I wanted to have a tow car for my motorhome, and would like to use one of my 914s. I really would prefer to flat tow and not have a dolly trailer or full size trailer.

That being said, I know my v8914 will tow nicely as a flat tow, but there will be trips that I don't want to have to worry about the nice 914 being left in parking lots etc. There is also the possibliblity I'll have problems with rock chips etc being towed behind a big class A.

Anyway, I woud really like to tow my automatic 914..it would be perfect. Now I know most automatic newer cars cannot be flat towed. I am using an 85 audi transmission that is fully mechanical with a stock porsche motor. Will towing damage this type of setup? Is there a workaround?

Older cars I remember having to disconnect the drive line to tow an automatic. In this case, I don't want to have to disconnect the half shafts--not practical. I was thinking that I could possibly machine in some sort of quick disconnect actually on the shafts themselves that would allow the shafts to spin but not the transmission.

I'm looking for ideas.

I think the simplest way would be to buy another 914 . That always works for me

I have never seen an automatic

Buy a aluminum trailer to keep the weight down

i'd consult with some Audi folks they might have teh answer on the Audi transmission. knowing what car it came out of, you could check with that cars specification on towing. manmy automatics must be towed only short distances at low speed lelse they can over heat or be damaged, I say dont do it until youknow for sure via the Audi people. that my best advice

good luck

PS very cool conversion, do youhave more photos to post????

this would be great for diabled folks or folks that just dont want to shift a lot say in city driving. there are times when i HAD to drive an automatic do to injury. nice thing to have, very unique!!!

Don't know about the automatic thing, but in your case if you do tow it, I would recommend a Bra for the front. They do make towing Bra's, not sure for a 914 though.

yer kinda new here, if you click on the 914 automaic in his sig line it will take you to his story on finding the 914 auto.... or just click here http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=101948

it's a conversion the was done years ago the he cleaned up some of the install on.

But Jamie...it would have to run.

I would like to be able to RV with a tow car. The beauty of flat towing is you don't have to deal with the trailer when you connect. I do have a real nice tilt trailer already, but looking for a different solution for the motorhome gig.
Thanks,
Mark

Good advice! It came out of a Audi 5000--great idea to see what Audi says about towing that particular car. The only difference is it was front wheel drive, but essentially the same setup.

Trailer.

The Cap'n, working on Audi's since 1973.

The trailer wil prevent chips and protect the car much better than setting on the ground in parking lots and so on. It is more trouble loading and unloading though. A dolly with the 914 loaded backwards is the only other solution but I hate flat towing and dollys for nice cars.

Trailer it, you can't flat tow an automatic unless you have a transfer case with a neutral gate.

Seems to me that in Cincinnati, the lawsuit that killed emissions control inspection involved an Audi.

Part of the test was to rev the engine so the power driven wheels were spinning at 65 mph to measure emissions.

Apparently, the test trashed the tranny in more than one auto tranny Audi and the lawsuits ensued....

So, once again, is that an Audi auto transmission you want to tow with the power wheels on the ground????????

we need that kind of lawsuit in california!

I thought it was a BMW trans, at least here in CA it was BMW transmissions the state was replacing after Smog tests.

The 85 Audi auto trans can not be flat towed, the fluid pump only turns when the engine is running.

Jim

According to some Audi guru...
The lubrication method is "splash" type, which requires certain gears to turn more often than not (like the main/input shaft). In neutral, not much turns but the diffs. The center diff shares fluid with the gearbox, so if the gearbox is not providing the lubrication, the diff will literally cook itself after a while. Coasting short distances is fine, as you at some point engage a drive gear. Long hauls in neutral is not. Audi would void waranties because of things like that, as it is stated in the users manual (but w/out explanation). ;-)

OK...sounds like flat towing is out, unless I come-up with some sort of an igenious way of quick disconnecting the half shafts.

Maybe Jamie was right, time for another 914.

Damn it that stings

If you have the locking pin out of the CV's you can remove the CV's in about 10 minutes with the wheels on.

If you have the big socket and 1/2" big ass wrench (3' breaker bar is good). Then remove the inner bolts of the CV, doing both sides then rolling the car to get to all the CV bolts with ease.

I think thats your best option. Now im not sure if you NEED a spline in to keep the wheel from coming off.. I dont think so... but thats a quick fix.. Have a couple of splines with no axles attached to plop in really quick.

You can probably do it in under an hour fairly easy. Its not a quick option... but it is one..

tow truck dolly wheels in the back and tow bar?

why not?

A possible solution for short distance flat towing an automatic transmission is to leave the 914 running and in Neutral.

This should provide the necessary lubrication to the transmission while only using a small amount of gas.

That's actually a BMW problem, NOT Audi. The Cap'n

The fluid sharing is in the manual tranny Audis. Best check the credentials of the guy who told you otherwise, 'cause he's flat out WRONG.

The Cap'n

You only need the stub axle in there if you want to preserve the wheel bearing and keep the wheel on ............................................

What's "the locking pin"?

The Cap'n

Cap'n, in Cinci it was Audi's

It's the law of the lowest common denominator. In these case it was the the best and brightest low-cost employees that they could find. They figured out how to trash an Audi tranny.

As in the past and present , automatic transed cars were towed from the non driving wheels to avoid trans failures, also if towing a 914 backwards you risk blowing out the rear window and posibbly the targa top to come loose or rip off also. Short of coming up with a quick disconnect way of the halshafts setup , it would probably be bad to tow your automatic , unless on a trailer . If you could come up with some sort of dolly rig to strap to the rear wheels to keep them from turning would probably be the lowest hassel solution to the whole load on the trailer , strap down only to reverse the action to use the 914 when wanted to drive it . Possibly some sort of dolly to bolt on to the trailing arms with the wheels off and the rear about level with the rest of the car rolling on the dolly wheels might be a winner , if such a device exists , but would add to the things to keep up with and functions to perform. Good luck with your endevour though...

Jack / Jaxdream

I can't imagine why it would be Audis, as they've been running so called "high idle" (2500-3000 RPM) emissions testing here in CA for over 30 years without a single reported tranny failure due to testing in an Audi. Many 80s and early 90s BMWs have a waiver of that part of the testing because of the problem. I've even seen one die at a radiator shop because they ran it at 2500 RPM for a few minutes in an attempt to bleed the cooling system.

The Cap'n

Ah, but it was funny

The pin that goes through the nut and stub axle. You cant remove it with the wheel on, I've ran mine for a while with it off, makes replacing the axles a breeze.

The only towing experts;

http://www.remcotowing.com/vehicles