Noah911

I'm not sure, but I think it's possible? If I get a tow-bar, can I tow a 4.0 4wd ZJ with my WJ?

I don't have it yet the ZJ.. SO, not exactly sure about all of its specs? I know the lever has 4-hi, 4-part time, 4-lo, neutral, and 2wd on it though.

I think I understand that I would need to put the lever in Neutral and the automatic shift lever in park while towing it right?

What do I need to know or find out about the ZJ to know for sure that I will be okay to tow it behind my WJ four wheels down with a tow-bar?

I was also wondering about how to go about wiring up the brake lights or something cheap, simple, and easy to attach onto the towed Jeep for use as brake lights/turn signals? My WJ has the tow prep package, but no reciever hitch. I've sourced an oem reciever hitch from a junk yard that I am going to cut the spot out of the bumper plastic and bolt it up to mine. However, I haven't done that yet, or looked into what kind of wiring is there (or not there) etc.. Do you think I'll need to get a harness/pigtail of sorts to connect up, or should it all possibly be there somewhere? Another thing I was wondering about.. I don't need to hook up any sort of device to actually apply the brakes for me in conjunction with when the WJ brakes are applied to apply the brakes also in the towed ZJ do I, or just use only the WJ brakes to slow both vehicles?

This is only a solution to be able to tow a new Jeep (ZJ) that I want to buy, and get it home about 600miles or so from where I am currently located... I would be extra cautious, drive slow, and be especially aware of hills powering up/and going down, braking, etc

dave1123

In my opinion, it can be done. If it were me, I'd pull both driveshafts out of the ZJ to reduce rolling friction as much as possible. U-Haul has trailer light setups that stick on the towed vehicle magnetically to use your WJ lights for safety. I think they rent them. Make sure the steering on the ZJ is unlocked and keep the WJ out of O/D. If it has the trailer tow package it should have a trans cooler. I don't understand why it didn't come with a trailer hitch. WJs are on recall to install a trailer hitch to satisfy NTSB requirements for rear-end collision protection and you may get one installed for free. Just stay off the interstates and keep the speed down. You should be all right but remember you're putting quite a strain on the WJ and I hope it's up to the challenge. You'll be pulling around 3400 lbs which is within the limits for the WJ. Just be very careful braking in turns.

The reason I say pull both driveshafts is because you may need to keep the trans out of park to unlock the steering. If you really have the tow package, it should have come with a lighting module inside the left rear cargo panel that converts your 6 light system to the 4 lights of a trailer and already have a 4-pin flat harness connector on it. Why not rent a 2-wheel dolly, pull the rear shaft, and be done with it? The dolly has it's own lights.Then you turn on the hazard flashers or just the parking lights in the ZJ for added safety. Just remember these are my opinions and should be taken as such.

Cherokee_Mike

Have you thought about getting a price for moving the ZJ from a shipping company ?

Noah911

Seems like all of everything I was wondering about got covered there.. What a great response!

I didn't think about removing both of the driveshafts how you mentioned. I think that sounds like a good idea? I know it's not really a difficult thing to do removing those, and it makes sense to me. Do you think it would really help out a lot, and is worth the extra effort?

I did see and found in another thread some time ago about the WJ recall to get the hitch put on by the dealer r/t the gas tank possibly exploding if get rear-ended, but never pursued it... At this point with where I'm at, it would cost more in gas and my time to get a dealer to put on the hitch for me vs buying the one I found at the junkyard and doing it myself. I like to do work on my Jeep. If it never has to go to a dealer or mechanic ever for any reason... that's how I want it to be!

I have a plug-type outlet on the rear cargo area cover, but it's just hollow (no plug-in). I always thought that was where another cig-lighter type of power source was supposed to be.. It probably is, and maybe I just misunderstood. I'll have to take the cargo spot cover off today, and see what lays behind it to look for the trailer wiring if that is where it's stowed?

I always thought it was wierd that mine has the tow prep package without a factory hitch too, but it has the trans cooler and a heavier duty radiator. So thats good!

