When towing a front-wheel-drive car, you want to ensure that the front wheels are raised off the ground using either a tow dolly or a car lifter. If you can't raise the front wheels, you can use an axle lock or a low pump to prevent transmission damages.
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There might be a point in time where you need to tow your vehicle for any reason. For example, your vehicle might be broken, have a flat tire, or any other reason. While many drivers prefer to consult a roadside assistant and reach out to a towing company, other drivers might have the necessary tools to help themselves save money until vehicles without needing a towing company.
Every vehicle is unique add the way you should tow it differs depending on many factors. For example, the front-wheel-drive car is one of the very specific vehicles you need to tow in a certain way. Otherwise, it will not move, and you will find it challenging to take it from one point to another.
This article is focused specifically on showing you a step-by-step procedure for towing a front-wheel-drive car. The procedure should be simple enough for any driver who doesn't have any previous experience with towing before. Thanks to the advanced technology and the easy practical tools to help us do the job ourselves without external assistance!
Towing a front-wheel-drive car: why is it special?
Before we dive into the details about how to tow a front-wheel-drive car, it is important to understand how the front-wheel-drive car work and what exactly needs to be considered when towing a front-wheel-drive car.
The most important information regarding a front-wheel-drive car is where the energy is produced. In these vehicles, the power is produced in the front portion of your vehicle, which means that the front wheels are the ones that should be protected.
When towing any front-wheel-drive car, you must ensure that the front wheels are raised above the ground, and the rear wheels are the ones who are loose where you can use their support to tow the car smoothly.
If you couldn’t raise the front wheels for any reason, it’s important to ensure that the transmission is fully lubricated to prevent catastrophic outcomes. Or you can disconnect the front wheels from the transmission to protect it.
Towing a front-wheel-drive car: the methods
If you're stuck with a front-wheel-drive car, you can tow it in many ways. Each way has its specifications and procedure that you need to follow to prevent damaging the car and prevent harming yourself.
In general, you can tow your front-wheel-drive car using one of the following:
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A dolly
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A trailer
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And axle lock
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Or a lube pump
Towing a front-wheel-drive car using a tow dolly
It's important before you decide to tow your front-wheel-drive car using a Dolly to check with your local authorities. Not every area allows you to use personal toys for towing a certain vehicle. Therefore, review the routes you're planning to go through and check every single area to ensure that the authorities are OK with towing your front-wheel-drive vehicle. Otherwise, you might need to consider other methods and the Dolly.
They tow Dolly is one of the most common methods that people used to tow their front-wheel-drive car. To do so, you need to follow these simple steps:
- Step 1: place the Dolly and the car on equal ground and ensure that the Dolly is aligned with the vehicle you're planning to tow
- Step 2: since you're dealing with a front-wheel-drive car, you want to ensure that the front portion of the vehicle is raised above the ground. Therefore, using a car jack, raise the front portion of the vehicle to a certain level where it can sit on the Dolly ramps. Again, consider reviewing your vehicle's owner’s manual for detailed instruction on how to raise the vehicle safely without causing any problems.
- Step 3: once the vehicle is raised to a certain point, place it gently on the dollies ramp and ensure that you're doing this while the vehicle is neutral, so you don't cause any damages to the Dolly or the vehicle itself.
- Step 4: using the straps that come with a Dolly, strap every single wheel securely and connect all safety harnesses while ensuring that the vehicle is not loose.
- Step 5: take a closer look at every single harness and every trap to ensure that everything is connected securely, and the vehicle can be towed safely.
- Step 6: Start moving your vehicle slowly and monitor the behavior of the immobile car And the Dolly to ensure that everything is running just as it should.
Towing a front-wheel-drive car using a trailer
Trailers are considered the most optimal solutions for towing any vehicle despite its type. This is because the vehicle will be raised off the ground from all sides, which is the best solution when the vehicle is in terrible condition and cannot be driven.
However, not every driver or close family member would have a trailer. Therefore, we will not cover the details about how to tow your vehicle using a trailer.
Also, towing the vehicle through a trailer requires a certain skill set that should be left for professionals.
