quattro & towing

[David Eaton]

i'd done some further research on towing quattro's.

the early audi stipulatons over towing do not mention flat-bedding the car,
only the 50km and 50km/hr limitation.  later ones mention the requirement to
flatbed the car, or not to tow with the front wheels in the air.

this issue occurs particulalry with automatics.  the 01v, 01l and new 09e quattro
automatics have a transfer case, with a separate gear-driven oil pump.  this
is to lubricate the transfer box, including the torsen.  this oil pump is driven
from a side-shaft off the front prop shaft.

towing the vehicle with the front wheels in the air will result in no oil being
pumped to the transfer case (front shaft not moving), potentially starve the
torsen of oil, and so cook it.

the manual gearboxes do not have the need for a transfer case, and do not therefore
need a separate oil pump, using a oil retained instead.  this would seem to
make them less sensitive to damage from towing.

dave
'01 s8