Broken Disco 3 Tow Bar

[07Disco3]

I am making enquiries as to whether anyone else has had this problem. My 07 Disco 3 v6 petrol came with a towbar, tongue and ball all neatly packaged in the passenger side rear. Up until June last year that is where it stayed until numerous trips to specialists in Brisbane and the overinflated motel prices influenced us into buying our 19ft 6in caravan which weighs 2.5t fully laden, food, clothes, water etc whilst the tow bar is rated at 3.5t. As we have only ever done highway driving (though the past couple of years the Bruce Highway is more of a goat track) and have no dramas with towing our van until last month. We had started for home and pulled up to refuel at BP Caboolture North we heard a clunk but on inspection could not find the cause, however as we reversed away from the bowsers and just put the car into drive the tow bar snapped clean in two just behind the key lock leaving the van attached only by its chains and wiring harness. Very scary when you think what might of happened if it let go on the highway. Has anyone had this happen to them? Why do they make such an item from Cast, shouldn't it be high tensile steel?:eek:

[sniegy]

By chance are you using a weight distribution tow hitch assembly?

[07Disco3]

No, just the stock standard setup, however as we could not get a genuine replacement quickly and needed to get home to yet more doctors we have had a Hayman Reese Heavy Duty 3.5t Tow Bar fitted to replace the original and the car handles this as well as the original. Only other damage caused in the incident was the pulse buster for the led lights breaking and the sudden development of a suspension fault which necessitated a new compressor and relay for the air suspension but this may have been co-incidental. Ball weight has always been okay too as we check it with a guage regularly.

[07Disco3]

Some photo's in addition to the tale of woe.http://s1080.photobucket.com/albums/j331/rubyhar/click on red x. Cheers

[dullbird]

no pics showing

[07Disco3]

click on the x marks the spot, cheers.

[inside]

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/12/493.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/12/494.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/12/495.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2011/12/496.jpg

[SuperMono]

By the look of that corrosion the assembly has been carrying large cracks for a while. Must go and have a close look at mine.

[07Disco3]

yes, have not taken the towbar off since we got the van, which has done 5 trips to Brisbane and back (5x3200klms)with the van since June 2010. While we have heard the odd clunk, inspection showed nothing loose or worn, but the broken section was not visible under the bumper bar until it broke entirely, appears to be a flaw in the cast for it to fracture in this way.

[Graeme]

The new design that started with the D4's will be much stronger as they don't have the hollow centre section.

[Graeme]

While we have heard the odd clunkIndicated by the shiny surfaces the receiver has been moving it its mount, thereby allowing the van to jar the receiver which could eventually cause it to fracture. My D4's has slight movement too and I don't like it because it will wear and get looser, but being stronger it is very unlikely to break.

[07Disco3]

I have heard of some falling out of the mount entirely in the UK, there are a couple of youtube articles on them but they seem to be different to the D3 again.:(

[MOW847]

Hi guys, that's not nice seeing the break on the D3 Hitch. Not an expert but by the looks of the rusty stain it may have had some sort of previous fracture then let go, glad to see no one was hurt in the process but.
I have just bought the same car last week and i am just setting up my hitch for our boat trailer for the holidays. Once i saw these pics, i went and sourced a D4 hitch instead. Much shorter drop, no hollow section so hoping its stronger. this also has resolved me wanting to raise the draw bar by 2 inches, might be worth looking into if your looking for a replacement? there is also an after market hitch some of my clients use called a Mitchell Bros. Again sits even higher. regards, Steve.

[101RRS]

Given this failure and a couple of other reported failures in Aust I would have thought a safety recall is in order to have it replaced with something more suitable and safer.

Garry

[07Disco3]

I agree before they kill someone:eek:

[TerryO]

Given this failure and a couple of other reported failures in Aust I would have thought a safety recall is in order to have it replaced with something more suitable and safer.

