Towing a allison in neutral

[830king]

Hi guys I have a silly question for Mike L or Evan or any good builders opinion... Little back story first.... My dad does custom farm work and we have a service truck with a utility box and a tow bar on the front bumper and pull it behind the tractor and equipment so we have some parts/tools on site and a way to get home at the end of the day. Sometimes it gets towed as far as 30 miles at one time. Our current truck is getting old and the frame is buckling (rust) so we're looking to update. It has to be a 4x4 crewcab, the last few trucks were manual trans trucks....no big deal throw the trans in neutral and tow behind the tractor...no problem. Current truck is automatic with floor shift 4x4, so we just put tcase in neutral and go. A buddy has nice lbz that is reasonably priced and is what we are looking for except it has push button 4x4....which can be pain to get into neutral sometimes. We considered switching it to floor shift but it has full center console and a google search didnt really come up with a kit to convert to floor shift. So here is my question....can you tow a allison in neutral with engine off without doing damage? Top speed will be about 22mph.... And leaving it running isn't really a option because it's in a dust cloud on dry gravel roads and the air filter would clog everyday. Thanks


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[PureHybrid]

Nope. Not worth the risk IMO.

How are you getting an electronic shift tcase into neutral?

 

[830king]

Nope. Not worth the risk IMO.

How are you getting an electronic shift tcase into neutral?

You have to hold two buttons together, there is a red light for neutral. We have 4 gm trucks with push button 4x4 and they all are tricky to get tcase into neutral.

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[Chevy1925]

Nope. Not worth the risk IMO.

How are you getting an electronic shift tcase into neutral?

1. Start the truck or turn the key to RUN

2. Set the park brake

3. Put the transmission in Neutral

4. Hold the 2HI ad 4LO buttons at the same time for aproximately 10 seconds (The red neutral light will come on when it's in neutral)

5. Shift the transmission into Reverse for 1 second

6. Shift the transmission into Drive for 1 second

7. Shift the transmission into Park



IMHO, idle the truck and leave the trans in nuetral. this way the pump is moving oil around and lubricating inside. Unless im missing something with the truck in neutral and truck running

 

[830king]

1. Start the truck or turn the key to RUN

2. Set the park brake

3. Put the transmission in Neutral

4. Hold the 2HI ad 4LO buttons at the same time for aproximately 10 seconds (The red neutral light will come on when it's in neutral)

5. Shift the transmission into Reverse for 1 second

6. Shift the transmission into Drive for 1 second

7. Shift the transmission into Park



IMHO, idle the truck and leave the trans in nuetral. this way the pump is moving oil around and lubricating inside. Unless im missing something with the truck in neutral and truck running

The only problem with idling the truck is dust, usually when we get where going the windshield is completely covered, you don't want to see what the engine bay looks like...lol We don't want the engine to breath more dust that it already has to. I just went out to my truck and put tcase in neutral....took 17 seconds to get into neutral, putting back in gear took about 1 second. Now I can't imagine the life of that electric motor lasting very long because some days it would possibly be shifted in and out of neutral 6-8 times, as well as into 4x4 a couple times...mind you that's not everyday, but it's very possible on a few day a year. We really want a floor shift but they are so hard to find, and this truck is at really good price.

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[PureHybrid]

1. Start the truck or turn the key to RUN

2. Set the park brake

3. Put the transmission in Neutral

4. Hold the 2HI ad 4LO buttons at the same time for aproximately 10 seconds (The red neutral light will come on when it's in neutral)

5. Shift the transmission into Reverse for 1 second

6. Shift the transmission into Drive for 1 second

7. Shift the transmission into Park



IMHO, idle the truck and leave the trans in nuetral. this way the pump is moving oil around and lubricating inside. Unless im missing something with the truck in neutral and truck running

Hmm, never knew that.

I always leave trucks idle in neutral when getting towed from the front (damage permitting).

 

[830king]

Hmm, never knew that.

I always leave trucks idle in neutral when getting towed from the front (damage permitting).

I think the 07 and newer don't have a neutral position on the 4x4 dial, maybe the HD's do but I'm pretty sure our 08 tahoe doesn't. I'll have to look after work tonight.

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[duratothemax]

I think the 07 and newer don't have a neutral position on the 4x4 dial, maybe the HD's do but I'm pretty sure our 08 tahoe doesn't. I'll have to look after work tonight.

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Sure they do. Just turn the knob further, past 4wd low range position. Its in the owners manual.

 

[830king]

Sure they do. Just turn the knob further, past 4wd low range position. Its in the owners manual.

I learned something new today! The problem is whenever I learn something new I forget something older....lol

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[Dozerboy]

I could be wrong but I want to think even the floor shift trucks are still electronic?