One of the reasons why I want to be able to do it this way is because of my work. It takes me all over everywhere. When I go on to different projects, I think I want to be able to have both of the Jeeps with me. I kind of like the idea of having a back-up Jeep with me at all times. I am really actually kind of super rough on my Jeep(s) with what I do. Outside of my starter going out on me once, it has so far never let me down. I have put 3,000 - 5,000 miles on my WJ each month during the past three months. There are days it gets started at 5am and it stays on and running all day until after 9pm. It was 102* actual temp over the memorial day weekend, and my WJ stayed turned on all day long. I had it idled for hours at a time... Temp stayed the same right where it is supposed to! It is amazing! I did get some heat-soak/sink effect during that 100*+ weekend though. If I had it running and idled for a time, it did something its not done before. It hesitated slightly when I would first give it some gas to go. It wasn't bad, but I noticed it. If I turned off the a/c, it wouldn't hesitate off idle when getting on the gas. Now that it's cooled off to low/mid 90's, it hasn't done that anymore. I did clean the IAC & my throttle body after that though. IAC had carbon, but throttle body wasnt really all that bad. The roads I traverse are crummy back-country dirt/sand/clay roads. This WJ is doing great! It is truly truly truly one amazing vehicle!!! Several other peoples vehicles have went down. A Ford Explorer and a Chevy Tahoe overheated. Destroyed their engines...

Even though I use my WJ in extreme conditions, I try to take good care of it since it has been taking good care of me. All of the fluids are kept fresh from the radiator to the diff... Air filter etc

I hope this ZJ I'm planning to pick up tonight is just as good as my WJ!

Noah911

I was reading about the vaporization of fuel in the rail and injectors... Causing heat-soak issues mainly with the tight XJ engine compartment being present after shutting down on hot days, and occasionally in stop n go traffic or idle time on hot days too.

Since I experienced it with my WJ on that really hot weekend of 100*+ when I was idling my Jeep for longer periods, I was thinking to get some thermal insulating potective wrap of sorts to cover the fuel rail and injectors with it to help prevent it from happening again in the future. It also really made me want to get a set of functional louvers/vents to put on my hood. Cut out the spots, and drop them in to help release all of the hot air from building up so much in the engine compartment. I think thats a good thing to do...

Nick-B

No need to pull the driveshafts. Use the magnetic tow lights as suggested.
Here's how I pull my '97 ZJ behind my motor home.
Start engine, shift transfer case to Neutral, shift trans to Drive to make sure TC is disengaged, turn key ONE click back to shut off engine but leaves steering wheel unlocked, shift trans to park, release parking brake. Done.
Also, that ZJ is closer to 3700 - 3800 lbs so panic stops are going to be non existent. Be careful and take it easy.

Noah911

Thank you! That was perfect.. exactly what I was wanting and needing to know from a person with first-hand experience. I'm really glad you responded with that info for me. Thanks!

Hunter_

It should be more than posable, the towing capacity of the WJ is 5,000 pounds and the ZJ that you described is around 3500 - 3700. personally I have never flat towed another vehicle, Ive always pulled one up onto a car trailer the I rent from uhaul. One final note is that all ZJ's and WJ's should have factory hitch receivers due to a mandatory safety recall on the ZJ and what Chrysler likes to call a customer satisfaction campaign for the WJ largely for the same issue with the ZJ, so if your WJ has an aftermarket receiver or none at all Id have it replaced at a dealer free of charge.

