Towing help

thecremeegg · 19 May 2009 at 13:45

Head gasket has gone on the car and it needs towing to the garage, about 2 miles away.
I've just tried steering and braking without the engine running and quite frankly I dont know how I'm going to do it! The brakes are really poor without the engine running, worryingly so. Steering I think i can handle however.

Would it be safe to turn the engine on? It would only be idling the whole way

Cheers!

iaind · 19 May 2009 at 13:52

How far gone is the head gasket? Its going to be getting new oil and water as part of the replacement and it shouldnt overheat in 2 miles...

thecremeegg · 19 May 2009 at 13:55

No idea how far gone it is, havent driven it since the temp shot up however. Would obviously prefer to do it without starting the car up

Confused · 19 May 2009 at 13:55

Just man up - once you're moving it will be fine.

iaind · 19 May 2009 at 13:57

If it was a choice between idling while towing or driving it, I'd be driving it...

I've never had a problem with braking with a car thats not running - what car is it?

Confused · 19 May 2009 at 14:02

To expand on my previous comment.

Once you are actually moving, the steering will be fairly light anyway... well, not quite as light as usual, but still easily light enough to use for all but the weakest of children. Power Steering really was designed for assisting with low-speed turning.

Brakes won't be quite as good as they won't be assisted - but you'll just have to press a little harder than normal, but then when being towed, you won't be doing high speeds and sudden braking, you'll be driving at a much slower pace and trying to keep moving as much as possible.

thecremeegg · 19 May 2009 at 14:26

OK cheers for the reassurance! Just dont fancy wrecking my dads car

Gonna have to be firm with the brakes then it would seem

ci_newman · 19 May 2009 at 15:20

thecremeegg said:
OK cheers for the reassurance! Just dont fancy wrecking my dads car

Gonna have to be firm with the brakes then it would seem

I trust that you're actually using a tow-pole and not a tow-rope since these are now illegal?

[Edit] Maybe not directly illegal, but certainly may end up with you being pulled over

Confused · 19 May 2009 at 15:29

As the car that's being towed, you're responsible for the majority of the braking, including to ensure that the rope/pole doesn't go slack.

When I was last towed, I was on the brakes WAY earlier and more often than the towing vehicle!

Dogbreath · 19 May 2009 at 15:35

Unscrew the cap on the header tank slightly so it's not sealing. This will prevent excessive pressure building up in the cooling system.

thecremeegg · 19 May 2009 at 16:03

ci_newman said:
I trust that you're actually using a tow-pole and not a tow-rope since these are now illegal?

[Edit] Maybe not directly illegal, but certainly may end up with you being pulled over

We're using a rope....how can they be illegal, they sell them at halfords?!

iaind · 19 May 2009 at 16:08

Halfords sell a lot of things that probably arent legal, stupid lighting for a start....

thecremeegg · 19 May 2009 at 16:13

iaind said:
Halfords sell a lot of things that probably arent legal, stupid lighting for a start....

Very true

VFR_KID · 19 May 2009 at 17:13

This reminds me of when i towed my mates GTI-6 with the works van on a single man tow, god that wasnt fun. car was stupidly low tho

thecremeegg · 19 May 2009 at 17:18

Well an update: Got it there eventually, despite the towing hook coming detached twice, at the worst possible points (village centre!) -caused a huge tailback