Towing Issues: towing a vehicle, drive wheels, brass bushings


Question
I plan to tow a Ford Escort using a tow bar with all 4 wheels on the ground.  It has front wheel drive automatic transmission.  I understand that if something isn't disconnected with the transmission it could cause damage.  A friend of mine suggested that I could leave the engine running with it in nuetral and it wouldn't cause any damage.  Can you give me any advice?  p.s. I'll be towing about 1300 miles.

Answer
Thank you for the question. Towing the vehicle while running
is not adviseable for several reasons, if it quits running,
if it overheats, if it gets knocked into gear or some other
engine or transmission related failure you won't know it.
The best course of action is to rent a one-way tow dollie
from some place like U-Haul. Towing a front-wheel drive
escort should only be done in town at speeds less than 35
and no farther than 50 miles. The transmission will heat
up rapidly even in neutral with the engine running. There
is lots of brass bushings supporting steel shafts and other
very critical parts that will be damaged if you
tow the escort with the drive wheels on the ground. The
low cost of dollies is well worth the peace of mind you will
have traveling those 1300 miles...very best of luck to you..
Kurt....