Towing on a XC70 on a tow dolly -- take off the prop shaft?

djohnk · Post by **djohnk** » 19 Jun 2013, 19:50

I'm going to be towing my v70xc on a tow dolly (the one you put just the front wheels on).

I guess removing the prop shaft would be a good thing to do?

Also, I don't want the crank moving because I have the timing belt off. Should I put the timing belt back on just to be safe?

Post by **bskeels** » 19 Jun 2013, 20:37

I would take the shaft off if it is going to be towed on a dolly.

As long as the shaft is removed and front wheels are on the dolly you should have no problem with engine turning.

Post by **jimmy57** » 19 Jun 2013, 20:52

No need to do anything with T belt but you ABSOLUTELY have to pull drive shaft. If you don't then you'll end up with broken AWD components and a car that breaks the tie down straps and is no longer on the tow dolly.
With automatic trans you wouldn't have engine turning unless lots of stuff broke inside the transmission.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 19 Jun 2013, 20:53

Which way are you towing it? If you put it on the dolly nose first and remove the prop shaft then there is no problem. If you try to tow it with the back on the dolly and the front wheels on the ground then it will still tear up your transmission if you go over 45 MPH or exceed anything but a few miles.

There is absolutely no reason to remove the timing belt and doing so is potentially more dangerous than something happening where the engine did turn. So long and the camshaft and the crank work together there is no problem but if the crankshaft or the camshafts move independently you can do damage to the engine.

...Lee

djohnk · Post by **djohnk** » 21 Jun 2013, 21:07

I'm towing it nose first. Will do on taking the prop shaft off. Thanks for the good advice.

Had the timing belt off to diagnose a cracked block ... I think I will put it back on, don't feel comfortable towing the car with it off, even with the prop shaft off.

Post by **JDS60R** » 21 Jun 2013, 21:11

The cost of a u haul flat trailer is really cheap and can be returned locally ( 1 way trip ok). The trailers are aluminum and don't add much weight to the equation. I think I paid $17 a day for mine

Post by **Matty Moo** » 21 Jun 2013, 21:16

JDS60R wrote:The cost of a u haul flat trailer is really cheap and can be returned locally ( 1 way trip ok). The trailers are aluminum and don't add much weight to the equation. I think I paid $17 a day for mine

We used one a couple of years ago to haul a v70r about 150 miles, the tongue weight on those things is insane, you really need a 3/4 ton truck at the minimum to haul one of those. We used an f150 and that trailer was manhandling the sh*t out of that truck.

Post by **abscate** » 22 Jun 2013, 03:52

You would need a class 3 hitch to flat bed a Volvo..and that's a pretty big tow beast indeed