I have a 4WD 1992 SW with automatic transmission. As long as it is not in 4WD, can this car be safely towed on a tow dolly with the rear wheels on the ground for 75 miles? Thanks

I'm not familiar with that specific model, but an auto trans Legacy of the same year cannot be towed with any wheels on the ground. Unless you have a transfer case that you can disengage the rear I would not do it. Because if the propeller shaft to the transmission is turning that will be bad for any distance.

I'm not familiar with that specific model, but an auto trans Legacy of the same year cannot be towed with any wheels on the ground. Unless you have a transfer case that you can disengage the rear I would not do it. Because if the propeller shaft to the transmission is turning that will be bad for any distance.

 

Not true. As long as its in 2wd its fine to tow a 4wd subie. Just put it in neutral and you'll be fine

most legacys ive seen are awd, no tow. loyales on the other hand are part time 4wd, meaning you can disengage the rear diff thus rendering them towable. make sure its in fwd (no "4wd" light) and youre fine man, tow that thing

 

 

 

RV

Ahhh...

 

The Loyale automatics use a clutch-pack as a transfer gear, and it does not totally disengage. It can be towed for short distances at low speed without significant damage, but you would be better off disconnecting the rear section of the driveshaft or towing with all four wheels off of the ground.

oh crap................. i thought we were talking about a 5 speed for some reason. autos are a different story entirely. take rear driveshaft off then tow

 

 

RV

I wasn't sure if the Loyale had a transfer case or something that the Legacies did not.

 

What I posted about not being able to tow auto trans AWD Legacy with any wheels on the ground is completely true. You will damage the transfer clutch and possibly other parts of the trans in a auto trans AWD Legacy doing that. It doesn't matter if it is in neutral or not. No ATF is circulating during the towing which doesn't help. Now the manual trans AWD generally having it in neutral and towing with all wheels on the ground is acceptable.

Not true. As long as its in 2wd its fine to tow a 4wd subie. Just put it in neutral and you'll be fine

 

NOT TRUE

 

VERY BAD FOR AUTOMATICS

 

 

While this is somewhat acceptable for manuals, which have gears with teeth that disengage, you CANNOT do this with automatics.

 

Problem is, the automatics use a hydraulic clutch. It's a series of discs, stacked toghether, alternately hooked to inner and outer hubs of the clutch.

 

When engaged, they are forced toghether by hydraulic pressure. But when disengaged....the plates are still in contact, dragging lighty over eachother, lubricated by fluid from the pump. During driving they only rotate at slightly different speeds, as all four wheels are rolling roughly the same, just the differences involved with turning come into play. So there is very little "dragging" of the clutches on eachother and they are lubricated....so it works.

 

But on a dolly, If you drag the rear end along, half the discs will be spinning very fast while the other half will be totally staionary......and without a pump running there is no fluid supplied to lubricate them. the clutches will be fried in the first mile or two.

 

DO NOT EVER EVER EVER tow an automatic trans subaru on a dolly (unless you remove the center driveline)

Yeah sorry. I thought it was a manual transmission too. Towing is bad for at's unless driveline is removed

Dont wanna upset anyone, but its been brought up a little bit..

 

Would towing a 5 Speed Legacy, AWD be bad with all 4 wheels down if it was in neutral?

Dont wanna upset anyone, but its been brought up a little bit..

 

Would towing a 5 Speed Legacy, AWD be bad with all 4 wheels down if it was in neutral?

 

That is generally acceptable for MT's. Here is the Subaru details: http://www.endwrench.com/pdf/drivetrain/TowSubaruVehicleInfoW01.pdf

Note: that article was from around 2001, so though it says 'through current model year' it was the current model year like 10 years ago.