Flat towing my 84 CJ7

[Redthies]

Hi guys, I recently (and very unexpectedly) acquired a 1984 CJ7 with the 2.5 4 cylinder and 5 speed Transmission . I was actually looking for a Samurai as a sort of street legal side x side ATV when I saw the CJ for sale. It is bone stock, aside from tires and paint. It has 52,000 original miles on it, and runs and drives awesome.

My main question is related to flat towing it. I plan to use it to get into smaller mountain lakes for fly fishing, and will tow it behind my truck with a slide-in camper and with my Jonboat on a rack I will fabricate. If I tow it with the Transmission and Transfer Case both in neutral, will it accumulate miles? Having never flat towed a vehicle before, I'm going to assume taking the battery negative lead off, and unlocking the ignition by leaving the key in the "on" position is the best way?

Since nobody likes threads without pics, here is the new toy:







The ultimate goal will be to bolt up my 8274, put a 2.5" set of leaves and shocks and some 31s under it. I'm not sure on the gear ratio, but I doubt it will like anything more than 31s. 33x10.50-15 MTs would be ideal though. Does anybody here know which gear ratio is most likely in it? It is the AMC 150 ci engine with T-5 / Dana 300 and the 4150 lb GVW. Does the GVW tell anything? From my research it's going to be either 3.54 or 4.10

 

[gr8dain]

Looks great! I had a 95 YJ with the 4 cylinder engine. It had 33s and was running the 4.10 gears. It did OK around town, but hated the hills. Once I got on an incline, 5th gear was useless.

Have fun with that CJ. Should be a blast. I have never flat towed so I don't have any advice for that.

 

[dsrt4]

Pull drive shaft only from the rear-end yoke and tie to frame. Wrap ujoint cups to shaft with duct tape.

Unlock front. hubs...tow jeep.

This is the best and safest way of doing it. No miles will be accumulated.

 

[Torxhead]

Dsrt4 pretty much covered it. Other items to check would be to make sure the ignition key is unlocked but not in the on position, Make sure there is no excess slop in the wheels like for loose wheel bearings, etc. Make sure the front wheel alignment toe in is set properly so it will track straight, this can be done with a tape measure. More air in the tires will cut rolling resistance. Consider the extra weight will make it harder to stop your truck also.

 

[Petescj]

Pull drive shaft only from the rear-end yoke and tie to frame. Wrap ujoint cups to shaft with duct tape.

Unlock front. hubs...tow jeep.

This is the best and safest way of doing it. No miles will be accumulated.

I'm only going to disagree slightly cause of the word "safest". I'd pull the whole shaft and put it in the Jeep. That's from someone who drives on Pennsylvania roads. Those of you that have most likely understand.

 

[dsrt4]

I've run the gamut, none of Pennsylvania's road compare to rural Missouri roads.

Safest being mentioned for the jeep and drivetrain. I think most folks recognized that . If you can't ratchet strap a drive shaft securely to the frame they you might not need to be flat towing.

 

[CJim7]

Does anybody here know which gear ratio is most likely in it? It is the AMC 150 ci engine with T5 / Dana 300 and the 4150 lb GVW. Does the GVW tell anything? From my research it's going to be either 3.54 or 4.10

You would have 4.10's
I ran 32's on mine with the 4 popper and it was manageable.

Nice looking CJ by the way

 

[HackFabrication]

You can probably run 31" tires with the stock springs. Unless you plan on articulating the suspension fully. An 84 has wide-trac axles, so you should only see Limited decrease in your turning radius.

If the vehicle is that clean (an unmolested), crawl under it and see what code is stamped into the rear axle. Jeep Axle: AMC 20

Flat towing is a subject full of debate and everyone has their opinion. Mine is pull the rear driveshaft (either the entire shaft or un-hook from the rear pinion) and secure under the vehicle with a strap, unlock the front hubs, put everything in neutral, and leave the steering column unlocked.

Forget about doing any sort of delicate backing up. As in weaving around trees, cars, posts, etc....

Being old and lazy and even though I'm set-up to flat tow, I'll put mine on a trailer for anything over 50 miles.

 

[mtnwhlr]

http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f49/towing-cj7-25953/?highlight=flat+towing
If you go to post #6 you will see what the owners manual says about towing a '84 CJ7

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Pull drive shaft only from the rear-end yoke and tie to frame. Wrap ujoint cups to shaft with duct tape.

Unlock front. hubs...tow jeep.

This is the best and safest way of doing it. No miles will be accumulated.

Don't forget to un-lock the steer'n wheel.

I put the t'case and tranny in "N".
Good luck,
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

Basically neutralize everything you can in the drive train.

But this is why I'm really posting. Dude what a find! If you haven't done it already find an appropriate forum and tell us all about your jeep.

 

[007]

You've been given good advice - some of it is redundant, but it's only out of an abundance of caution. I have flat towed from Indiana to western Colorado and had no real issues.

Some thoughts though...

Get the most expensive magnetic tow lights you can afford and zip strip them to the rear as well as on whatever surface you put them on. If you don't do either of these things you'll buy the cheap one's at least twice.

Inflate your tires to the max allowable, rolls MUCH easier.

Tread patterns obviously vary, but some will want to make the Jeep wander when you're on a grooved interstate, and going downhill on a grooved interstate can be hair-raising. I've been more panicked towing my Jeep than I ever have driving it. IF you get into a wander that seems to be increasing with each swerve - you can either accelerate out of it OR hard brake out of it. The best solution depends on everyone around you. Normally accelerating on a downhill is not the best choice as if it happens again before you reach the bottom, it's likely you'll be going too fast to do either brake or accelerate out of it at that point.

Particularly on interstates, you need to drive about a mile ahead of yourself and plan for each and every hill. The goal is to go up them as fast as you can, coast over the crest and go down as slow as you can get away with. You'll almost never get a wander going up hill, and going slow as possible downhill nearly prevents them entirely.

Lastly, you can easily run 31's on stock springs - I do and my tires measure out to exactly 31".

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Please remember, that you have almost 4K LBS behind you that has NO braking control.
X2 on driving way 'ahead' of yourself!
I say this, as one who has tow'd his Jeep CJ all over the western USA.
Make sure the bolts that mount your bumper to the frame are at least grade 5 if not grade 8.
Good luck,
LG

 

[Torxhead]

That wandering could be caused by a bad alignment.

 

[007]

That wandering could be caused by a bad alignment.

I could tell just as I hit the surface when it was going to happen. It was always on the interstate, and always on those grooves that are parallel to the stripes.


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[Lumpy Grits]

How much air in your tires?
I pump my 33's up to about 30 psi and have found when tow'n, that the jeep tracks better.
What shape are you front spring bushins in? That could be a big part of it.
LG

 

[007]

How much air in your tires?
I pump my 33's up to about 30 psi and have found when tow'n, that the jeep tracks better.
What shape are you front spring bushins in? That could be a big part of it.
LG

I had 40lbs in them, which I'm sure exacerbated it somewhat, but it rolled easier. Spring bushings are new. I never had the problem on blacktop, only on concrete where it was grooved.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Try'em at 30psi.

LG

 

[Torxhead]

Try'em at 30psi.

LG

I think 40 p.s.i. would also make for a lot rougher ride and tend to bounce the CJ around a bit. Especially on the rougher roads, asphalt included, and in the dirt going to the trailhead or camp.

 

[007]

Only ran 40 during tow. I run 20 on trails. 30 at home.


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