Garry


Recalls only happen if someone tells the distributor of a potentially dangerous fault and they agree, discussing it on here won't acheive anything in that department.

cheers,
Terry

[07Disco3]

From what I've seen on youtube Land Rover must know of these faults as they keep changing the hitch styles, you don't try to fix something that aint broke do you, but at the same time from what I've seen on youtube is that they don't want to admit any liability either! This forum at least gets to owners so they can check their own and preferably a lot more often than we did it could be your life at risk or your equipment and nobody wants to risk either.:eek:

[TerryO]

While I have a Mitch hitch and wouldn't use the standard one its not correct to say they keep changing them. The D3 hitch never changed in the 4 plus years the vehicle was built.

The main issue with the originals was they often dug into the ground when being used off road. I found this out the hard way after first getting the D3 when I drove up a steep bank only to find the hitch dug in and held me firm when I tried to reverse back down it.

The original D3 design is crap and the D4 one isn't much better but the vast majority of people have never had an issue with them, you have. Did you buy your D3 new or second hand? If second hand how would you know what the previous owner might have put the hitch through to cause the cracking?

cheers,
Terry

[gghaggis]

The design of the Australian-compliant tow hitch only changed once in 2010 with the release of the D4.

The various types you see on YouTube are for different markets and regulations.

Cheers,

Gordon

[Tombie]

The original D3 design is crap and the D4 one isn't much better but the vast majority of people have never had an issue with them, you have. Did you buy your D3 new or second hand? If second hand how would you know what the previous owner might have put the hitch through to cause the cracking?

cheers,
Terry

Exactly :) To crack like that, whats to say it didn't take a hit up the bum from another motorist or backed into a wall etc...

[Graeme]

Or used a chain trying to pull something very heavy and there was slack in the chain prior to taking-up the load.

[ozscott]

What idiot thOught cast irOn was appropriate for a tow bar. Steel is the only way to go. My hayman Reese 4 t rated bar has been hit twice from behind, once by a prado which impaled itself and took out its radiator and other components. It tows a 2 tonn boat. I use an snatch insert in it and have snatched many heavy loads over the 9 yrs that I have had it including land cruisers stuck to the sills on the beach.

Cheers

[discowhite]

how do you know its cast iron? maybe its cast steel? its not the material thats at faulty here but the design.

cheers phil

[bbyer]

Over here, LR came up with two different part numbers for the older "plow" hitch design before switching to the newer shorter LR4 style, Land Rover part # LR019990. This I call the third generation 2" receiver hitch and replaces previous long type part number second generation KNB500080, and before that, first generation KNB500023.

The two versions of the longer one, KNB500080 with the orange key, has apparently a better key locking setup. The first generation, KNB500023, has the black key which one presumes was not perfect.

My understanding however was that the part number change was due to locking design concerns, not casting design problems - now I wonder.

I note that the failed unit in the pictures appears to be the first generation black key design so the hitch probably does have a history.

It does appear however that one should know the history of the "plow" one has even if that means forgoing eBay. It almost seems like a previously owned hitch without a "providence" may be something to be avoided.

I tend to agree that crack was there for sometime prior to the failure, however that is academic when it does finally fail.

I can foresee LR eventually coming out with a Service Bulletin calling for X-Ray inspection of the hitches every year and giving the hitch an expiry date as well. That would satisfy the lawyers and give us all another maintenance item - certainly a different philosophy from the "good for life", no oil change required philosophy re the tranny.

It would also appear that one can only purchase from Land Rover the newer third generation shorter hitch and that the "plow" is no longer available.

[brightsmarty]

As someone else mentioned....invest in a Mitch Hitch, solid and the right height for Australian standards, you'll never look back... do a Google search to find it. After I dropped my caravan at low speed with the original hitch, I had my Mitch Hitch fitted by ARB, but can be DIY. Only problem is it sets off my reversing sensors.

[CaverD3]

Only problem is it sets off my reversing sensors.
Which can be fixed by rotating the centre sensors inwards by 20 degrees.

[07Disco3]

The vehicle was purchased brand new in Sept 2007, however the hitch was never used until June 2010 when we purchased our van. The car has never been rear ended nor involved in any accidents whatsoever. I have had two broken windscreens from stones thrown up in road works and that is the full extent of any damage done to the car.

[bbyer]

This is more interesting since you can claim to be the first and only user of the hitch.

