towball wear

meetoo · Guru

towball wear

KJB · Guru

It is not the end of the world, do not worry about it..............just enjoy life . If you are really concerned put grease on it . It and the hood will begin to wear as soon as they are used - it is a mechanical coupling.

KB

meetoo · Guru

KJB wrote:
It is not the end of the world, do not worry about it..............just enjoy life . If you are really concerned put grease on it . It and the hood will begin to wear as soon as they are used - it is a mechanical coupling.
KB

Thanks KB. I take it that is normal wear for 100k then?

Also, what would be the proper adjustment method for adjusting the towball clamping mechanism inside the hood?

Cheers, John.

Bagmaker · Senior Member

put a thick plastic bag over it, Polyethelyne (stretchy, like thick glad wrap) to fill up the gaps and lubricate.

macka17 · Guru

50 odd yrs,
I've ALWAYS greased my balls.
Them too at times. Chuckle.

Steel on steel. Looks like a 2nd grade cup casting maybe?
2in or Metric??. Both.

I change my ball every two yrs at most. and use Long shank 3.5 ton.

IF you have the top adjuster bolt\locknut.

Have rig on level.

Screw threaded shaft down till touches top of ball.

Turn back up. Maybe 1\8th turn. at MOST

Hold with driver and lock collar.

It should have the minimum of movement if you lever it.

Grease WILL quieten it.

Plastic. Don't ever remember trying.

-- Edited by macka17 on Sunday 24th of September 2017 07:43:09 PM

Hey Jim · Guru

Made in China.

Should have kept the old one / ones. If it ante broke, keep the regular service up to them. Mine are still all good after 60 years +. wink

I am going to the naughty corner now. confuse

Jim

hako · Guru

I agree with Macka - adjust the bolt/nut on the coupling. What is happening is that the adjustable bolt head which is inside the coupling is resting on the towball and the result is excessive wear. The factory instructions are below.

http://www.alko.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/AL-KO_coupling_ball_adjustment_screw_procedure.pdf

meetoo · Guru

hako wrote:
I agree with Macka - adjust the bolt/nut on the coupling. What is happening is that the adjustable bolt head which is inside the coupling is resting on the towball and the result is excessive wear. The factory instructions are below.

http://www.alko.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/AL-KO_coupling_ball_adjustment_screw_procedure.pdf

Cheap chinese ball with soft chrome could well be part of the wear.

Just had a proper look up under the coupling. The adjusting bolt is wound up and sits at least a quarter of an inch above the ball. So I guess the inside shape of the coupling is flattened on the top of it's curve. (With a rough edge where the Adjusting bolt should come through) So what actually is the point of this adjusting bolt? The sprung lift up handle is what actually clamps the ball in.

Cheers, John.

Pariss · Veteran Member

Thanks meetoo for the link !. I've always wondered what the correct procedure was. I was told years ago by a Jayco handover guy to tighten the coupling screw down hard, then back off one turn, which is a complete waste of time.

meetoo · Guru

Pariss wrote:
Thanks meetoo for the link !. I've always wondered what the correct procedure was. I was told years ago by a Jayco handover guy to tighten the coupling screw down hard, then back off one turn, which is a complete waste of time.

No worries Pariss, but the link was put up by hako, so Thanks to hako smile .

I still don't get it though. All the van's towball weight sits hard on the tow ball. So all the ball weight is resting either on the adjusting bolt or the coupling hood. If on the bolt, all weight is concentrated on the end of the bolt (which doesn't seem right) or on the hood, (the bolt not touching the ball) in which case there is no point in having the bolt ??? Nice to know what should be happening rather than blindly accepting widely differing thoughts (Google) which are all over the place.

Cheers, John.

meetoo · Guru

I get to answer my own question. I spoke to Al-ko tech and he said the bolt is not to stop up and down movement but forward and aft movement of the ball in the coupling. The penny has now dropped. Thanks to everyone above.

Cheers, John.

BAZZA44 · Senior Member

Well I do not agree with the AL-KO adjustment. If it touches all the time it will create wear.

I have always adjusted the same as macka. Right or wrong I have never had a problem with this way in 55 years of towing.

I always grease the ball with wheel bearing grease.

meetoo, that looks to be poor quality finish on the towball, or lack of grease, or both.

