Tow Straps?

[sledgehammer1990]

My friend was driving his tarus this morning when his engine seezed up and would not turn over. His engine was making some nasty sounds over the weekend and we were on our way to drop it off at the shop when it just stopped. I ran home and grabbed a tow strap, Didn't have a second one. My dad has the other. I was going to tow it to the shop, but I didn't have any cables. What straps would you recommend me getting and do I need to?

Where do I hook them to and do I need hooks, because the just have loops on the ends. Thanks.

BTW: We had a tow truck come and get him.

 

[jrford]

I really don't think towing a Taurus is a good idea - imho. Its all unit body which means that sheet metal is really thin, and there is no frame to mount it too, what ever you hook to might very well pull it apart. Tow Dolly would be ideal, or just have it towed.
there was a post in the woops section, showing some guy trying to pull a small car out of a snow bank . . .the whole front bumper came off leaving the car behind.

 

[sledgehammer1990]

I was just going to tow him down the road or to a parking lot near.

 

[gijoecam]

I've got a strap I picked up from Cabelas several years back. Both ends have about 18" of chain with a grab link at the end. I used it this winter on my neighbor's Taurus when he got buried in the snow bank at the end of our street. Worked like a charm. Just have to be careful what you hook it to and how hard you pull. For what you needed to do, it probably would have worked just fine.

It was This One.

 

[FordLover]

Taurus's have a Subframe that the engine and tranny are mounted on, also the front suspension and steering is mounted to it. It is fully boxed and has openings on it for hooks. I'd still be gentle with it, but it can handle the weight of the vehicle no problem.

 

[gijoecam]

Unfortunately I was pulling from the rear.... There's not much structure there to pull on, but it didn't take much to get him free. It was light, fluffy, powdery snow on top of 4" of packed snow/ice. Traction was just nowhere to be found.

 

[DeRocha]

Tow straps, cables, chains, etc. should only be used to extract a vehicle and should never be used to tow a vehicle on the street (it is dangerous and illegal in most places as you really have little control over the vehicle being towed). Called a tow truck was the smart move. AAA is relatively cheap insurance, and you can even use a buddies if you don't have it. If you brake down without AAA, just have your buddy with AAA show up, hand his card to the tow truck guy and your tow is taken care of...