I don't see you having a problem doing it as much as you will be shifting it. On long trips up north in the winter I'm in and out of 4wd all the time, because I don't like to leave it in 4wd all the time.

Is that sequence to put the transfer case in neutral in a manual? I don't recall ever shifting my transmission out of park when I've done it in the past. I just hold the Hi-Lo button and wait for the red light to come on.

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[830king]

I could be wrong but I want to think even the floor shift trucks are still electronic?

I don't see you having a problem doing it as much as you will be shifting it. On long trips up north in the winter I'm in and out of 4wd all the time, because I don't like to leave it in 4wd all the time.

Is that sequence to put the transfer case in neutral in a manual? I don't recall ever shifting my transmission out of park when I've done it in the past. I just hold the Hi-Lo button and wait for the red light to come on.

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Thanks for all the replies so far guys!

The reason to shift into neutral is so you set the park brake....because once you put tcase in neutral the park won't keep you parked anymore..lol
And I'm sure it will shift into neutral easier when there is zero tension on the parking pawl.

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[Chevy1925]

The only problem with idling the truck is dust, usually when we get where going the windshield is completely covered, you don't want to see what the engine bay looks like...lol We don't want the engine to breath more dust that it already has to. I just went out to my truck and put tcase in neutral....took 17 seconds to get into neutral, putting back in gear took about 1 second. Now I can't imagine the life of that electric motor lasting very long because some days it would possibly be shifted in and out of neutral 6-8 times, as well as into 4x4 a couple times...mind you that's not everyday, but it's very possible on a few day a year. We really want a floor shift but they are so hard to find, and this truck is at really good price.

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well thats why the trucks have air filters lol. leave the stock paper one in and it wont be an issue. idling wont pull that much air through but trying it is the only way to know just how quick they will fill up. cost no more than 50 bucks for a filters and trying it out. certainly faster and less concern about the encoder motor going out on the t-case

 

[830king]

well thats why the trucks have air filters lol. leave the stock paper one in and it wont be an issue. idling wont pull that much air through but trying it is the only way to know just how quick they will fill up. cost no more than 50 bucks for a filters and trying it out. certainly faster and less concern about the encoder motor going out on the t-case

I know what your saying....but the fan will pull all that dust into the cooling stack when the engine is running. And it would be alot of idle time, I always thought excessive idling was kinda hard on injectors? This truck will have a pretty rough life....but never worked hard like pulling heavy, it would be limited to what you can pull on the rear bumper, no gooseneck with a utility box.

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[DAVe3283]

I wouldn't worry too much about the encoder failing. Mine has 315k miles on it and still goes in and out of 4x4 without a problem. And if it goes out, just put a new encoder motor on. They run $50 to $150 depending on brand and new/used. I wouldn't sweat it.

 

[830king]

I could be wrong but I want to think even the floor shift trucks are still electronic?

I don't see you having a problem doing it as much as you will be shifting it. On long trips up north in the winter I'm in and out of 4wd all the time, because I don't like to leave it in 4wd all the time.

Is that sequence to put the transfer case in neutral in a manual? I don't recall ever shifting my transmission out of park when I've done it in the past. I just hold the Hi-Lo button and wait for the red light to come on.

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I forgot about your first sentence....the manual tcase trucks prolly do have a electric encoder motor on the front diff just like the push button trucks. But that motor prolly won't do anything when shifting tcase into neutral. Just to and from 4x4.

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[Mike L.]

I would not take a chance towing with the drive shaft installed. Even running the engine in neutral the Allison lube circuit is not putting any lube to the gear train. Plus the fact that the C5 clutch is on in park/neutral.

 

[830king]

So it's sounds like best bet would to keep the the push button t-case, and maybe have a spare encoder motor in the glove box just for peace of mind?

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[830king]

I would not take a chance towing with the drive shaft installed. Even running the engine in neutral the Allison lube circuit is not putting any lube to the gear train. Plus the fact that the C5 clutch is on in park/neutral.

Ok Mike thanks for your input! We definitely will listen to your advice. So just to make sure I fully understand.... It is completely safe to tow with the t-case in neutral, right? And while t-case is in neutral the trans can safely be put in park so the key will be able to go to off position?

And another thing is I'm almost positive this truck has no steering wheel lock with the key off, if it does we will remove it. Learned that lesson the hard way once on a older truck, wrecked a set of brand new front tires...lol

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[Awenta]

Transfer case in neutral or unhook the driveshaft at the axle. Only takes a few seconds.

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[bmc1025]

I only see problems with encoder motors when they never see 4wd. My plow trucks never have issues unless salt gets in. My 98 k2500 lasted till last year and it was a plow truck since day 1.