Pump vs disconnect

..Having owned, towed a vehicle with a Remco lube pump, and knowing what I now know.....Kind of a tough decision, picking which of the two is the lesser evil.

Bad thing about the lube pump: If it fails or leaks, there is potential for a LOT of damage to be done to the transmission very quickly. In fairness to the Remco pump, Remco's monitor panel and pressure sensor they use (when installed correctly) reduces that risk considerably, but the risk is still there. If a hose springs a leak, for example...Yes, the monitor panel would let you know, but if a hose springs a 'geyser' leak like ours did once in the driveway...I'm not sure if that happened on the highway that you could get the pump shut off and pulled over safely before the transmission would have sustained some expensive damage.

Based on what I've read about the driveshaft disconnect and the issues some folks have with them, the good thing is there's not quite as much damage potential there. There is, however, a lot more overall 'PITA' in everyday use, in having to engage and dis-engage it, and the maintenance (lubbing, cleaning) it requires.

On a brand new vehicle like is the case here, and its too late to get one thats flat towable without one of these devices....I think I'd opt for the driveshaft disconnect as the 'lesser evil', just out of fear for what a transmission repair on a new one like that could cost.

I have a disconnect and very seldom have to do the re-engage when the engine is running. After unhooking just put your shoulder against the door jam and push back wards while pushing the cable to re-engage the driveshaft.
Mine is also a 4X4 and no trouble using the disconnect before or after off-roading. Guess I'm just one of the lucky ones.

I forgot to mention before buying/installing a drive shaft disconnect, find somebody who will let you operate their vehicle to see how they like it. to re-engage it, you have to jam a fixed spline thingy into a rotating splined thingy which sort of sounds like using an osterizer to grind up ice.
and while driving with it engaged, be on the listen for a ping/ping/ping sound which you will hear shortly before it disengages on you.
I traded my S-10 in on my Dakota PU and later saw somebody driving it around town. I had an urge to ask him if he had ever been surprised with it jumping out of mesh. :)
bumpy

Bumpyroad wrote:
I had a drive shaft disconnect on my S-10 pu, hated it. would be ok if you are willing to continuously crawl underneath to clean, oil, etc. the darn thing. IMHO you made a horrible decision to buy a potential toad that needs such modification, but that was your decision.
every time I post this somebody claims that they don't have to crawl beneath theirs to service it. I would like to see them some times cause their arms have to be at least 5 feet long.
bumpy

This is the issue that was/is reported by many, many users of the disconnect. I've never owned one and never will but, if you tow on completely clean, vacuumed roads with no mud, rain, debris, and any other possible contaminate that can get onto and into those splines, then you may have had some better luck with actually "reconnecting" them after a long days towing.

But, many have had to do what Bumpyroad has had to do and that's get under the toad and clean the splines so that the unit will engage and you can then drive it away from the coach. As for the pump, well, I just don't feel like taking a chance on them either. I don't know what, if any failure rate there is on those pumps but, I personally just don't feel like taking the chance on damaging any transmission because the "one and only one failed was hooked to my car" type thing and, then, trying to deal with either entity, i.e. the auto manufacturer of the vehicle the pump was used on or, Remco, the pump manufacturer, trying to get someone to pay for three or four thousand dollars worth of damage.

So, to us, it was very simple. BUT A VEHICLE THAT CAN BE FLAT TOWED. But, the OP already has his vehicle. So, he'll have to pick which way he equips it to tow.
Scott

I had one on my Ranger for 11 years,no problems .

I had a drive shaft disconnect on my S-10 pu, hated it. would be ok if you are willing to continuously crawl underneath to clean, oil, etc. the darn thing. IMHO you made a horrible decision to buy a potential toad that needs such modification, but that was your decision.
every time I post this somebody claims that they don't have to crawl beneath theirs to service it. I would like to see them some times cause their arms have to be at least 5 feet long.
bumpy

I seem to recall reading more complaints about the disconnects than the pumps, even though there are many more pumps in use. Our Remco pump is currently installed in our 2011 RAV4, after removing it from our 2002 RAV4. It's been in service for a total of about 40,000 miles so far, without any hiccups to date.