Towing a front-wheel-drive car using an axle lock
As we indicated before, the front-wheel-drive car must not be towed when the front wheels touch the ground. This is because hold the power is generated at the front portion of your vehicle and raising it off the ground helps prevent catastrophic damages to the transmission.
If you got into a situation where you must keep your car's wheels on the ground, you might need to consider using an axle lock.
The idea behind an axle lock is to lock or disconnect the front axles from the transmission, which means that you don't have to worry about keeping them off the ground. Once the front wheels are disconnected from the axle, you can freely tow the vehicle the way you want without worrying about which area to raise or keep down.
Once you get your vehicle to the desired destination, you can reconnect the wheels to the transmission using a small twist.
Towing a front-wheel-drive car using a Lube pump
If you don't have access to an axle lock, you can always try a little pump. The little pump serves a similar role to the axle lock, which is necessary when you can't raise the front wheels from the ground.
The primary role of the low bump is to keep the transmission lubricated and prevent its overheating when the front wheels are rolling while the engine is not running.
The nice thing about the load pump is that you will see an electric motor to keep monitoring the vehicle's behavior and stop the towing process whenever you see anything going wrong.
Tips on towing a front-wheel-drive car safely
Whether you're towing a front-wheel-drive car or any other vehicle, there are some things to check for to maintain safety and prevent causing risks for yourself and the people around you. Here are some of the recommended tips by most automotive experts:
- Do not exceed the towing capacity and ensure that the trailer or the other vehicle can tow the front-wheel-drive car.
- When towing your front-wheel-drive car with a trailer, consider reviewing the trailer's capacity and ensure that your car doesn't cause atomic weight.
- Check the vehicle's tires and ensure that they're not inflated because they can significantly impact the towing experience
- Look at the lights and ensure that all necessary warnings and other markers lamps work properly for people to see you and prevent accidents, especially if you are towing the vehicle during nighttime
- Inspect the brakes and ensure that they're working properly
- Look at the mirrors and reveal whether you can see all sides clearly without any problem
How to know if my car is a front wheel or a rear wheel?
Differentiating between front-wheel and rear-wheel cars is an essential information when it comes to following your vehicle. However, knowing this information is not very common to many inexperienced drivers and even experienced drivers because it differs from vehicles.
The good news is that there are plenty of ways to Determine whether your car is front-wheel or rear-wheel-drive. Let's take a closer look at some of these ways:
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Engine location
One of the easiest ways to confirm whether your car has a front-wheel or a rear-wheel-drive is by looking at the direction of the engine itself. If the engine is in the rear portion, it immediately indicates that your vehicle has rear-wheel drive. However, if the engine is in the front portion, it indicates that your vehicle is a front-wheel drive.
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Engine mounting direction
If your vehicle's engine is mounted from the sides and the belts face one of your vehicle sides, it is most likely a front-wheel-drive car. On the other hand, if the engine is mounted from the front and the back while the belts are facing the sides of the vehicle, this indicates a rear-wheel-drive car.
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Your vehicle's owner’s manual
One of the most accurate ways to determine whether your car is a front-wheel or rear-wheel is by referring to your vehicle's owner’s manual. The manual will have detailed information about the vehicle’s specifications, and within this information, it highlights the wheel drive.
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Vehicle VIN
If none of the mentioned methods helped you determine whether your car has a front or rear-wheel drive, you can always use your vehicle VIN and search online. Websites like CarProof or Carfax can be a big help. All you need to do is to input the vehicle's VIN number and search for the information. The output of the search should tow you a lot of details about the car, including whether it has a front or rear-wheel drive.
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Vehicles type
Although this is not the most accurate way of determining whether your car has a front or rear-wheel drive, your vehicle's type might give you some hints. In general, most full-size SUVs and trucks have rear-wheel drive. On the other hand, compact, luxury, minivans, family cars are usually associated with a front-wheel-drive.
Conclusion
Although most drivers reach out to a tolling company to move their broken vehicles from one point to another, there might be a situation where you need to tow your friend’s car or your family member's car.
Towing a front-wheel-drive car is unique and requires certain procedures to prevent damaging the car or causing harm to yourself. This article provided you with simple steps on towing a front-wheel-drive car using a dolly, A trailer, an axle lock, and a Lube pump.
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