rolling chassis diff question

[Beck]

hey guys,
a quick question:

is it fine to tow an e body with an 8.75" diff with the center section removed?
ie: is it damaging to the axles to be unsupported at their ends in the middle of the diff?

i'm planning on fabbing an a towball mount to the front of my bare car (totally stripped shell apart from font and rear windows, and diff) so i can tow it around
with my little ford laser to avoid hundreds of dollars in flatbed truck towing costs...           

cheers,
aaron

[Skunkworks Challenger]

My advice: Don't tow with the inboard axel ends loose.  They could set up a harmonic "wobble" and damage the wheel bearings.  Put some kind of pumkin in to support them.  On towing a chassis without an engine usually does not work.  Normally it takes the weight of the power train to put the right weight on the front suspension so that it centers in the go-ahead position.  Otherwise the wheels want to go in the direction they were last pointed.  Maybe there are ways around this and I'm sure other people reading this site have in-put.  PK

[Beck]

car won't have front wheels or suspension, just an a frame bolted to the bumper mounting points on the chassis rails.

guess i'll run a center section in the diff if otherwise the bearings will be wrecked.

cheers,
aaron

[Skunkworks Challenger]

That should work.  You'll have a trailer---more or less.  A pretty classy trailer! PK

[Challenger6pak]

I would run the center section with fluid in it.  I agree you risk ruining bearings and maybe an axle, or worse if something fails. With center section the axle is supported on both ends. Without the center section you will be running the outer bearings with only the oil that is on them.  If that dries up you would be in trouble also.