Tow-Starting And Towing The Vehicle - Mercedes-Benz 380 SL 1985 Owner's Manual

Towing eyes are situated under­
neath the R-H front and rear end.
Use a solid towing link such as a
towbar.
Only tow-start vehicle with the bat­
tery connected and the key in
steering lock position "2".
Warning!
When the engine is not running,
both the service brake and the
steering are without power assis­
tance. Under these circumstances,
a much greater effort is necessary
to steer or stop the vehicle.
Emergency Engine Start
(Tow-starting)
Shift selector lever to position "N".
Turn key in steering lock to position
"2" and have vehicle towed.
After attaining a towing speed of
30 km/h/18 mph (with cold trans­
mission) or 50 km/h/30 mph (with
warm transmission), shift selector
lever to position "2" to tow-start the
engine.
Only touch the accelerator when
the engine is turning. As soon as
the engine has started, quickly
return selector lever to "N".
If the engine fails to fire within a
few seconds, return the selector
lever from "2" to "N" as otherwise
the transmission may be damaged.
For another starting attempt, tow
car again for a short while with the
selector lever in position "N" and
then repeat starting procedure.
The same procedure may be used
for starting the engine while rolling
downhill.

Tow-starting and Towing the Vehicle

Towing the Vehicle
The vehicle may be towed with all
of the wheels on the ground and
the selector lever in position "N" for
distances up to 120 km/75 miles
and at a speed not to exceed
50 km/h/30 mph.
To positively avoid a possibility of
damage to the transmission,
however, we recommend to discon­
nect the drive shaft at the rear axle
drive flange on any towing beyond
a short tow to a nearby garage.
Towing by lifting the front wheels is
not recommended, since damage
to the underside of the vehicle may
occur.
Towing on a "dolly" with the rear
wheels lifted is preferred. Attach
T-hooks to the tie-down slots. Posi­
tion a 4 ft long, 4 in x 4 in piece of
wood under the bumper, behind
the exhaust pipe. Position the tow­
bar at the lower edge of the bum­
per.