Recently, friends of ours towed their rear wheeled drive vehicle behind their moving van with a tow dolly; the drive shaft was not disconnected, and the transmission was ruined. Once arriving at their destination, it proved to be a very expensive mistake and left them in a financial strain since they had to fork out money to rebuild the vehicle’s transmission. As you can imagine, forking out several thousands of dollars for vehicle repairs and deposits for living expenses set them back financially.
A&P Transmissions has seen many ruined transmissions from improper towing. We realize that it’s important for people to understand how the transmissions are damaged when improperly towed, and we want to explain the general steps or procedures one needs to make before towing their rear wheeled drive vehicle on a tow dolly. We realize that transmission repairs are very costly, and most people do not want to spend unnecessary money on vehicle repairs. Please, save your money and follow closely to our instructions for disconnecting one’s drive shaft or take the vehicle to one’s trustworthy local mechanic.
First, let us explain how the transmission, engine and drive shaft work when the vehicle is driven. When the vehicle’s engine is running, the converter, which is a major component of the transmission, is turned and fluid is pumped into the transmission. Fluid pumps through the transmission lubricating all of the necessary mechanical parts. When the engine is not running, meaning when the vehicle is being towed, and the drive shaft is turning the other end of the transmission with no lubrication. The lack of lubrication causes the transmission parts to heat up and melt. A melted transmission is then referred to as a burnt up transmission. Disconnecting the drive shaft keeps the wheels of the car from turning which keeps the transmission from turning. No wheels being turned when the car is being towed means money saved, and the life span of the transmission is lengthened.
Now that we have covered how the drive shaft works within a vehicle, let’s discuss how to disconnect it. This is a surprisingly easy task of unbolting the drive shaft and tying it up out of the way so it doesn’t pull out of the transmission. Sometimes the entire drive shaft needs to be removed and one would then need to put a plug in the back of the transmission to keep fluid from leaking. The plugs can be purchased at most automotive stores for most vehicles.
Here are the step by step instructions to disconnect a drive shaft:
1. Locate the drive shaft, which is the long tube running at an angle from the back of the transmission to the front of the rear axle. Remove any necessary bolts or straps which hold the drive shaft to the rear axle.
2. Remove the drive shaft straight out from the transmission. Sometimes a 24-inch breaker bar is needed to pry the drive shaft out and sometimes bolts need to be removed before disconnecting the drive shaft from the transmission and/or rear axle.
3. Quickly put a transmission plug into the tail shaft of the transmission, where the drive shaft was previously, to prevent transmission fluid from leaking out. Most plugs can be purchased at any automotive stores for most vehicles.
4. Tie the disconnected drive shaft to the vehicle or completely remove it from the vehicle and place it in a safe place such as the truck bed or trunk of car.
Not all vehicles are as simple as the above instructions. For example a4 Wheel Drive vehicles and All Wheel Drive vehicles may be more difficult and/or complicated. If there are any questions or concerns about disconnecting one’s drive shaft, please, don’t hesitate to contact your local trustworthy automotive mechanic or call A&P Transmissions at 843-261-2678.
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