Thread: Towing a Disco

Originally Posted by johnclv

Hi all

Asking a question on behalf of a friend of mine.

He is towing his 2001 TD5 disco behind a bus, having the rear wheels running on the ground and whilst the front wheels are held of the ground ( I have not seen it myself )

Anyway he was told that when he tows he needs to remove the rear tailshaft for safety, but that seems very odd to me ( auto gear box )

I told him that he should just be able to leave his transfer case in neutral and his gearbox also and that should be more then sufficient. Tell me I am not being nuts??

As for my disco. Its gone. I never had a more unreliable car. Cost me a fortune to buy, fortune to keep running and hard to sell.

What did I replace it with? A car that most mechanics know about, parts are easily available, has great grunt and reliability. A 100 series turbo diesel Land Cruiser.


Cheers


Sorry folks I have to say

LMAO...

100 Series requires ECU access to control... Most mechs dont have the systems...

Great grunt...

Parts, besides filters are NOT easily available, just wait till you need a driveline component and have a 6-8 week ex-Japan delay... (Common)

But hey, just adopt that Toyota mentality and on your way....

BTW, Your mate should flat tow on a trailer, cheaper, and less wear on any components of the vehicle.

He should diconnect the rear driveshaft or the centre diff will be running constantly in a manner it is not designed to do.

Being constant 4wd with a centre diff - a D2 should not be towed and great distance with just the rear wheels on the ground.

The rear wheels will be trying to drive the front wheels and because they cannot the centre diff will be working overtime and is likely to fail. Having the gearbox and transfer case in neutral will have not impact on this aspect.

My understanding this is a definitely a no, no on constant 4wd vehicles.

Garry

Originally Posted by johnclv

I told him that he should just be able to leave his transfer case in neutral and his gearbox also and that should be more then sufficient. Tell me I am not being nuts??

Hmmm perhaps this is part of the reason why your disco proved unreliable.


In answer to your question definately No.
Not sure if it would be possible to use the small wheel trolleys that tow truck operators sometimes use when towing. Otherwise it should be put on a trailer or as your friend was advised remove the rear tail shaft

Yep, you definetley shouldn't do that (tow with 2 wheels off the ground with everything connected). He will need some gearbox work if hes not careful

To remove the rear drive shaft it is only 3 bolts on the diff end. Then tie the drive shaft up out of the way.
Just remember it is there otherwise there will be damage.

I have never needed to do something like this and would prefer a trailer if it was me. However the cost of the rear tyres, diff, bearings, suspension etc on the Disco are probably a lot cheaper than buying a quality trailer and then doing tyres and bearings etc on that.

My Discovery was cheap to buy and is cheap to run while being reliable. Sorry to hear you had a bad run.

Thanks all

I just thought that with the transfer in Neutral that it is just the same as having it physically disconnected.

My Disco, I never towed it that way. It was towed many times on a flat bed though when to broke down. Fuel pump, gearbox (2X ) etc etc.

I did take very good care of it. The only reliable thing about the car was that it would break down regularly and cost me $$$$

Cheers

Originally Posted by johnclv

Hi all

Asking a question on behalf of a friend of mine.

He is towing his 2001 TD5 disco behind a bus, having the rear wheels running on the ground and whilst the front wheels are held of the ground ( I have not seen it myself )

Anyway he was told that when he tows he needs to remove the rear tailshaft for safety, but that seems very odd to me ( auto gear box )

I told him that he should just be able to leave his transfer case in neutral and his gearbox also and that should be more then sufficient. Tell me I am not being nuts??

As for my disco. Its gone. I never had a more unreliable car. Cost me a fortune to buy, fortune to keep running and hard to sell.

What did I replace it with? A car that most mechanics know about, parts are easily available, has great grunt and reliability. A 100 series turbo diesel Land Cruiser.


Cheers


Sorry folks I have to say

Remove axles and replace drive flanges is my method or remove T/shaft from rear diff.
You are in for a rude shock, you have been conned that Toyotas are ultra reliable and that spares are cheap and AVAILABLE, sorta like that myth that Holdens are Australian. I had a 2 week old Toyota Land Cruiser drop a tailshaft and the pinion shaft dropped back into the diff, destroying it, causing the backend to lock up and the car spin 360's in Sydney traffic, lucky no one was killed. Toyota said it would be 6 weeks before a new diff could be shipped from Japan. Bull**** I said and kicked up so much stink that they stripped the **** end out of a showroom car, Just Imagine if it had happened out the back of Bourke, Toyota parts are way past extremely expensive, for example a PCV for a Corolla $35, Ford/Holden $5, aftermarket $2.50, Toyota's are crap, Regards Frank.