You might want to send a letter to Land Rover Australia along with your pictures and just enquire if in the interests of safety, you should be sending the hitch to the Australian Highway Safety Agency or whatever it is called.

My experience with such matters is that government agencies of course do not want to become involved in any sort of discussion with "big guys", and just prefer fining the little people as there are no repercussions.

Land Rover's response or the lack of it would be an interesting way to start however, as the matter is serious. You and your family as well as everyone else were very fortunate as the only expense was incurred and not injury.

I had something similar happen a few years ago with a new replacement non OEM ball joint snapping on my Buick. When I went to pickup the repaired car, my mechanic proudly proclaimed that the replacement ball joint was free as the rep had made a special trip to the shop to hand deliver a new ball joint and pick up the snapped one. What was clear is that there was nothing for me to look at and hence nothing to make a fuss over.

[07Disco3]

Thanks bbyer, our hitch is the KNB500023 with the black key and it also has stamped into it 0707 which I take to be a manufacturing date of July 2007 which would make it fairly new when we purchased our car with the towbar. If that stamp is not the date then it could have been old shelf stock but it came brand new with the vehicle. We have never used a snatch strap on it, nor have we ever been off the bitumen road with it. We are waiting to hear back from Land Rover but if nothing comes of that I will certainly be getting in contact with the Transport Dept. They are very much like yours only concerned with revenue but may be interested as it could be life threatening.

[barney]

you might want to investigate the ball weight as well. even though the bar is rated to tow 3500kg, it is only rated to support 350kg (10% of the tow weight). too much weight will cause fatigue and breakage.

[ozscott]

Even with excess ball weight snapping clean off is insane. Because it was cast it couldn't bend only snap. Cheers

[discowhite]

As someone else mentioned....invest in a Mitch Hitch, solid and the right height for Australian standards, you'll never look back... do a Google search to find it. After I dropped my caravan at low speed with the original hitch, I had my Mitch Hitch fitted by ARB, but can be DIY. Only problem is it sets off my reversing sensors.

the standards for height for this arnt to do with the hitch its self, its the height of the ball to the groung that has relevance.
it was something like 460mm ground to ball center at ''normal'' conditions.
thats what needs to taken into consideration with the mitch.

cheers phil

[07Disco3]

Barney you haven't read the whole post. On ball weight the landy has a ball weight max of 350kg, our van, however has a ball weight of 250kg and we have never exceeded the rated weight, we are usually just under. We carry a ball weight guage and use it regularly just to be on the safe side.
While this should never have happened in the first place, the posts are here to advise all that it can and has happened to another, so beware.
Cheers to all.

[barney]

fair enough, no I didn't read every line. i tend to scan through things and sometimes miss the odd snippet. cast products are often brittle and can easily have flaws in them that go unnoticed, but LR should have picked it up if there was an inherent fault in them.

[07Disco3]

I agree, something should be done to protect people where lives could be at stake but frquently dealerships turn a blind eye where the almighty dollar is and sense (not mispelled) becomes misplaced. This forum was intended to find if others had come to grief this way and to warn the rest. I have written to Land Rover Customer Care but have heard no reply. I thank you for your input, the more who read these posts, the more is learned and being pre-warned can save a lot of heartache and grief.

[walc100]

Is there an up date?

Has landrover replied?

[ADMIRAL]

Up until now the options in replacing the towing lug with something rated at 3500kilos or close, where height adjustability was required, were pretty much limited to the adjustable ball mount off a Hayman Reese weight distribution hitch. This is ok but it is one great lump of ugly steel, just to get the adjustable height.

Hayman Reese have just released an adjustable ball mount, with a height adjustable head. No cams, so the angle is fixed. It uses the adjustable lug from the WDH range, and has a full 3500kg rating From the data I have at present, it looks like the price will be a reasonable $275.00 and the part number should be 70200 if you wish to chase it down. Those in outlying areas may cop a freight penalty. It still looks bulky, but not as bad as a full weight distribution head.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

While we're taliking about D3/D4 tow bars, can someone answer a few related questions. Are the D4 recevers parallel to the ground?
Does anyone have any images of the tongue in the receiver?
What is the ball height with a standard tongue in the D4 type receiver?Diana :TakeABow: