i would imagine you cannot due to the 4wd system/diffs etc unless you remove the propshafts.

got one in now with a bad vibration and have just found out he has attempted to tow start the car to get it running after a flat battery

not the best i would have thought

also there seems to be a lot of movement on the front prop before it moves the main prop-how much should there be

 

...is there a tow hook front and back?LOL

 

as long as all 4 wheels are on the ground and out of gear I dont understand what the issue would be..

Afterall- how does it get on a flat bed... its winched (read towed) up the flat bed.


Jake

 

as said, only a problem if one set of wheels are lifted, as that's when the viscous coupling in the centre diff will overheat due to prolonged speed difference

 

we towed Matts ok..

 

yes ok,

but some 4x4's cannot be towed at all.

what is worrying me is the fact he has towed it down the street then bump started it whilst towing it as the car had a flat battery,which means it probably wouldnt have fired up straight away so would have been dragged along in gear until it fired up.

that is my concern that the shock could have put extra strain on something

 

of course they can............ford new they would brake down..........

 

Automatic ones?

I cant think of any manual 4wd that cant be towed just fine if all 4 wheels are on the ground.

 

ok-change question................


CAN YOU TOWSTART AN ESCORT COSSIE?

IE- TOW THE CAR ALONG THE ROAD,DUMP THE CLUTCH AND TRY TO GET IT TO START THAT WAY WITH A FLAT BATTERY.

would/could it do any damage?

 

Yes thats fine.

 

Your guy is probably the first person "stupid" enough to attempt such a thing????????

Jake

 

there wouldn't be anything happening to the drivetrain that wouldn't happen during 'normal' driving anyway..

i mean slamming a 4x4 cossie into 2nd gear is where the problems start...a tow start is childs play lol

 

its just not something i would do to an escort cossie.i would much sooner charge the battery up then start it.

 

But if it were a rwd saph your opinion would be different?
WHY?

 

good point chip

 

no,i would charge the battery on that too

 

wont do anything bad, why would it?

 

So really this topic should be titled


"Would you ever tow start a car" as the fact its an escos is totally irrelevant?

 

So you wouldn't bump any vehicle off??

 

Bump start is different to towing surely???

I would/have/do bump start cars but never ever consider towing... what a pain in the ass that would be.

When it comes to cossies or performance cars- charging the battery seems like a better plan?????

Jake

 

the only issue wi bump startin a car if the battery is dead now adays is if the imobiliser wont let u but any other time it wont hurt it

 

or if ur engine mounts are dodgy and ur trying to bump start a fwd turbo car.

my mates turbo went straight through his rad

 

Only time bump or tow (they are both the same - just usually a bit quicker and longer) is an issue is when it won't start and has a cat. Chucking a load of unburt fuel at the cat will ruin it.

You won't wash the bores either unless you towstart for miles.

 

A know people who wont tow there Evo's or scobbys cause it says in the book not to

 

Just to clarify ONCE AND FOR ALL, the Escort can be towed .

It even gives you instructions in the handbook on HOW to start it by towing or pushing .

The ONLY proviso (as has already been mentioned) is that you must Never raise only one axle when towing.

Hope this helps .

 

Mike has spoken...............end of..............

 

you are SO sexy when you act all authoritarian mike

 

The amount of people who never read the manual....

It also says in the Escort Cosworth Manual that there is NO performance advantage to be gained by running Super Unleaded.....

 

if only he'd read the manual..... http://www.biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=1206




Never get tired of watching this

Though my mate was told when his Civic Type-R (54 plate) got towed by the AA that you can only tow it backwards (or maybe forwards.....either way, if you tow it the wrong way it fucks it)

 

its a ford ofcourse u can tow it how else u get it home when it breaks

 

Wouldnt it depend on which gear he tow started it in? If towd along then droped the clutch in say 1st or 2nd the torque would need to be quite high to turn the engine over....or maybe im wrong.

 

Wouldnt it depend on which gear he tow started it in? If towd along then droped the clutch in say 1st or 2nd the torque would need to be quite high to turn the engine over....or maybe im wrong.

Hence why people leave there cars in st or 2nd when parked because its very hard to turn the engine with the car in a low gear.

 

Generally people dont tow their car up to 70mph then dump the clutch in 5th, lol

 

i know i know and ive bumped started cars before (never tow started them) but if it was ok before he tow started and then has damaged prop afterwards?

 

I think tow starting at 70 and then uping the clutch in 5th would be ok, as the engine would only have to go to around 2500 revs.

But if the guy was towing at say.... 30 and droped it in 1st the engine has to shoot straight to around 6-7000 revs! massive brake on the transmission

 

The clutch would slip I suspect, it does if you try it the other way round, lol

 

Same as the Integra Type R. They both have a weird type of LSD that does not take kindly to doing 60mph in reverse for too long. So towing with the front wheels on the ground is not good for them.

 

Ive allways understood it as you should never really tow and especially tow something for any sort of distance that are either
A/ a automatic (auto box runs dry as the oil pump is driven from the front of the box)
B/ anything over 7.5 tonne (winds the diff or gearbox up depending on modeland make)
C/ 4WD ( as above but also chance of winding the transfer box up)

 

I don't understand the confusion here? Generally people tow start a car cause they are too lazy/weak/don't have enough people to push the thing! Its the same idea as a bump start.

 

i used to drive an astra van that i used to push and bump start myself lol it was a right pain havin to park hoping noone would park either side o ya was glad when the new starter came home