Barry

hako · Guru

What most of you blokes have missed is that the adjusting bolt does not sit on top of the ball - it sits at about 11 o'clock so that the bolt head bears on the shoulder of the ball to reduce/eliminate fore and aft movements as meetoo noted above.

Good Luck.

BAZZA44 · Senior Member

hako regardless of adjusting nut being at 11 o'clock or 9 o'clock or somewhere else, if it touches then it touches and If it touches it wears the ball.

My opinion.

Barry

meetoo · Guru

BAZZA44 wrote:
hako regardless of adjusting nut being at 11 o'clock or 9 o'clock or somewhere else, if it touches then it touches and If it touches it wears the ball.

My opinion.

Barry

Barry I have to agree with that. I had a good look today and have a problem in that; if it doesn't touch, what is the point of it being there, seeing that the hood sits tight on the ball not allowing any front to back movement in any case. On mine the ball still has up and down movement of 3/16 which can be reduced by adjusting the bolt down, but then one is back to the van sitting on a bolthead, - not good. So I have decided to back my bolt off to where it doesn't touch the ball and doesn't do anything else either. There is probably some science in the system somewhere, but for now, I am going back to counting gumleaves.

Cheers, John.

macka17 · Guru

Whoaa.

SOME hitch types. that sit on basic. (Low mount) balls.
Actually ride on their shoulders on the plate the ball sits on.

Original Hylands for one.
Hence the recommendatioons of long shaft balls.

When that happens. SOMETIMES it stops the ball riding on it's crest.
and allows lotsa bounce.
Internally.

The lever clamp is only for holding ball IN cup. below base of ball itself.

SPRING (IE Bounce)loaded.

THEN.. the screw is useful.
Otherwise. I. As others. (always use long shank) screw it back out of way.

It's originally from 50 yrs ago with uneven ball sizes being the norm.

2 ton balls. USUALLY tow small. LIGHT vans.
Safe virtually forever.

3.5ton balls\hitches. Ucually again.
Drag large.. HEAVY vans behind them. A lot of us had OFF road rigs. Lots of jerking\banging etc.

It's a GOOD idea to change them out every coupla yrs.
Fot safety (Mental) sake.
In my old eyes.

You ever seen the damage when a large van comes adrift in metro areas and people.
I HAVE. Not nice.

Change your balls. Please. With GOOD quality not Chinese too.

-- Edited by macka17 on Tuesday 26th of September 2017 08:45:01 AM

-- Edited by macka17 on Tuesday 26th of September 2017 08:45:40 AM

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

If authorities say the 50mm is too small ? They should make the larger the norm ! Having two sizes is very dangerous ! Having said that our son has bought a camper . With Polylock hitch . Can't fault them . The adjuster bolt is often made of mild steel . From what I've seen not very mechanically made friction wise to move without gouging the hell out of ball . The surface area to me seems too small!! better weight distribution. Or wear on coupling ? I often adds LITTLE graphite grease ? But messy if you get it on your clothes !! Thing is grease tends to attract sand etc . So it doesn't help longer term

-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Tuesday 26th of September 2017 11:08:45 AM

Eaglemax · Guru

Hey Jim......nice to dee you in the naughty corner ...I was getting lonely :)

Warren-Pat_01 · Guru

Some time ago I set mine up as per macka's instructions & had no issues with scrapes, wear but after lots of looking around, I've just fitted a TRIGG Bros poly-block. Pat was never at ease with the ball coupling (is it on correctly?). I admit to checking it a number of times too, even after the car dropped a bit when the load came on.

Warren

ABNER · Veteran Member

I had the unfortunate experience of a caravan jumping the ball coming down on the chains and ripping the gooseneck straigkt out of the towbar. it was night time on the bumpy part of the highway outside Nambucca heads about 50yrs ago. I looked out the window and saw this caravan passing me without a tow vehicle pulling it. I did not realise for a moment it was the van I was towing. Luckily there was no oncoming traffic and the van continued on down the road till it slowed down and came to a stop against a barbed wire fence.

took my mate and I an hour to get back on the road after making repairs and a new tow bar supplied by a local that we got out of a club and he gladly opened his shop to sell us one, all this at 11pm . BONZA Bloke.

Bob

Hey Jim · Guru

Eaglemax wrote:
Hey Jim......nice to dee you in the naughty corner ...I was getting lonely :)

Hi Tony,

It wasn't as bad as first considered. I have been aloud out by the other half. Won't happen again for at least a week.

Jim