I think I have got confused?...(Towing)

I need to tow my car for about 10 miles, but I think that I have read somewhere that either the front or rear wheels need to be off the ground? I was just going to use a rope or solid towing arm? Any thoughts

Should work fine. Just don't tow the car backwards if it has knock-off wheels. If towing long distance, some people recommend removing the drive shaft to reduce wear on the transmission.

Having done any number of goofy things with my B, I don't think pulling it with a rope for ten miles will hurt it. I do remember reading somewhere that the propeller shaft should be disconnected at the rear for a long tow and my brother did that for his when moving it 300 miles.
I welded a tow bar for mine and dragged it around for 25 miles or so and nothing bad happened that I ever heard or saw.

Jamie B

Ten miles will be no sweat.

The problem lies in the fact that some of the internal parts of the transmission might not be lubricated as well as they need to be during extended towing at highway speeds. The third motion shaft will be turning at drive shaft speeds and the first motion shaft will not be turning at all. This could leave the spigot bearing where the first and third motion shafts meet and the large rear third motion bearing running without lots of oil on them. I personally suspect that there will be enough sloshing around done by the viscus friction between the third motion and lay gears to keep everything lubed, but some gurus say other wise. If you want to be absolutely positive during an extended tow, just disconnect the drive shaft at the rear axle companion flange and wire it up and out of the way for the trip.

As I say though, ten miles isn't going to cause any damage at all.

Jack

I disagree Steve!

Flat towing the car backwards with the wife driving the lead vehicle could lead to some stimulating pillow talk. LOL

Jack

Thanks guys!

why not tow it on a flat deck to be safe? For me the assurance of no possible damage was a better pay off than the increased risk of bent parts/ other unexpected occurances.

Check out this article about towing:

[http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/gearbox/gt201.htm]

Where Barney Gaylord talks about gearbox lubrication. The passages below talk about this specifically. Earlier being 3 synchro, later being 4 synchro.

"As to the question of whether you can tow one of these things with the driveshaft connected without damage, the answer is a resounding "it depends", and what it depends on is the type of gearbox. The real parts in question here are the bronze bushings inside of 2nd and 3rd gears (and sometimes 1st), and also the needle roller bearing at the front of the mainshaft. At this time it is my opinion that the oil pump being driven on the output shaft will NOT supply forced oil to the mainshaft while being towed in the 3-syncro gearbox, but that it will work in the 4-synchro gearbox. This is because the oil supply to the pump is from splash in the top of the main gearcase.

In the case of the 4-syncro box, the large reverse gear on the mainshaft will always be turning with the mainshaft, and being unshielded will throw plenty of oil up into the catch trough on top. So if the oil is at the correct level the entire gearbox would be properly lubricated by the pump while towing. So as a challenge at this time, I would like to know if anyone has ever towed a car with a 4-syncro gearbox with the driveshaft connected and incurred any internal damage to the gearbox? I think this would not be a problem, and 4-syncro units can be towed with the driveshaft connected without worry"

My car was towed for years behind a motorhome with no ill effects.

Bill, that is sort of what I was trying to say in my post above. I don't think that I have ever seen damage from towing but I don't like to sound as if I am the boiler plate last word so I deferred to other "knowledgeables".

As for an oil pump, there is no oil pump in a non-OD transmission. Everything is done by splash. The pump in the OD unit is there only to supply pressure to make the OD work.

I have been considering laying out an electric pump and cooler system for my OD 72 car, but that is still very much in the formative stages. It wouldn't supply pressurized oil to the bearings but it would increase the oil volume and keep the stuff cool. Beside it would be neat to do the thing in the first place.

My Dino had an internal pressure delivery system to all of the transmission bearings. I thought that the thing was a work of art, second only to the tiny four cam in front of it. :-)

Jack