Does anyone know if its safe to put an an x type auto box into neutral while travelling at about 30 miles per hour, the reason i ask is because i am trying to get a better idea as to where my "whine" is comming from, also being as you cant (shouldn't) towan auto in neutral i was wondering if the latter was a safe thing to do, would you believe the main jag *******s cant pinpoint it ....many thanks for replies.

 

I don't know that this would be safe at all... before I tried such a move I'd speak to an auto transmission specialist and a jaguar specialist.

What noise issues do you have? Are there any signs of leaks from seals around transfer case/driveshafts? Any odd noises when you are on full lock one way or the other in forward or reverse?

Mike

 

DO NOT DO THIS, if you have an automatic you can only push the car while inNEUTRAL if you put it in NEUTRAL while the engine is running, you can kiss your car goodbye. It will mess up the tranny along with everything else. Gearbox etc... etc..

 

I never knew anything about all of this????

 

This is true, I heard of some genious who wanted to save gas while driving downhill by putting the car in neutral and by the time he got down the hill the transmission was toast.[:@]

 

Thanks for the reply everyone, looks like i better forget that idea, the reason i asked was because i have as i have already posted what i believe to be propshaft whine when cold and i thought that to drop it into neutral (whine comes in at 30 mph) may have distinguished between propshaft whine ans transfer box whine (owing to engine speed) I have no oil leaks from tranny in fact the car runs as sweet as a nut its the whine that is so annoying only happens during the first 2 miles of driving from cold,...i can then drive a further 50 miles or so and theres no whine at all....but thanks for the input will take everyones advice and not try it.....

 

You are quite safe in having the car in neutral while the engine is running... provided that you are already stationary.
Don't do it while moving.

 

That is ridiculous! Of couse you can put a car in neutral when it is moving.
Where is the logic that it can't/should not be done??? Please explain to me
what is happening (or you think is happening)when you shift to neutral with the car moving if you even know???

I have the high pitched whine when cold too and it starts at 30mph. I've done the so called deadly, oh my god the sky will fall, shift into neutral at speed and the whine is still there. Most say it is the center support bearing and injecting grease in it will help the problem. I haven't done it yet so I can not say one way or the other.

 

I have never done it, but I am with you JagXV6 - I'd like to hear this... I have done it on previous vehicles that I have owned before without a problem. But I did hear from my friend about his Audi that shifter really hard after dropping the car into neutral. He had to pull over and restart the car, but later he found out this was due to a vaccuum leak - freaking mice were eating his hoses while he was at work.

 

It's not really ridiculous..A lot of cars I have had, made very pointed warnings not to shift to Neutral while moving ...However, the X-type OM says nothing about this in any shape or form..No mention of not shifting to neutral while moving..So I'm assuming it won't hurt anything if you do...

 

I'll admit that I'm baffled by this. I've never heard of anyone having a problem from shifting a running / moving car into neutral.
I HAVE heard of people burning-up an auto trans from TOWING it long distances in neutral.

I won't go so far as to say it's wrong... but I've never heard of it. If anyone can show me in any car manual where it says that, or better yet: explain to me the reasoning behind it.... I'd love to learn.

 

I'm baffled too - putting a car in neutral just disengages the transmission from the drive wheels, doesn't it? Maybe the problem isn't shifting a car into neutral at speed, but rather the stress caused by putting it back into drive at speed?

 

Hey up lads sorry to cause so much agro just thought it would be a simple question as i'm not that used to automatics.Happy new year to all and tnx 4 all the replies hehe looks like i have hit on a good thread here.....

 

I am not atransmission expert by any standard but I would think it has to do with the fact that an automatic transmission works off of fluid pressure. By having the car in N while rolling at speed the pressure build up might get so high it would fry the tranny. On a manual it is no problem because a stick shiftgearbox is basically just a bunch of gears on rollers. Two totally differant animals.

 

Ah, NO! The tranmission has its own pump and valving to increase, decrease, or maintain
the proper pressures for it to operate. Shifting into neutral will not casue pressure to build up
in the transmission. I make no claims to be an expert on transmissions either but I am quite
confident in saying it is safe to shift to neutral with the car moving. If you do and the transmission
blows up, there was soemthing else wrong with it before undertaking this "risky" maneuver.

 

Like I said, the OM says nothing about it one way or the other..except you should flatbed it instead of towing it..

I did a little Googling on the subject and the general consensus is that nothing harmful will happen to the tranny....Having said that, My 92 Mercedes specifically said to never shift into neutral while moving and my 2002 Land Rover Freelander(it had a JATCO tranny too) said the same thing....So bottom line, READ your Owner's Manual if in doubt.

 

I'm with Dennis there is no problem here as long as it doesn't say not to do it. I've towed plenty of vehicles in neutral for 500 miles the key is to have the engine running to keep the fluid pump running. The ones you generally here about burning up being towed are the special people that put it in neutral and don't have the engine on to move the fluid in the tranny.

 

hehe... so, I should be riding the short bus then?

In fairness to myself, I was 16 yrs old at the time... and just needed to get the car back before my folks found out I'd driven my buddies 270 miles when we were s'posed to be at school...... [:@]

 

You tell me , but lord knows I did my fair share of bone head moves in my time. Picture this 1990 Range Rover and a 1996 Ford Ranger, Ranger towing the Range Rover 60 miles with a tow bar and a bumper hitch......

 

That's kind of an oxymoron..A Ford towing a Land Rover