Stuck tow hitch

[Stuart02]

Thought I'd do the right thing and tuck the hitch away while not in use (2010 RRS). Turns out it was in place when the previous owner sold it to us because it's totally frozen. Key turns, stiffly, but not a hint of movement in the lever/toggle. I suspect it's been dipped in salt water on a regular basis.

Any suggestions other than heaps of WD40 and a sledge hammer, or just leave it?? Even if I got a lock smith or someone to somehow remove the mechanism, is it going to be possible to get that little tongue/pin to budge? I can only vaguely remember what it looked like on our previous D4.

[sniegy]

Lube the key slot & also spray into the chassis where the hitch goes in.
Get the key to work as best as possible then hit the hitch side to side, not hard, but firm enough to loosen from the dirt & grime that is holding it in place.
It will eventually work loose.

Cheers

[DiscoMick]

Yep, had a similar problem when I bought the Defender because the previous owner had left the tow hitch in place when it was rust proofed and it wouldn't move. Oiled it, let it sit and then tapped it with a hammer and block of wood until it moved.

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[LandyAndy]

They are a pig of a design.
Fitted mine twice.First time perfect,exactly as the book says.
A couple of weeks ago,took me 30min to fit the bloody thing.
As Sniegy said,plenty of spray lubricant on the moving parts.Make sure you are pulling the twist knob as you are twisting it.I was getting the tounge 3/4 withdrawn,just not enough to engage it in the reciever.
Next time I wont even put it near the D4 until its working correctly on the bench.Its also easier to fit minus the reece hitch/ball,especially if you have a stuffed back;););););)
Mine was exposed to aprox 200km of dusty gravel roads on the first use.
If it happens next time I would be tempted to throw it thru the dealers window:mad::mad::mad::mad:
Andrew

[Stuart02]

Thanks guys, I'm encouraged to give it a go... Now where's that little plastic plug... 😀

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[BMKal]

I found on mine that the "tongue" was slightly too long.

Sometimes when installing it, I could not get the thing to go in quite far enough, and the stainless steel locking pin would not fully engage into the hole it is supposed to sit in - it would only "just" catch the tip of the tapered pin on the lip of the hole - not an ideal situation to be towing with. :eek:

On other occasions, if I did manage to belt the tongue in hard enough for the locking pin to engage properly, the bloody tongue was in so tight that it was very difficult to get the locking pin to release when I wanted to remove the hitch. Much swearing and cursing ensued, together with the use of an FBH.

To fix the problem, I ground a very slight amount of metal off the top edge of the "tongue" (only the proverbial bees dick - not much more than the thickness of the paint). This allowed the tongue to easily go all the way "home" when installing the hitch, which in turn allows the locking pin to easily engage every time, and release without problems. I have never had an issue with the hitch since - and I use it quite frequently and remove it after each use.

As LandyAndy said, I also install and remove the reece hitch tongue and ball from the LR hitch separately to reduce the weight being handled.

I don't use any spray type lubricant on the hitch / locking pin / key lock mechanism at all. This stuff just causes dust to stick in places where you really don't want it. But I do pump a bit of graphite powder into it all occasionally.

Also don't mean to point out the bleeding obvious - but I assume that you ARE pulling the green "handle" out to the right of the hitch before attempting to rotate it. I have known of more than one person who has been caught out by this, and has just tried to rotate / twist the handle without first pulling it out. ;)

[aus86inch]

I have had the hitch out of the car for a month now, and do you think i can get it to fit back in the cubby hole :mad:

[Stuart02]

I have had the hitch out of the car for a month now, and do you think i can get it to fit back in the cubby hole :mad:

Haha problems I wish I had! The Rrs just has a foam tray under the floor for all that stuff. I remember with the D4 wishing I'd paid more attention the first time I took it out :)

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[Stuart02]

.

Also don't mean to point out the bleeding obvious - but I assume that you ARE pulling the green "handle" out to the right of the hitch before attempting to rotate it. I have known of more than one person who has been caught out by this, and has just tried to rotate / twist the handle without first pulling it out. ;)

Excellent question, I'd forgotten til I checked the book, still no joy tho

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[LandyAndy]

Stuart.I put mine in the vice,pulled and turned the green knob as far as it would turn then put the blade of a small screwdiver behind the green knob to hold it open.Then laid into it with a teflon spray.It eventually freed up.
Andrew

[Stuart02]

Stuart.I put mine in the vice,pulled and turned the green knob as far as it would turn then put the blade of a small screwdiver behind the green knob to hold it open.Then laid into it with a teflon spray.It eventually freed up.
Andrew

Brutal. I like it!

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[LandyAndy]

Was getting to desperate measures.Was 9pm at nite,had put new LED lights on the garden trailer and re-wired the trailer,lights to plug.Needed the trailer on the D4 for a 6.30am depart the next morning.
It was more of a headache fitting the tow hitch than wiring the trailer!!!!
Andrew

[ADMIRAL]

The latching mechanism has to be kept lubed up well, or it will seize up. just keep the CRC/WD40 etc flowing to flush it out after a dirty trip.

[Wasa57]

What Admiral said X 2!

