Thread: Stuck tow hitch

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

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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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on the moving parts.Make sure you are pulling the twist knob as you are twisting it.I was getting the tounge 3/4 withdrawn,just not enough to engage it in the reciever.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
Andrew

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

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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.

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.

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

Originally Posted by 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

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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Originally Posted by BMKal

.

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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