Tacoma Towing Question

I am looking at a 1996 Tacoma with a manual trans that was towed with the tranny in neutral but the transfer case in 4 low. It was towed 25 miles at about 45 mph and now it will onoy shift into 4 low and neutral. Would this hurt anything other than the transfer case? The engine wouldn't have spun. Any idea what could be wrong with the transfer case.

 

I'd be really concerned the transmission and trasnfer case may be toast, 4 low is meant for low speeds like 20 mph or less.

Towing it in low at 45 would be spinning the transmission the equivalent of well over 90 mph and without the engine running on most transmissions there is no oil being circulated.

Might drain the trans and transfer case and see what the fluid looks like, if it's full of metal it's likely toast. If not it may be ok.

 

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking since it's a manual transmission, which is only splash lubricated, it might be ok. Also, in neutral it would only the the output shaft of the transmission spinning.

 

Your transmission should be fine. I flat tow mine all the time, literally thousands of miles over the life of the truck. Never hurt the transmission. Yes being in low range would have made the transmission spin at a pretty high speed, but I doubt you harmed it.

The transfer case on the other hand. Being in 4WD on dry pavement can be hard on it, especially when cornering.

 

It's because most manual transmissions (not for sure about yours) don't have fluid pumps on the output shaft, instead it is splash lubricated by the gears.
The input shaft turns most of the gearset that is submerged in oil, when the transmission is in neutral, the input shaft is stopped, and you turn the output shaft it's just turning inside the gears but since the gears aren't moving no oil is getting splashed onto the bushings/bearings.
This is why most 4wd vehicles tell you to put the transfer case in neutral if your going to tow it.

The transfer case has a fluid pump that runs off the output shaft so it's lubricated any time the output shaft is turning.

You can always look in your owners manual to see what it say about towing the vehicle without damage.

Like I said I'd inspect the fluid and go from there, hopefully nothing is hurt.