Can I tow my Tahoe home?

[Sean James]

'99 Tahoe 5.7 4x4 autotrak (4 wheel auto, with 4 push-buttons on dash and neutral light).

The fuel pump took a dump on me 12 miles from my house, lucky it was in the rear parking lot of a Walgreens. Wife got a ride home and came back with the Silverado, tow straps, flashlight, etc.

While waiting I looked through the owners manual and it says not to tow unless you put the Transfer Case in Neutral. ( I had to do this several years ago with the 95 Silverado that has the manual floor shift, just manually shift to neutral and off you go). But something about the Auto 4WD having a pump in the t/c that requires it to be in neutral?

Manual says how to put the t/c in neutral, but the engine must be RUNNING! Push the 2 wheel high button and the 4 Wheel low button at the same time, hold for 10 seconds until the neutral light comes on, then shift the trans into reverse for a second, then drive, then neutral.

Well, since the engine wont run without a fuel pump, do I have to pull the driveshaft (s)!! Really? I tried the procedure with just the key on and no luck....Darn! I know everything works perfect with the 4wd system, just went over it recently, and used it often in the deep snow in Utah the last few months. Oh well.

Question is: Can I just tow it home slowly for the 12 miles? It's still in the 50F. here in Utah during the day, so heat should not be problem. OR can I just disconnect the rear driveshaft and wire it up? OR do I have to disconnect BOTH front and rear driveshafts?

I can spin the front driveshaft by hand when parked, so shouldn't that mean that it is not connected/engaged to the t/c or AutoTrak system when in 2 wheel high? or does the front driveshaft spin when driving in 2 wheel high while going down the road, due to parasitic drag or the clutches engaged when rolling with the engine off?

Sorry if I seem lazy, but it happened at 9 at night, gotta go back in the morning and try to get this done asap. Already got the new pump and the garage set up to change the pump. Pulling, wiring up, towing, and driving home is going to eat up a lot of time, and I only have one day to do this or the wife has no car for a week and half. (I drive a truck, and home time is limited). Plus my other wives are getting testy about me spending so much time with my new one

Thanks guys for any opinions answers.

 

[swathdiver]

If nobody chimes in with direct knowledge, if it were mine I'd pull the rear driveshaft at least. The front axle should not be engaged while in 2HI so you can leave it.

 

[drakon543]

its only 12 miles do the driveshaft and take it slow. i think most 4wd vehicles after 2000 all say dont tow blah blah blah. picture i posted a while ago was an 04 f150 that said dont tow more than 20 miles or something with the wheels on the ground. the owner insisted it would be fine and i ended up doing a round trip of 140 miles.

 

[alpinecrick]

Tow it........

 

[RST Dana]

its only 12 miles do the driveshaft and take it slow. i think most 4wd vehicles after 2000 all say dont tow blah blah blah. picture i posted a while ago was an 04 f150 that said dont tow more than 20 miles or something with the wheels on the ground. the owner insisted it would be fine and i ended up doing a round trip of 140 miles.

Isn’t toward expected with a Ford?

 

[drakon543]

ya thats why the ford manual is so detailed when it comes to towing your vehicle. it has like a page and a half on methods and suggestions lol.

 

[BG1988]

'99 Tahoe 5.7 4x4 autotrak (4 wheel auto, with 4 push-buttons on dash and neutral light).

The fuel pump took a dump on me 12 miles from my house, lucky it was in the rear parking lot of a Walgreens. Wife got a ride home and came back with the Silverado, tow straps, flashlight, etc.

While waiting I looked through the owners manual and it says not to tow unless you put the Transfer Case in Neutral. ( I had to do this several years ago with the 95 Silverado that has the manual floor shift, just manually shift to neutral and off you go). But something about the Auto 4WD having a pump in the t/c that requires it to be in neutral?

Manual says how to put the t/c in neutral, but the engine must be RUNNING! Push the 2 wheel high button and the 4 Wheel low button at the same time, hold for 10 seconds until the neutral light comes on, then shift the trans into reverse for a second, then drive, then neutral.

Well, since the engine wont run without a fuel pump, do I have to pull the driveshaft (s)!! Really? I tried the procedure with just the key on and no luck....Darn! I know everything works perfect with the 4wd system, just went over it recently, and used it often in the deep snow in Utah the last few months. Oh well.