dave1123

There was a class action lawsuit pending with the NTSB about gas tank ruptures in a rear end collision and Chrysler agreed to retrofit all ZJs and WJs with trailer hitches as a settlement of that lawsuit. Customer satisfaction campaign? HA! That's a good one. I guess they didn't want to scare people off buying a jeep. The only stipulation on the installation is the frame must be in good shape to get it done. If it's rusted, YOU pay to get it fixed before they'll do it. I got a letter from Jeep about getting mine done. I had already installed a U-Haul hitch and they said it was too low and too close to the tank to be effective as crash protection. Even though it was still sound, they said they wouldn't put the Mopar hitch on it because they were afraid of breaking the bolts taking mine off. The kit comes with a paper template that sticks on the bumper and they use a sawzall to cut at the lines. Then there's a plastic panel that fits into the hole they cut that has room for a wiring connector. They were doing one on someone else's car while I was there. In the beginning when they were sending letters, there was an incentive of a $100 prepaid Visa card when you got it done. The trick is they had to OFFER to install the hitch, not actually DO it as fulfillment of the settlement. When I was finally called for my appointment, they were unloading a truck full of hitch kits. They were $500 if you bought one yourself! The kits DID NOT include a trailer lighting module. I had installed the one on mine as a rear recovery point, not to tow anything. I have a D-ring in the receiver.

This story is true and names were not changed to protect the innocent.

downs

Put the T-case in neutral and tow to your heart's content. Tons of Jeeps have been flat towed a bajillion miles with no special precautions taken past what the manual specifies. Just be careful with your brakes like someone else stated.

If these junk car trains I see going by on Texas interstates can get away with towing 2 or 3 junk cars with another Junk car (a lot of times something like a Minivan) all the way to Mexico, your Jeep should be fine towing another single Jeep

Noah911

I called the local Jeep Dealer to ask about having a trailer hitch installed for free r/t the recall... Spoke to their Service Manager.

It doesn't really exist for WJ's. They said they would inspect IF only if I had an aftermarket hitch on mine. To see if there are any sharp edges that could puncture the gas tank. If so, then they would install a OEM type for free, but only if I paid for the hitch itself...

ZJ's get it all done free of charge if no hitch was ever installed....

That's the latest on that.

dave1123

When I got my letter, I found out in order to have one put on a WJ, you had to have gotten a letter or your VIN must be on their list. I guess that's changed....

Noah911

The service lady asked me for my VIN. She told me there were no open recalls on mine. I asked to speak with the Service Manager. He knew all about it, but he was a pretty rude guy honestly. I wasn't really satisfied with how he was explaining the reasoning behind it all, and so he gave me Diamond Chrysler Corporations phone number. They were the ones who told me about the aftermarket replacements being changed out free of charge labor only.. I asked them about if there were changes etc, and if WJ's did once upon a time get free trailer hitches. They said yes. They put free trailer hitches on a very small percentage of WJ's. Something like barely 2% of all WJ's got one for free. They told me that it was either at the dealers discretion (and not getting reimbursed because it was only supposed to be inspections to replace any questionable aftermarket hitches, with the customers paying for the hardware.. Strange to me?), or it was the dealers that didn't understand the protocol.

What is interesting is that there were actually people who died in their WJ's when they were rear-ended because of an exploding gas tank. I can't remember the actual number of people, but I think at least 50 or more WJ's blew up (or at least caught fire) in these crashes.. Some people died. A child died in one of them. I read about it before I called them (but don't exactly quote me on all of this, because I read it quickly & only once. I didn't memorize it). DCC says that those crashes resulting in WJ's catching fire and boom... were r/t "leaky" gas tanks. So, every WJ owner is entitled to a free inspection. Aftermarket hitches played an important enough role in the crashes that DCC decided to offer and swap them out for OEM hitches free of charge, with the owner paying for the hitch itself.

dave1123

If you look back to what was happening behind the scenes at the time this all happened, this program cost Chrysler big bucks to settle this lawsuit. This was about the time Mercedes dumped Chrysler to Fiat and dealers were having trouble getting reimbursed for their labor costs. Dealers don't want to do ANYTHING without getting paid of it, so the whole program started getting modified. It's sort of like NASA doesn't want to talk about the shuttle accidents, if you get my drift. What I find amusing is XJs didn't qualify only because they have a steel bumper, not because they are any less likely to have the same problem. The problem with the WJ is the spare tire well makes the fuel tank extremely low and vulnerable in a rear crash.

dave1123

I have to apologize about my original statement about removing the driveshafts. That was based on you're possibly having the NP249 constant 4wd t/case. I quess I didn't read your original post thoroughly.