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Can I flat tow ?

1K views 14 replies 10 participants last post by  FORZUKIOTA 
#1 ·
I'm looking at buying a 1987 cherokee pioneer to tow
behind my motor home. I was wondering If any one
knew if this truck could be flat towed for long distances?
It is 4wd ,inline six ,auto , without lockouts on the front.
any input would be helpfull. Thanx
 
#2 ·
Remove the rear driveshaft and you should be fine. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read that If you flat tow a 231 Transfer Case with the shaft in, you'll smoke the rear output bearing on the slip yoke.

Jake
 
#5 ·
Regarding smoking an output bearing when flat towing, I think you're thinking of a Dana 300 t-case. Even they can be modified (via welding splasher ears onto the shaft) so they can be towed So far as I know, towing an NP-231 equipped Jeep just means you have to shift the t-case into neutral and the transmission into gear.

And BTT just means Back To Top so the thread comes back up to the top of all the posts! :D
 
#6 ·
Thanks. That one bugged me so bad, I forgot to answer the question.

I concur with Jerry. Just put the tranny in gear and the t-case in neutral. I've got a buddy that flat tows his XJ all over Texas that way with no worries. But, if you want to make sure, you can always pull the driveshafts. Disconnect the axle end, tape the u-joint caps, and strap it up out of the way. I've got another friend that is a tow truck driver. He always pulls the shaft. I think he does it just to be safe with all the different vehicles he tows.

RR3
 
#9 ·
Wasn't there somethng about there being no true neutral in the 231? I thought that meant that the two output shafts are connected together when it's in neutral. Something like that anyway.
 
#12 ·
The factory advises that the 231 is flat towable in the later cherokees and wranglers. Before I added the Atlas II to my 97 TJ, we towed the 231 in neutral and the automatic in park behind our motorhome for many thousands of miles. We also tow our TJ with the Atlas II despite advise not to do so too far. Never had a problem with it either. You should be able to flat tow with no problem even though the 231 does not have a true neutral. More gears turning inside will assure good splash lubrication. I don't think there was any internal differences in the 231 cases between the year of your cherokee and our TJ.
 
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