97 Geo Tracker 4x4 Auto trans flat tow: Tranny in park? Why?

On later models there is a vacuum line that operates the front differential and not the hubs.

rockhillmanor wrote:

I'm worried about screwing up the Geo transmission by flat towing it wrong. Can anyone shed any light on the proper transmission position, and if it is supposed to be Park,

why do you think mine dragged?

LOCK OUT HUBS. (located on the axles on the wheel:W)

Do you have ''automatic'' lock out hubs or ''manual'' lock out hubs.?

If you have auto you have to replace them with manual lock out hubs to tow four down.

You can NOT tow 4 down with automatic lock out hubs.

It's an easy swap to change, albeit I had an RV shop do the work.

And YES the trans shift lever has to be in PARK.

I have two Suzuki's, a 1995 Sidekick, 4X4 w/ AT and manual hubs, the 2006 GV is 4X4 w/AT and auto engage hubs. The manual for the 95' states to unlock the hubs, the manual for the 06' says that you don't have to do anything to the hubs. Actually, the autohubs engage automatically after you change the transfer case to 4H locked and disengage when you change the transfer case to 4H unlock and back up the first time. No need to change to warns or other manual hubs.

I bought a used Sidekick (auto, 4wd) with about 30k miles on it. I towed it using the exact procedure from the owner's manual. The gear train was still in great shape after 125k when I sold it. Transfer case in neutral, trans in park. Every 200 miles started engine, put trans in drive and ran for at least 1 minute. Turned off engine, put trans back in park. Yes, you have to wait for the trans shaft to stop turning before putting back in park. I would leave the driver's door open during the procedure to make sure I didn't forget to put it back in "tow" mode before driving off.

Suzuki and Trackers the transfer case must be in neutral.
OPs dragging vehicle did not have transfer case in neutral. That is why he drug the rig.
Manual transmission book says in second gear with transfer case in neutral.

All automatic transmissions have a device called the parking pawl, this is a small device that locks the output shaft and helps to immobilize the vehicle so that the parking brake can be applied, if you attempt to tow with the transmission in "park" the rear wheels are going to drag eventually this small lock will brake and then you will need to repair the transmission, that is why it is important to use the parking brake in an automatic.

The procedure for the Suzuki and (Chevrolet) Traker calls for the gear shift lever to be in second gear, transfer case lever between 4x and 4x low, no dash light illuminated for the transfer case, hand brake off and the ignition key the first detent from the off position, no dash lights on, key busser will sound with the door open.

navegator

I'm worried about screwing up the Geo transmission by flat towing it wrong. Can anyone shed any light on the proper transmission position, and if it is supposed to be Park,

why do you think mine dragged?

LOCK OUT HUBS. (located on the axles on the wheel:W)

Do you have ''automatic'' lock out hubs or ''manual'' lock out hubs.?

If you have auto you have to replace them with manual lock out hubs to tow four down.

You can NOT tow 4 down with automatic lock out hubs.

It's an easy swap to change, albeit I had an RV shop do the work.

And YES the trans shift lever has to be in PARK.

When you put the transfer case in Neutral, start the engine and put the transmission in Drive or Reverse. If the vehicle tries to move, the transfer case is NOT in Neutral!
If the vehicle does NOT try to move, you know the transfer case IS, in fact, in Neutral.
DO NOT attempt to put the transmission in park until AFTER you shut the engine off! If you do, it will make a horrible noise and possibly break something! The transmission output shaft MUST NOT be rotating when the shift lever is put in the PARK position!

OK thanks for the explanations and suggestions! WyoTraveller and D.E.Bishop called it right, transfer case was not in neutral, it was in 4H best I can tell. I made the mistake of assuming it it wiggled side to side that was neutral. Nope! I can;t read the letters on the actual shift knob so I consulted the manual and figured out I needed to have the knob another notch forward to be in neutral.
Thanks again, will give it another tow try tomorrow.
Jack

On many manual shift transfer cases, I have found it helpful to shift transfer case into neutral and then roll the vehicle forward or backward a few feet with transmission in neutral to facilitate the actual gear change into neutral, and then shift transmission to park and confirm that the vehicle will roll in park.

I have a 1995 Sidekick(yeah I
have a 2006 Vitara too)and I assume you have a manual stick for the transfer case and neutral isn't where I thought it was or should be, bet it was still engaged. We've got 10'sf thousands of towing miles on both of them and not problems. Follow the instructions and then before you hook up, start the engine and drop it into gear, if it moves back, your xfer case is not in neutral.