1 Lucky Texan

from; http://www.cars101.com/towing.html#towing%20behind%20a%20motorhome

Probably just the nature of the faulures involved. The towing likely burned up some clutches/bands (I'm no expert OK?) but the pump and seals seem to be intact. probably explains why reverse is OK. It wasn't towed in reverse and that clutch/band wasn't contacting anything that could cause wear. If it is affordable, your tranny may 'only' need some friction materials/parts replaced to work again (maybe just briefly though, could be risky,and other moving parts 'could' have had undue wear since the fluid wasn't being pumped through. Local heating of gears, etc. may have shortnend the lifespan of those parts. ) - it's just that a used tranny may be a cheaper way to proceed. Even the owner's manual has extensive warnings about towing the car. Some 5 speeds and I think some newer cars can be towed 4 down(with speed/distance limitations I think?), but the 4eat and 5eat (I think?) AWD models can't tolerate it. Even using the donut spare comes with speed/distance warnings and requires use of the FWD fuse on some Soobs.

On that Impala, I started with a hammer on the turned-around axled nut after usimng some PB Blaster. I eventually had to rent a huge gear-type puller to use on the hub and use the torch AND use the impact on the puller AND hammer on the puller. It was crazy stuck. (the first puller I had under the lug nuts, a lug nut stripped and shot around the garage and either it or the breaker bar handle hit me on the thumb - lucky I was'nt severely injured. had to buy lug nuts.. it can be frustrating working on cars) hope yours is easier. The 2 Subarus I've done, I just pushed the axle out with my thumbs! you might look around youtube for some videos.

since the suspension is at max travel and/or you have the knuckle loose, any 'inward' force should just slide the tripod joint a little further inward. It won't be bottomed out and almost no force will be trasferred to the diff.

not a good way to tow the car. Probably time to shop for a used tranny.

aartod - an option might be to pull the knuckles yourself, take them to the dealership or other shop to have the bearings swapped.

yeah, it seems like the shifting problem would make me want to try a few drain/fill cycles with new fluid - maybe some CRC or Lucas transmission additive too. But, I guess it could be a front diff problem ???

dunno why I want to ask this but, how's reverse?

I would start by examining the axle. Also, check the front diff fluid with the little dipstick on the right side (opposite side from the autotran dipstick)

easy enough to check the boots as brus brother suggested. Then go on the electronics hunt.

noises are tricky over the internet, is it a grinding sound or thumping or ??? I'm gonna suggest your mechanic take a look at the anti-sway bar and it's end links but, if you can create the noise with your mechanic in the car on a test drive, that would probably help a lot.

some people report good luck with Lucas or CRC transmission additives. But, if it was fine before, and not now, seems like some clutches or something might be compromised.

Um, sorry if it's obvious to you, but some people haven't had the car idling when checking the fluid level. You might be underfilled which will cause slipping.

the bearings would have to be monumentally bad. should be easy enough to put a vacuum gauge on the car just to confirn it's OK. There is a vacuum check valve in the vacuum line going to the booster. i have read of them getting moisture and freezing in the winter. I suppose it's possible they could get gummy or otherwise fail. they are supposed to maintain enough vacuum in the booster so you have a coupla easy stops if there's an engine failure on the road. I'd say there's a good chance you lost booster vacuum after you parked the car. Not sure why though. Booster leak or check-valve problem seems likely though.

You didn't take the strut mount nut off the strut did you? The 3 small nuts on the bearing mount come off and the unit comes down with the spring still compressed. Or has the car been in a wreck and the area's sheet metal has been deformed? Um - maybe you could post a picture of what you're dealing with.

I looked at a youtube video but there was no mention of any drama or special dis-assembly so, I dunno. Can you just drop it to the ground behind the hub then just drag it out?

oh, it's a real strut where I was dealing with a shock/spring deal. maybe a control arm has to come loose?

I guess I thought you had no way to lift more than one side at a time. when I did my 03, I had the entire back up in the air - jackstand on each side. dunno if older models are the same, but i still had to use the scissor jack to push the hub down a little, and a floor jack to lift stuff a little to make getting that lower bolt in and out easier.

getting a list of problems could help you fix it yourself. You could just not approve any other work. One problem though, I could see a dealership refusing to perform a recall on a broken system so ...might need to be prepared for that.

No ofense intended but, we get the entire range of car owners here and I do sometimes risk offending people by asking about basic stuff. If you check the oil regularly, then it wasn't underfilled at the last service. Recently, there have been threads where folks discovered the service guys had under or overfilled the crankcase during an oil change. Hmm, maybe some odd kind of PCV valve problem. They can get gummed-up and lead to some increased oil usage. Might need cleaning/changing. Inexpensive.

If the noise seems internal, the overheating episode may have damaged some bearings. Wonder where the oil went recently? Sending an oil sample to Blackstone labs might help. However, I'm betting an experienced soob mechanic will be able to tell you as well. fluids are the life-blood of your car, some moreso than others but, they need regular attention and occasional changing. Having a rattle tell you to check the oil is not good.

I think there can be o-ring type seals where some wiring goes into the case. they can seep.

probably another option would be to put everything back together enough to drop the car (or drive both side up on ramps) and take the sway bar end link loose - probably get by just loosening on one side, not sure though if it might still hit some interference, best to loosen both sides)

Decades ago I tried one to repair an outer CVJ on a '78 Honda. it didn't last 3 weeks.

Are you checking the fluid level while idling? Lots of people forget and the transmission is underfilled.