I flat towed my jeep to glamis last weekend and i pulled the drive shafts out. The rear doesn't have hubs that i can lock and un lock so the rear diff got SUPER HOT.

Am i damaging it by flat towing it like that? Even if I drive slower, it's still a 4 hour drive.

Any info would help. I can't afford a trailer so that's not an option :(

THANKS.

whens the last time you checked the fluid in the diff? Would there be any possibility that water could of gotten into it at some point? Flat towing shouldn't hurt the diff but if its getting hot there is likely something causing it that may be of concern.. parking brake was off right?

Like the man said if the driveshafts are pulled, and there is no brake drag then check your fluid level and quality of the gear lube.

Not sure what jeep you have but I have flat towed all mine. Had a 78 CJ5 first time I pulled it, left the drive shafts in, long story short trashed the tranny, t-case; the owners manual just says to put the t-case and tranny in Neutral. After I fixed everything, I always pulled the rear drive shaft after that. I found out that there was not enough fluid in the t-case, and that is what caused the massive breakage. The rear Diff would still always get a little warm or even hot, but i never had problems. Now i have a TJ and flat tow it also, I don't pull the drive shafts, but place the tranny in 5 and the t-case in neutral. The rear diff gets a little warm but no where near what the CJ5 did. My Dad Has a 73 mint CJ5 and had flat towed it all the way from Michigan to Wyoming, no problems and not pulling either drive shaft (but he always checks the T-case, Tranny, and diff fluid).

Hope this helps

I flat towed my jeep to glamis last weekend and i pulled the drive shafts out. The rear doesn't have hubs that i can lock and un lock so the rear diff got SUPER HOT.

Am i damaging it by flat towing it like that? Even if I drive slower, it's still a 4 hour drive.

Any info would help. I can't afford a trailer so that's not an option :(

THANKS.

Not sure what "SUPER HOT" means, but it's normal for them to be hot. ...not glowing red, but hot enough that it's uncomfortable to leave your bare hand on the diff cover for more than a few seconds. I'd double check your fluid levels in the diffs and maybe consider swapping to a heavier weight gear oil.

Not sure what "SUPER HOT" means, but it's normal for them to be hot. ...not glowing red, but hot enough that it's uncomfortable to leave your bare hand on the diff cover for more than a few seconds. I'd double check your fluid levels in the diffs and maybe consider swapping to a heavier weight gear oil.

That's pretty much what i meant by super hot. I can't leave my hand on there without it getting hot enough to start hurting.

so then is that normal? I did check the fluid level and topped it off before i started towing. the emergency brake was not on and like i said, both drive shafts were pulled.

It does have a Dana 44 Power Lok. would that make a difference?

That is normal temp for most diffs. hot to the touch, but wont blister water off it.

That's pretty much what i meant by super hot. I can't leave my hand on there without it getting hot enough to start hurting.

so then is that normal? I did check the fluid level and topped it off before i started towing. the emergency brake was not on and like i said, both drive shafts were pulled.

It does have a Dana 44 Power Lok. would that make a difference?

Yep sounds normal to me.

I've got a '75 CJ5 that i'll be flat towing for about 20 miles ... my plan is to simply put the tranny and t-case in nueutral ... would you recommend that i disconnect the drive shafts for that distance? or would shifting to neutral be sufficient?

pull the shafts, other wise you'll damage the trany and Tcase bc they lub themselves by the spinning of the gears.

thats what i always do, thats why trailers are nice

Tailers are nice ... but these days they're getting to be pretty expensive ... was cheaper to just get a tow bar for no until i can manage to save up a few grand for a trailer ....

i just towed mine about 8 hours round trip. didn't pull the shafts, but had no probs whatsoever. i run 85 140 in the rear.

yeah i always just pull the shafts just in case. takes a little extra time but worth the piece of mind.