I wonder how many disasters we haven't heard about, hitches falling off (into the path of following traffic), or worse, detaching while towing.

Not everybody maintains this woefully designed hitch as it requires.
Many do little or no maintainance on anything full stop.
The designers / engineers / car producers should take this latter group of consumers into consideration before releasing such a crucial component.

Hitches should be made as fool-proof as possible (I speak from experience as an ex-fool who luckily found the seized unit on a just-purchased vehicle.)

[Nomad9]

Hi Stuart,
I have found that if you use any type of what is referred to as normal lubricant it works great at the time of use, after any length of time the lubricant attracts road grim and grit ad you end up sometimes in a worse place.

I now use a motor bike chain lubricant which dries dry, isn't sticky, comes with a small tube that allows me to inject directly into the key slot. Seems to have worked now for quite a while. Might be something to consider when you eventually get your hitch off.

[Stuart02]

Lube the key slot & also spray into the chassis where the hitch goes in.
Get the key to work as best as possible then hit the hitch side to side, not hard, but firm enough to loosen from the dirt & grime that is holding it in place.
It will eventually work loose.

Cheers

Victory is mine, thanks Sniegy et al. When I finally got it off, I could see there's a surprising amount of tolerance, allowing the WD40 (actually RP7 in my case) with the thin tube attached, to be 'injected' into the interface. I'd actually managed to get almost total coverage.

The amount of crud around and in the pin and tapered tongue was disturbing. This is clearly an over-engineered item requiring regular maintenance. Thanks again all.

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[Melbourne Park]

What Admiral said X 2!

I wonder how many disasters we haven't heard about, hitches falling off (into the path of following traffic), or worse, detaching while towing.

Not everybody maintains this woefully designed hitch as it requires.
Many do little or no maintainance on anything full stop.
The designers / engineers / car producers should take this latter group of consumers into consideration before releasing such a crucial component.

Hitches should be made as fool-proof as possible (I speak from experience as an ex-fool who luckily found the seized unit on a just-purchased vehicle.)

I've just left my tonque on the vehicle ... not maintaining it at all ... I use my trailer maybe once a month though ... what maintenance should I be doing then???

[Wasa57]

The atual tongue isn't the problem, it's the hitch that the tongue fits in to.
I remove, degrease, and lube mine with spray lube (Nomad suggests motorcycle type dry lube - good idea) after prolonged dusty trips. If you are a city-slicker, you would only have to do it 6-12 monthly (unless you drive on the beach.)

I find it a annoying job to remove even when it is not seized!

The default position is that it will fall down / off if the pin doesn't lock properly - go figure.

It would pay to remove your hitch to check its condition, as a starting point. Any seizing probs will soon become evident!

If the hitch is seized in fully-locked position, good, much safer than being seized partially locked (and this does happen.)

[Stuart02]

Yeah what I'm calling the tongue is the stainless steel tapered bolt that extends from the hitch to lock it in place. Nothing to do with the insert. My terminology bad.

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[Melbourne Park]

Hmm ... I'll have to then get some teflon spray (which doesn't leave much residue IMO) and spray into it ... I am a city slicker, but the van behind is an off road one, and there's lots of dust everywhere after each drip. So it will be full of stuff ...

I must say, the design is not as good as the I think its a Mitch connection tonque (the bent metal that secures the trailer to the Disco), as I've seen a Mitch product and although evidently its tough to remove, it sits very close to the vehicle and sits further off the ground than my one, which is all Land Rover, although its the newist version of their's. I would have liked a tongue a bit higher from the ground actually - another 30 mm from the ground would be a better connection for my van.

[Stuart02]

If the hitch is seized in fully-locked position, good, much safer than being seized partially locked (and this does happen.)

Having freed mine up and had it in and out a few times, it now looks to be partially locked. I can get it to drop about 5mm and wiggle about (about an hour's worth this arvo, plus 2/3 of a can of RP7), but the pin seems to still be slightly engaged for some reason. Weirdly too, the key will come out with the lever pulled back. So I'm neither able to get it off or have any confidence that it's securely locked in.

Is there a nuclear option? I want to get it on a hoist and hammer that pin from behind the cross member. But I know I shouldn't hammer angry.

[LandyAndy]

The solution may be buy a Landbruiser:o:o:o:o:o:wasntme::wasntme::wasntme::w asntme:

The tow hitch rates right up there with the 19" rims and that stupid wind up wheel winch.I wonder if the same stupid engineer can put his name to all 3 clever designs????
Andrew

[Stuart02]

The solution may be buy a Landbruiser:o:o:o:o:o:wasntme::wasntme::wasntme::w asntme:

The tow hitch rates right up there with the 19" rims and that stupid wind up wheel winch.I wonder if the same stupid engineer can put his name to all 3 clever designs????
Andrew

I'm not that angry! :D

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[AndrewM]

The tow hitch rates right up there with the 19" rims and that stupid wind up wheel winch.I wonder if the same stupid engineer can put his name to all 3 clever designs????
Andrew

They were all courtesy of "Work Experience Kid" at the LR factory if you remember! Brilliant ideas that just don't work.:eek: