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Flat towing s70 t5m all 4 on the ground

Help, Advice and DIY Tutorials on Volvo's P80 platform cars -- Volvo's 1990s "bread and butter" cars -- powered by the ubiquitous and durable Volvo inline 5-cylinder engine.

1992 - 1997 850, including 850 R, 850 T-5R, 850 T-5, 850 GLT
1997 - 2000 S70, S70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70, V70 AWD
1997 - 2000 V70-XC
1997 - 2004 C70

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Socalboostin
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Year and Model: 98 s70 t5m
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Flat towing s70 t5m all 4 on the ground

Post by Socalboostin »

I am trying to find a definitive answer amd not having much luck so far.

Does anyone know if a manual transmission s70 can be flat towed behind an rv with all 4 wheels on the ground? Since the manual transmission is splash lubricated my assumption would be yes it can be. However ive only found one article online to back that up and i am looking for a definitive answer either way.

If anyone has experience doing this could you please provide details on your setup and what you did for your base plate? It Looks like it would need to be custom as all i can find are universal ones online. I would think attaching to the subframe mounts up front would be more than sufficient but would Love to hear from someone with experience doing this.

My car: 98 s70 t5m

LOB
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Post by LOB »

Socalboostin wrote: 08 Nov 2018, 00:09 I am trying to find a definitive answer amd not having much luck so far.

Does anyone know if a manual transmission s70 can be flat towed behind an rv with all 4 wheels on the ground? Since the manual transmission is splash lubricated my assumption would be yes it can be. However ive only found one article online to back that up and i am looking for a definitive answer either way.

If anyone has experience doing this could you please provide details on your setup and what you did for your base plate? It Looks like it would need to be custom as all i can find are universal ones online. I would think attaching to the subframe mounts up front would be more than sufficient but would Love to hear from someone with experience doing this.

My car: 98 s70 t5m
Living in a country where manual drive is the norm I can tell you that towing with all 4 wheels rotating is not a problem, at least as long as you keep the gear in neutral.... The gearbox won't spin and overheat while in neutral. Don't really understand what you mean with "base plate"? Anchor point for towing? There's a dedicated anchor for a tow line in the front bumper. I'll guess that's sufficient.

Speaking about towing. Remember to turn the key to third position BEFORE towing.... My 240 was slaughtered by some low-lifes outside of Stockholm two decades ago. The car was stone dead and I forgot to unlock the steering wheel going to the junk yard... Luckily the guy towing me noticed my frantic expression an frenetic wayving with my arms.

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abscate
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Post by abscate »

A used tow dolly About $500-600 is the best solution

You can flat tow a FWD manual transmission car till the cows come home.

Don’t put anything in the car that can bang the shifter into gear.
Empty Nester
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1999-V70-T5M56 2005-V70-M56 1999-S70 VW T4 XC90-in-Red
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WhatAmIDoing
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Post by WhatAmIDoing »

I would use a dolly. Saves on front tire wear and IMO is a bit safer. Then you don't have to worry about the transmission.
'98 S70 T5M - 323,000mi - awaiting heart transplant :shock:
'98 V70 T5M - 324,000mi - my new project
'99 S70 "AWD" - 220,000+mi - gone :cry:
Knows enough to be dangerous :wink:

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Clemens
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Post by Clemens »

yes you can
Summer: 1996 855 R
Winter: 1994 855 T5M
Donor: 1995 854 10V

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Rattnalle
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Post by Rattnalle »

WhatAmIDoing wrote: 08 Nov 2018, 09:16 I would use a dolly. Saves on front tire wear and IMO is a bit safer. Then you don't have to worry about the transmission.
I would also use a dolly for mostly the same reason except the transmission really doesn't care. It gets exactly the same lubrication as when driving.

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