.

 

No man, I saw i written some where, I believe it was in my 1990 Camaro manual (the big one), it states have it towed by the front tires (rear wheels down) above a certain mph, I think like 30mph, or some number that would be impossible to do on a highway. But it did state above a certain mph, it would be bad for your tranny. So performance cars, lift it by the rear.

 

Thats because they only make one manual for both auto and manual trans cars. You continue reading and I'll continue doing my job.

I stand by my original post, always have your performance cars flatbedded.

 

Its just my .02, but my car will NEVER be towed by anything other than a flatbed.

 

okay, here is the low down, if you pull it with it in neutral more specifically long distances then the output shaft turns, thats it,so the counter shaft(provides plash lubrication) is not being turned hence you are essentially towing the car with dry bearing not a good idea that is the whole idea... :lala:

 

Maybe I'm wrong, but doesn't the entire gear assembly essentially float in the ATF? I mean, you fill the case practically up to the top, so everything is lubricated all the time.

 

yes, to a certain extent, but it really wont matter that much unless you are going a long distance and in all probablity witha tow truck pulling it, the tranny will be tipped so that fluid is on the rear bearing