2001 ford escort zx2 5 speed can i tow all 4 wheels down? noone knows

kbunnystarr · November 05, 2006, 04:02:10 PM

even ford is not giving me a straight answer....................i know i need to know if the trans axel is manual or automatic.it doesnt say specifically in the manual, it just says if its manual ....if its automatic......, but doesnt say what I HAVE. and i cant seem to find anyone that knows

H3Jim · November 05, 2006, 04:53:53 PM

You don't know if your car has a manual or automatic transmission? what am I missing?

kbunnystarr · November 05, 2006, 05:09:13 PM

IT IS A 5 SPEED MANUAL, but i was told by several people here that some manuals have automatic transaxels......i dont know what a trasn axel is.so pardon my lack of knowledge on that, ...but i was warned that some saturns and some other small pickups and other small cars that are mistaken for manual transaxels cause the cars are manual have been drug and ruined because th etrans axel is automatic,...................are they wrong? someone is wrong.........i dont know so thats why Im asking and hoping someone can clear it up...........thank you for taking time out to respond

Kristinsgrandpa · November 05, 2006, 05:28:20 PM

Scroll down to bottom of page, on right hand side. " Dinghy towing guide".

http://www.motorhomemagazine.com/

HTH, Ed.

H3Jim · November 05, 2006, 06:21:37 PM

Guess I'm ignorant.

I thought a trans-axle is where the trans and the differential are combined. While I could be mistaken, if its a manual tranny, then the trans-axle does no more than a normal differential with a manual transmission attached.

I looked at the preceding link that Kristinsgrandpa posted, and while they do not have 2001 models listed (you have to order it separately and pay for it too) the 2002 ZX2 can be flat towed with no limitations.

jaybe_2 · November 05, 2006, 07:45:20 PM

If your car has a standard trans it can be towed 4 wheels down! REMCO is the company to check with to find out if a car is towable.http://www.remcotowing.com/main.asp

Jeremy · November 06, 2006, 01:43:23 AM

The term 'transaxle' usually refers to combined gearboxes and rear axles on RWD cars with rear (eg VW Beetle, Porsche 911) or mid (GT40 etc) mounted engines. I have never heard the gearbox in a FWD, front-engined car described as a transaxle, although I suppose the gearbox and axle are again combined (although the engine is above the gearbox in a FWD car, rather than in-line with it).

Whatever you call it, I'm pretty sure the car in question doesn't have 'two' gearboxes. The Ford Escort was dropped from the UK market several years ago, but the models sold then were very conventional cars, and certainly didn't have any unusual engineering of any sort.

Jeremy

RJ · November 06, 2006, 07:32:58 AM

Jeremy -

Most FWD cars here in the States do not have their engines sitting on top of the gearbox. You've been around the original Minis way too long!

Find someone with a VW Golf, Jetta or Passat and take a look at the powertrain. You'll see the most common setup for FWD that we see over hear.

Subaru's powertrain looks like that of an old VW Beetle or a 356 Porsche, except flipped around to the front and water-cooled.

The original Oldsmobile Toronado had it's automatic set up with the torque converter bolted to the back of the engine, and the gearbox section tucked underneath one side of the big, longitudinally-mounted V-8. Enclosed chain was used to transfer power from the torque converter to the gearbox, which used it's own oil - it wasn't shared with the engine, like a Mini's. (Side note - sure was weird to see that big 455 cu. in. (7456 cc!) V-8 smoke the front tires when floored!

FWIW & HTH. . .

Jeremy · November 06, 2006, 09:01:57 AM

Quote from: Russ on November 06, 2006, 07:32:58 AM
Jeremy -

Most FWD cars here in the States do not have their engines sitting on top of the gearbox. You've been around the original Minis way too long!

Fair Point. As it happens I have an '84 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, which is FWD with a transverse V8. To be honest I have absolutely no idea how the power gets from the engine to the gearbox in that.

One of my interests is in off-road 'rail' buggies, which traditionally are based on Beetle mechanics, often with the engine and gearbox turned around to give a better balanced mid-mounted engine. A lot of people are now building buggies with Subaru engines in place of the VW flat-fours. It's hard to believe given the difference in power produced, but I have been assured by several people that it is basically the same engine, Subaru having bought the design from VW some years ago and developed it into the water-cooled, computer-controllled and highly tuned engine it is today.

Jeremy

RJ · November 06, 2006, 09:17:34 AM

Quote from: Jeremy on November 06, 2006, 09:01:57 AM

Fair Point. As it happens I have an '84 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, which is FWD with a transverse V8. To be honest I have absolutely no idea how the power gets from the engine to the gearbox in that.

Open the engine compartment and look on the RH side of the block. The torque converter is located inside the bell housing, and the compact transaxle is attatched to it. That transaxle, btw, is virtually bulletproof - just change the oil periodically.