hello dolly

[zhead240]

in my search for a zed sometimes i have to travel far. i'm thinking of renting or buying a dolly. this will save me a trip back if i decide to buy a car i'm looking at.( enclosed transport to canada expensive) i'm told u carry the drive wheels. should i tie down the steering wheel?is dolly transport safe or should i get a flat bed?thankyou very much in advance.

[Ed]

A dolly would be fine. And you don't have to pull it backwards to get the drive wheels off the ground. Getting the drive wheel off the ground is a automatic transmission thing.

[mperdue]

You can buy plans to build one yourself on ebay for about 5$ if you're into that kind of stuff. They're fairly simple - be sure you get a swivel deck dolly and not the fixed-deck one. The swivel deck one's are much better on corners. I think pulling with the front wheels on the dolly without locking the steering wheel is recommended as it allows the car to follow the car and dolly around corners. But I found backing up almost impossible in that configuration - not a big deal in most cases though. Another benefit is that they're lighter than a full flat bed which was an issue with my Murano.

[hls30.com]

Towing with the wheels off the ground is not just for automatics, In the manual, if the engine isn't driving the mechanism, lubricant does not flow through the transmission, and you will wear things pretty quick with no lubrication! I always put the car front first in the towdolly, just take a coathanger and a couple of wrenches(an adj. and a socket set), disconect the driveshaft at the rear (4 nuts, bolts, and washers-don't lose them) and use the coat hanger to wire the drive shaft to , strap in the wheels and head out! You can disconnect the drive shaft at the front as well, but then you have to secure the shaft so it can still spin, and remember to add fluid when you get home-some will leak out when the driveshaft is taken out of the transmission!

Michael, when you get ready to back that thing up, use something to secure the two parts of the tow dolly so that the pivot will not pivot. Not everything is Rocket Science! Go low tech, a couple of bolts, heavy nails, or a tow chain would probably do the trick! You aren't backing from Texas to Minnesota!

Will

[mperdue]

Hehehe, I said I found it to be impossible. On the other hand, the guy at the body shop had no problem backing it into the garage with no modifications to the dolly. It just takes practice - I didn't bother.

Michael, when you get ready to back that thing up, use something to secure the two parts of the tow dolly so that the pivot will not pivot. Not everything is Rocket Science! Go low tech, a couple of bolts, heavy nails, or a tow chain would probably do the trick! You aren't backing from Texas to Minnesota!

Will

[hls30.com]

I had to chain the SOB too! My Buddy can back anything, anywhere within inches, no matter what the equipment. He reminds me of my lack of skill all of the time, I remind him if he could do the same thing going forward he would really have something(6 car accidents-all his fault-the smugg bastard!)

Will

[Ed]

Towing with the wheels off the ground is not just for automatics, In the manual, if the engine isn't driving the mechanism, lubricant does not flow through the transmission

Will, doesn't the lubricant in the transmission flow by the rotation of the gears? When in neutral and standing still the engine wouldn't flow lubricant because there is nothing rotating. But with the rear tires driving the gears you will have lubricant flowing. Most of which will be towards the rear since the car will be at an angle. The lubricant that pours out when you remove the driveshaft is what will be lubricating the gears. Atleast thats the way I see it if I'm wrong please explain.

Ed

[hls30.com]

My understanding, from a long time Datsun mechanic is that towing a Z with the drive shaft in it should be done for less than a few miles-the Owners Manual also says this. My assumption is that the fluid pump is driven off the clutch disk, with it disengaged, the pump no pump!

Will

[kmack]

My understanding, from a long time Datsun mechanic is that towing a Z with the drive shaft in it should be done for less than a few miles-the Owners Manual also says this. My assumption is that the fluid pump is driven off the clutch disk, with it disengaged, the pump no pump!

Will

There are no pumps of any kind in a manual transmission, unless they are added externally. Only automatics have a fluid pump in them that are driven by the torque converter.

Manual transmissions "slosh" the oil around by the rotating action of the gears spinning. If the vehicle is towed on the drive-wheels, this spinning action will lubricate the gears/bearings just as if the car was being driven. There are no ill-effects caused by towing a manual transmission car on the drive wheels.

Background: I spent five years in a research facility that tested transmissions of all kinds, including prototype transmissions. My job was to take them apart and put them back together.

BTW, if anybody is local to San Antonio and would like a manual transmission rebuilt for them, I can do it for $200. That will include bearings, seals, and new synchro's if needed. I do not rebuild automatics, I hate those things.

[ggarrard]

Towing with a tow dolly can be done with either the front wheels loaded or rear wheels loaded. I've done it both ways. I'v used the seatbelt of tie the sterring wheel... When flat towing (with as tow bar) I've removed the half-shafts to eliminate the possiblity of the drive shaft "falling out".

GWGarrard

[hls30.com]

My info came from explicit instructions on how to tow my first Z when I bought it, and reading through the owners manual-it could be wrong, I did know a lot less about Zs than I do now, and I have never questioned that specific info, so I have never researched it to find out different. I do know that in towing 35 Zcars over 7,000 miles, I have never damaged a transmission from towing with the rear wheels on the ground-but Towing with out disconnecting the drive shaft could have been just as effective.

Will