Question is: Can I just tow it home slowly for the 12 miles? It's still in the 50F. here in Utah during the day, so heat should not be problem. OR can I just disconnect the rear driveshaft and wire it up? OR do I have to disconnect BOTH front and rear driveshafts?

I can spin the front driveshaft by hand when parked, so shouldn't that mean that it is not connected/engaged to the t/c or AutoTrak system when in 2 wheel high? or does the front driveshaft spin when driving in 2 wheel high while going down the road, due to parasitic drag or the clutches engaged when rolling with the engine off?

Sorry if I seem lazy, but it happened at 9 at night, gotta go back in the morning and try to get this done asap. Already got the new pump and the garage set up to change the pump. Pulling, wiring up, towing, and driving home is going to eat up a lot of time, and I only have one day to do this or the wife has no car for a week and half. (I drive a truck, and home time is limited). Plus my other wives are getting testy about me spending so much time with my new one

Thanks guys for any opinions answers.

pay a tow truck never worth damaging parts that will cost more then a tow or rent a Tow dolly from uhaul

 

[89Suburban]

Did you try banging on the fuel tank with your fist or a hammer to jolt the pump into action? That usually works a dozen times before it totally strands you. At least in my experiences...

 

[Sean James]

Thanks Swathdriver and 89suburban and others. Darn it, I didn't try banging on the bottom of the fuel tank, I know that the pump assy rides on the bottom of the plastic tank and I can totally see how that would work, unfortunatley I didn't get this last post until I already towed it home. Here is how it went:

I dropped the rear driveshaft, only took about 20 minutes, marked it with tape/marker so it goes back the same way, duck tape on the bearing caps, wired it up with fence wire, being careful to not drive it into or out of the trans rear seal either way, I didn't want to trash the seal with dirty yoke shaft. Wired it up to a muffler hanger, easy. I put a piece of tape on the front drive shaft and towed it about a 1/4 mile, stopped, set the pkg brake, and crawled under, and checked the front driveshaft...it had not moved one bit. So I was sure the front shaft was not spinning while towing. Had the trans in neutral, but guess it could have been in park for all that mattered, since nothing was spinning. Wife and I both had our phones on speaker, and it was pretty easy to yell at her about using the brakes, and making wide turns.

Luckily it is Sunday, and everyone here in UT is in Church, hardly any traffic in my Rural town. 12 miles to home at 30 mph, piece of cake. Thanks to all who responded, it would have been an extra hassle to remove and wire up the front drive shaft. Plus I saved a bunch of time and money on a dolly, tow truck, etc. Now I'm wondering if I should just change out the rear U-joint while I'm at it, it's still good, but it's fun watching all that plastic stuff come gooing out of them little holes . Thank you Gentlemen!

 

[89Suburban]

Thanks Swathdriver and 89suburban and others. Darn it, I didn't try banging on the bottom of the fuel tank, I know that the pump assy rides on the bottom of the plastic tank and I can totally see how that would work, unfortunatley I didn't get this last post until I already towed it home. Here is how it went:

I dropped the rear driveshaft, only took about 20 minutes, marked it with tape/marker so it goes back the same way, duck tape on the bearing caps, wired it up with fence wire, being careful to not drive it into or out of the trans rear seal either way, I didn't want to trash the seal with dirty yoke shaft. Wired it up to a muffler hanger, easy. I put a piece of tape on the front drive shaft and towed it about a 1/4 mile, stopped, set the pkg brake, and crawled under, and checked the front driveshaft...it had not moved one bit. So I was sure the front shaft was not spinning while towing. Had the trans in neutral, but guess it could have been in park for all that mattered, since nothing was spinning. Wife and I both had our phones on speaker, and it was pretty easy to yell at her about using the brakes, and making wide turns.

Luckily it is Sunday, and everyone here in UT is in Church, hardly any traffic in my Rural town. 12 miles to home at 30 mph, piece of cake. Thanks to all who responded, it would have been an extra hassle to remove and wire up the front drive shaft. Plus I saved a bunch of time and money on a dolly, tow truck, etc. Now I'm wondering if I should just change out the rear U-joint while I'm at it, it's still good, but it's fun watching all that plastic stuff come gooing out of them little holes . Thank you Gentlemen!

Good job man!