alaskanjer Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I'm moving back up to Alaska and will be towing my 98 OB with a big U-haul truck. On the move down I trailered it, but all that extra weight (trailer weighs 2200 lbs.) made for slow going and awkward handling and I'm sure affected gas mileage too. I think I got about 6 or 7 mpg. I did some searching on this forum and found I could disconnect the drive shaft and use a dolly which would would save about 1600 lbs and is cheaper to rent also. That got me thinking. Is there any reason not to pull the front axles and tow with all four wheels down? The odometer is hooked to the transmission, right? so I wouldn't be adding miles to the odometer. Is it hard on a car to get towed like this? The trip will be about 2400 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 (edited) you cant pull axles if i do recall, the axle nut is what hold the hub assembly and wheel to the spindle. take off axle nut and wheel flies off.....cool to video tape and place on youtube, not cool if you love your subaru now, i suppose you could pull the transmission....ah never mind. What you need to do is pull out the driveshaft, and dolly it with it rolling on the back wheels. Is your OBW a auto or manual? Edited August 20, 2009 by bheinen74 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 really don't want to be pulling the front axles, technically there's a way to do it, but it would be overly complicated. you'd have to disassemble your axles (or a spare set) so as to use the outer joints in the hubs. it's not really worth it though considering the parts costs/risk of contamination of the hubs/bearings IMO. get a tow dolly, then remove the rear half of the driveshaft. that is VERY easy and much lighter to pull and for safety reasons you could still have brakes on the dolly if you wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alaskanjer Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 It's a manual. I agree, the four wheels down idea sounds like way more time and energy than it would be worth. Sounds like the dolly is the way to go. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 The hubs are pressed into the bearings, which are pressed into the knuckle. If you take the axle nut off, the wheel isn't going anywhere unless your bearing is toast. With the exception of the rear wheels on a FWD model. It's really more of a pain than its worth to pull the front axles though. You're gonna have to get a tow rig anyway, whether you rent a dolly or a frame mounted setup to pull it with. Just put it on a dolly and save yourself a lot of trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 The hubs are pressed into the bearings, which are pressed into the knuckle. If you take the axle nut off, the wheel isn't going anywhere unless your bearing is toast. the bearings would be madly exposed to dirt, water, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 you can tow a manual trans AWD in neutral with all 4 wheels down (or all 4 up), but you will not have any brakes. you do not want to tow with 2 down and 2 up with out removing the rear section of the drive shaft. it will cook the viscous coupling to the rear. the only drawback to the dolly is that you can't back up, very much. what will you be pulling it with.? this may make a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alaskanjer Posted August 21, 2009 Author Share Posted August 21, 2009 I'll be towing it with the 26' truck that U-haul rents. I made the trip down with a fully loaded 17' U-haul truck pulling the car on a trailer and there were definitely times that I was glad the trailer had brakes. But man it was a dog. Any slight incline or twisty road (and that seemed like most of the way) and I was limited to 35mph. I am hoping the bigger truck with aproximately the same load would have a little more pep on the climbs and have the braking capacity to not need a trailer with brakes, but i don't really know. The dollys that u-haul rents don't have brakes like the trailers do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloyale Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 It's a manual. I agree, the four wheels down idea sounds like way more time and energy than it would be worth. Sounds like the dolly is the way to go. Thanks Since it's a Manual, and all the lubrication of the gearbox happens from splash, you are fine to tow it all four down. As long as all 4 wheels are moving toghether, there is no strain on the AWD system(viscous coupler) The hardest part would be a proper towbar installed, but I know they are made for the motor home community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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