towing a 91 jeep wrangler

[YosemiteBobR]

OK, so I'm finally starting to tow four down after 5 years of on a trailer. Problem is I no longer have the manual and am not sure what to put the jeep in for towing. Does the transfer case have to be in neutral or in high range with the transmission in neutral, or is it the other way around or both in neutral? Called the dealer but he is no help. I have a 1991 Jeep wrangler with a manual transmission.

[YosemiteBobR]

OK, so I'm finally starting to tow four down after 5 years of on a trailer. Problem is I no longer have the manual and am not sure what to put the jeep in for towing. Does the transfer case have to be in neutral or in high range with the transmission in neutral, or is it the other way around or both in neutral? Called the dealer but he is no help. I have a 1991 Jeep wrangler with a manual transmission.

[RV Wizard]

Put transfer case in neutral, transmission in neutral, unlock steering if it locks and check directional lights and brake assist operation.

[Frankie]

Is it recomended to bungee the steering wheel??

[Captain Bud]

IMHO,No!

[Brigadoon]

Ref bungeeing the steering wheel. Some Jeep owners that do not have power steering, have found that they can get some instability when towing the Jeep. Apparently power steering equipped vehicles seldom have that problem. A friend of mine just went thru this and called Blue Ox. This was their explanation. Blue Ox told him to bungee the steering to help stabilize the tracking of the Jeep.

[troth]

RV Wizard's got the set up technique right. You won't need a bungee on the steering with a '91 Jeep.

[Frankie]

My jeep is manual(no power) steering.I am getting some base plates welded on and will give it a go without the bungies behind my truck and see how it goes.From a newbies perspective,it amazes me that the front wheels dont flop around without the steering wheel locked.Anybody want to explain in a novice language.??

[Joe-K]

I found a couple pictures some time ago when I was working on my Jeep that might help explain how things work.

Front wheels tracking on the towed vehicle is a result of the steering geometry. In the case of towing a car, positive caster angle is what causes the wheels to track properly.

When you turn the steering wheel, the front wheels turn on a pivot attached to the suspension system. Caster is the angle of this steering pivot when viewed from the side of the vehicle. If the top of the pivot is leaning toward the rear of the car, then the caster is positive. If the top of pivot is leaning towards the front it would be negative Caster.



Using a shopping cart wheel as an example, we can see why the wheels track properly. If the contact point of the wheel is behind the pivot point, the wheel tracks properly. Since a shopping cart has a high amount of Caster, the wheels always track well (except when I get one of those wobbly carts )


Normally on a car, the greater the positive caster the better a vehicle will track. If you also think about the shopping cart wheel and the effect of caster, you can see what happens if you try to back up a towed vehicle. It works for a short distance, but the front wheels try to turn around just like the shopping cart wheels do when it is pulled backwards. As soon as the towed car wheels start to turn, the car tries to turn which either can bend the towbar, skid the wheels, or cause other damage.

[Vette Racer]

For what its worth, I had a 84 CJ that I towed 4 down for a few years. After a couple of years the bearings in the transmission went out. When I had it rebuilt by a 4x4 shop they told me it was a result of towing with the transmission in neutral. I had always towed with the transfer case in neutral and the trans in neutral but was told that I should put the trans in the top gear and the transfer case in neutral as this would stop the gears in the trans from slowly rotating without the grease being splashed around like it needed to be. They also recommended that you stop at least once every 200 miles and start the jeep and let the trans rotate for a minute to circulate the grease.

After that I just started removing the rear driveshaft when going on a long trip. Finally sold it and bought a 97. That was the first year they tied the oil pump in the transfer case to the driveshaft side of the case so anytime the driveshaft turned oil would circulate, made towing much easier. Just put the trans in park/gear and transfer case in neutral.

By the way, my 84 was manual steering and the 97 was power, never had to bungee cord the wheel on either one. However the 84 did sometimes go to lock on a sharp turn and I'd have to stop and straighten them out before continuing.

[alvinc]

To summarize what Joe-K is saying.....if the alignment is correct the vehicle will track well when towed.

[alvinc]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RV Wizard:
Put transfer case in neutral, transmission in neutral, unlock steering if it locks and check directional lights and brake assist operation. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Transfer case in neutral, TRANSMISSION IN SOME GEAR. Why? The output of the transfer case is turning and is self lubricating. Apparently, at speed, the sloshing and movement of the transfer case oil, will cause the transmission input to turn. This is bad for the transmission. All of the Jeep owners manuals I have seen describe putting the transmission in gear.

Therefore: Transfer case in neutral, transmission in gear (a high gear for manual, park for the automatic), unlocked steering wheel, and brake off.

[YosemiteBobR]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Therefore: Transfer case in neutral, transmission in gear (a high gear for manual, park for the automatic), unlocked steering wheel, and brake off. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thank you, I do remember one or the other had to be in gear and makes sense for the trans to be in 5th. So transfer in neutral. As I mentioned I have a rock crawler with a spring over, so I'm 20" at the belly. Caster and alignment is right so I don't expect to have any problems.

Thank you all for your imputes. I leave Monday for Oregon from So Cal will let you know how it went when I get there. Oh, and no backing up!

Bob

[M&EM]

Bob,
My 91 manual says to keep steering wheel unlocked, put transfer case in neutral and leave transmission in a gear such as 5th. I guess to prevent rotation of gears due to viscous coupling via the lubricants in transfer case and tranny. Also helps to make sure you have the transfer case in neutral.
Ive done it this way for the last 100k towed miles.
Marty