Rant plus starting issue

[firefox]

First the rant.
Why is it that when you call a towing service and ask them to send a flat bed,
the first send over the standard tow truck. I always explain in detail that it has to be
a flat bed because for some reason they can't make the standard tow truck work.
Although I don't realy know why they can't get it to work. Does someone know
why they can't use it to tow an M1008.

Now the problem:
I'll be tackling the troubleshooting in the TM's shortly, but if someone sees something familiar, let me know. Also if some one has an updated starting
circuit diagram with colored in lines, that would be nice.

Symptoms:
Initially started ok. Drove about 6 blocks to the tool lending library and picked
up a tool.
Went to start and it started to operate the starter, but just slowed down to a stop as though the batteries had just died.
Triple A arrives and we put a battery pack on the front battery and the jumper cable on the rear battery. vehicles were not touching.
All I got was the click from the Dog Head relay. At that point I decided to get it towed home so I could trouble shoot it.

Any comments are welcome. I am now off to study the TM's
Thanks,
Bruce

 

[tim292stro]

You don't have Optima's in there do you? They tend to fail "instantly".

Also double check your blackout lights, if you snag the toggle on your way in or out of the truck, you could run the battery down (shouldn't happen during a short pit-stop though).

 

[markg]

First the rant.
Why is it that when you call a towing service and ask them to send a flat bed,
the first send over the standard tow truck. I always explain in detail that it has to be
a flat bed because for some reason they can't make the standard tow truck work.
Although I don't realy know why they can't get it to work. Does someone know
why they can't use it to tow an M1008.

Any comments are welcome. I am now off to study the TM's
Thanks,
Bruce

i think they are easy to tow. 3 ways that i know. 1, put trans in nuetral, tow 50 miles or less with rear wheels on the ground. (gm approved). 2, pull rear shaft, tie to underside so no fluid is lost. pull as far as needed. 3, put transfer case in nuetral, trans in park, front hubs unlocked, make sure you have fluid in said case. pull as far as needed, 4 wheels down if necessary. i have done all 3 with no trouble.

your start problem is batteries or starter, or maybe ground. load test your batteries, clean cables. check ground on rear of intake by fuel filter. if all is good take starter off and check or fix.

 

[marks86]

Could it be te starter gear is sticking and draining your battery?

 

[K9Vic]

If I asked for a flatbed and the towing company showed up with a boom truck, I would send they away and call someone else. To me one that worked for a towing company for 5 years reflects an inexperienced company that does not send a flatbed for a 4X4. That is just SOP in towing to use a flatbed regardless if it can be put into neutral. If they do not have the truck to handle the tow, they should tell the person calling; not show up with the wrong tow truck.

The towing company I use has always showed up with the right truck when I tell them what I have. When I had my M1010 towed they used a flatbed that handles fork lifts and like equipment, not a 1 ton boom truck. I told them it was a 4x4 box truck like a ambulance with single rear wheels, they said no problem. Showed up with the right truck, a medium duty flatbed. Actually, they pretty much only use flatbeds and their two boom trucks are for small cars and low clearance garages. They have a fleet of about 12 flatbed trucks and maybe four standard pickup cab boom trucks.

 

[emr]

WOW... A little freaked out over tow companys? I never had one not do what asked, And i am probably alot older than you, If you have the problem over and over you really have to ask yourself if its you, just sayin... There is absolutly no reason it cant be towed, its you sorry. I have had similar full sized pickups & blazers for years and a few have been behind hooks . like said above GM approved to tow lifted period.

 

[firefox]

Let me explain a little better, because I believe you are right.
A while back I had to get towed and the guy comes out with the standard boom wrecker. He tries to make it work and
can't. I don't know why. All the comment I get from the guy is that something doesn't fit. He calls for a flat bed, problem solved. So I ask for a flat bed this time and they send the standard wrecker. I mention that the last time they had to have a
flat bed and he looks at the truck and says. Oh yea, this is a truck, and then calls for a flat bed.
Since tripple A is paying for this, I don't see any incentive for going this way if they don't need to.

I guess, part of my original statement, was why do they need a flat bed, but I may not have worded it correctly.
Bruce

 

[wayne pick]

Any good towing outfit will have a variety of wreckers and flatbeds designed for the job at hand. If a company has nothing but polished up wheel lift wreckers and F 350 flatbeds with operators that have little or no recovery experience, they should be avoided. It is also the responsibility of the company that provides towing coverage to state to the towing outfit what type of equipment should be used, or state the type of vehicle to be towed. You are at the mercy of the towing company to move the vehicle without wrecking it.

 

[chevyguy1976]

Don't know why a boom truck would have a problem towing a cucv unless they sent a ford J/K. We have a 80 chevy 1 ton 4x4 with a boom that we towed 1 tons all the time. Just pull the drive shaft and go.

 

[Skinny]

An NP208 equipped truck should be able to tow with the rear wheels on the ground with the tcase in neutral and the trans in park. The reasoning is that the NP208 has an oil pump which runs off the rear driveshaft. With the case in neutral, the innards still get lubricated. The trans must be in park because it won't be lubricated unless the engine and torque converter are spinning. The NP205 uses splash lubrication like pretty much all gear drive tcases. The problem occurs because typically in neutral, the the output shaft spins but the gears do not. This means no oil is splashing and the shaft gets hot. This is the case 99% of the time unless the truck has some odd arrangement. For the most part, the trans should always be in park (auto) or gear (manual) to avoid damage to the trans.