moving car without engine running

[paul j]

Is there a way to push the car around, with engine not operating, without screwing something up such as viscous coupling? Remove driveshaft? Shop manual says only way to tow it is to put all tires on dolly's.

 

[gvr4ever]

Just to move around your personal shop and property? Just put it in neutral. If you are just pushing it, I don't think you can get enough speed to get the center viscous to lock. Maybe others can chime in. Now, if you are wanting to pull a car with a tractor, that might be different.

 

[paul j]

Yes that is true and I just want it to push it 300-400 ft. I wonder what it takes to get the fluid to lock it up. If there was no fluid in the trans it would be no problem. The trans and transfer case have been rebuilt and have no fluid in them now. Is fluid is needed for the pushing I need to do?

 

[Dialcaliper]

If you’re pushing or even towing with all four wheels on the ground (like with a tow strap) there’s nothing to worry about. It’s basically the same as coasting downhill in neutral. Our F/R bias is 1:1, unlike some modern AWD cars that have a slight speed difference between axles and an electronic clutchpack (Focus RS and Porsche come to mind)

The flatbed towing warning is to avoid the more typical “2-wheel” tow with one axle locked or tied to a dolly or crossbar (usually strapped down by the wheels), and the other axle rolling on the ground - in that case the huge speed difference from a fixed vs rolling axle will completely annihilate the center VCU

 

[paul j]

Good info. I had contacted Jack's and basically they told me the same.