Towing my CJ7, hubs locked?

[CJ7ole]

In looking through my service manual, I see that they recommend flat towing my CJ7 with the front hubs locked (to lube the front axle), the tranny in gear and the transfer case unlocked, no mention of disconnecting the rear drive shaft. They recommend running the engine with the tranny in gear for a minute every 200 miles to lube the tranny (T-176 manual).

I Tow with front hubs unlocked (2X4 position) and the rear driveshaft disconnected when going more than 200 miles. Probably towed it that way for 5,000 miles over the years. This way all that is turning is the front wheel bearings and the rear axle. No mileage on my speedo, transfer case or front axle or either drive shaft.

Have I been doing it wrong all these years?

[Dave Fernandez]

Hello Ole:

Before you flat tow a CJ7 what Transfer Case do you have? If it has a Dana 300 you can not tow 4 down without damage to the transfer case. The transfer case must be modified so the out shaft bearing can receive oil or you disconnect the rear drive shaft and do not lock the front hubs. The Dana 300 was designed so that when the transfer case is placed into neutral the output bearing does not receive lubrication. Even by locking the front hubs does not provide oiling for the output shaft bearing.

Other transfer cases such as the Dana model 18 the output shaft is bathed in oil, the Dana model 20 the locked front hubs provide lubrication for the output shaft bearing. On the newer jeeps/GM vehicles they use a New Process 231 or 241 or a variant and the oil pump is operated by the output shaft and is lubed as you drive.

[CJ7ole]

I have the 300 transfer case. I still don't follow why they recommend to lock the front hubs. With the rear driveshaft left in, the rear bearing gets no lube unless the TC is in gear and the tranny is in neutral, opposite of what they recommend. And then there are probably transmission issues. Maybe the repair manual is wrong. In any event, it looks like I tow properly, front hubs unlocked, rear driveshaft disconnected.

[Roadking]

CJ7ole, I had a CJ7 with the T5 and Dana 300 transfer case. Like you, for several years I flat towed with the Dana 300 in neutrall, the T5 tranny in high gear (5th) and the front hubs unlocked. If traveling more than 200 miles I did disconnect the Jeep, start it, and drive it a block or two to circulate the gear lube in teh xfer case.

Anyway after several years I pulled the 300 apart and installed a 4:1 gear set. While the transfer case was apart I examined the bearings and there was no evidence of heating or wear on the input or output shaft bearings. As I recall, the owners manual described the 200 mile requirement with Dana 300 in neutral and T5 tranny in high gear.

The T5 tranny will not stand towing as the rear bearing will not be lubed while towing. So the T5 tranny must be put in a high gear (5th) to prevent the output shaft on the tranny from spinning while towing.