towing the griff
Discussion
There is a towing eye in the centre of the chassis just behind the radiator. I would avoid it because it might load up the front of the car body and damage the radiator. My preference is to use a long yoke attached to each of the front wishbones, or if I'm putting it on a trailer I park it backwards and atach the tow cable to the rearmost crossmember of the chassis near where the exhaust mount is.
clarkmagpie said:
Old box it is then.
So how far can you actually tow it safely then?
It's no more than a mile, what damage could be caused?
I dont know much about it i'm afraid. Maybe a search will yeild more info. I would not expect there to be a problem over such a short distance since there is no load on the box. Keep the speed down.So how far can you actually tow it safely then?
It's no more than a mile, what damage could be caused?
Here you go:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Edited by Chimjunkie on Monday 28th September 22:57
There isn't a towing eye as such, but there is a lashing point on the front cross member which you can use at a pinch - or tie a strap around the cross member itself (being careful not to trap any hoses/wires). There is a risk of scraping the lower front bodywork, it'll depend where you attach the rope, you'll just have to see how much clearance you have.
Towing for a mile will be no problem for the gearbox, just keep the speed down (which you will anyway if you're on a rope).
Towing for a mile will be no problem for the gearbox, just keep the speed down (which you will anyway if you're on a rope).
clarkmagpie said:
Old box it is then.
So how far can you actually tow it safely then?
It's no more than a mile, what damage could be caused?
I had a front wheel bearing fail on a 350i(same box) & had to call out the AA. The patrolman was quite clued up & knew it had the LT77 box fitted.So how far can you actually tow it safely then?
It's no more than a mile, what damage could be caused?
He checked on his database & from memory it was possible to tow the vehicle for a max of 30 miles at no more than 40 mph, similar to an auto, but the engine MUST BE RUNNING. The internal oil pump is driven by the layshaft & without the engine running the bearings, especially, 5th gear will run dry.
The AA vehicle had a spectacle lift so the front wheels were raised & had to go approx 20 miles to a garage with the engine running. Got some strange looks from other drivers at junctions as they tried to work out why the Iveco diesel truck sounded like a burbling petrol V8
Definitely worth getting clarification, maybe from the AA/RAC, before taking the risk
Bodders
Bodmin said:
from memory it was possible to tow the vehicle for a max of 30 miles at no more than 40 mph, similar to an auto, but the engine MUST BE RUNNING. The internal oil pump is driven by the layshaft & without the engine running the bearings, especially, 5th gear will run dry.
If the engine is running, the 'box is fully lubricated and you can tow it as far and as fast as you want.With the engine stopped I'm sure it would be fine at low speed for a couple of miles. All the bearings are wet and there's no load on anything.
GreenV8S said:
Bodmin said:
from memory it was possible to tow the vehicle for a max of 30 miles at no more than 40 mph, similar to an auto, but the engine MUST BE RUNNING. The internal oil pump is driven by the layshaft & without the engine running the bearings, especially, 5th gear will run dry.
If the engine is running, the 'box is fully lubricated and you can tow it as far and as fast as you want.With the engine stopped I'm sure it would be fine at low speed for a couple of miles. All the bearings are wet and there's no load on anything.
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&am...
There is also a PH thread from 2006 about towing a wedge that you posted on. In both threads it repeats the warning issued in the Haynes manual.
As the LT77 relies on forced oil lubrication instead of the more normal 'splash' method then the bearings will not be 'wet'.
Bodders
Don't know about the gearbox issue, but when I lost the drive belt last month Mr AA turned up, decided he couldn't do a repair and was going to do a tow/call up when his computer said NAH-NAH.
Apparently they won't tow, use their fancy front wheel hoist unit, that fixed towing bar unit or winch it, so for them, the only answer is by truck which sounds daft but according to him, its probably more for their own insurance rather than practicalities.
That towing eye is a long way back and there's a lot of expensive plastic in front of it!
Apparently they won't tow, use their fancy front wheel hoist unit, that fixed towing bar unit or winch it, so for them, the only answer is by truck which sounds daft but according to him, its probably more for their own insurance rather than practicalities.
That towing eye is a long way back and there's a lot of expensive plastic in front of it!
Bodmin said:
As the LT77 relies on forced oil lubrication instead of the more normal 'splash' method then the bearings will not be 'wet'.
The bearings will initially be 'wet' because the engine was running up to the point it was switched off. Bearings don't dry themselves out just because you stop pumping oil into them. If there's no load on them even a slight trace of oil would be enough to stop any scuffing.However, I would be moderately alarmed about towing a vehicle with unknown transmission faults. Prop shafts or half shafts could end up flailing around, broken diffs or gearboxes might do lots more damage or even lock up. So I'd want to have at least a general idea what the problem was before deciding to tow it.
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