AKS3004 scratches towball??????????

[taylor.paul]

Ive recently fitted an Alko 3004 to my van, ive done around 100 miles with it and on return to the storage yard i noticed a heavy scratch to the front of the towball, spoke to a local dealer who said he had heard of this a couple of times but did not know what the cause was, any suggestions? i have tried ringing alko but always get the answer machine, and no reply from them either!!!!!!!

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Alko are very good at replying to emails

They will probably ask if its a swan neck towbar and if not do you have the Alko special bolt on ball.

I have had a few lines on the towball but nothing to worry about

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Paul,

If it was a new tow-ball, did you remove the black paint from the swan-neck tow-ball or the gold or silver plating from a flange plate tow-ball.

It may be a surprise, but the coating can accumulate on the friction pads and score the surface of the tow-ball. Removing the plating with 200 or 400 grade emery paper will solve this issue.

You can use the same emery paper to remove any ridges on your scored tow-ball.

Robert

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Hi Rob

Not wishing to contradict you but all the Alko approved balls I have seen are black.

I thought that they had done that to make the extended neck balls stand out.

Certainly I have seen a gold towball damaged below the ball because the neck was not long enough

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Just had look on Alko website

Product:

TOWBALL

Problem:

My towball has become pitted and/or scored.

Cause:

Some or all of the paint or coating has been left on the towball before or during use. This, during towing, gets rubbed by the friction pads gripping the ball. Heat is generated and little balls or pellets are formed which then pit or score the towball.

Fix:

All paint or coating MUST be removed from the towball prior to being used by Al-Ko Stabilisers.

Resolve:

DIY

 

[taylor.paul]

Thanks for the replys, yes it was a "black painted ball" but i mest of spent an hour or so removing the paint, altough i must say there were a couple of small "cast marks" that i could not get to, i will therefor try and buy an inpainted ball any ideas where to get one from?? Thanks

 

[WatsonJohnG]

You can not buy an unpainted ball as far as I know which is why Alko say remove all the paint.Towsure do a ball for the Alko hitch at 1/2 the normal price but its painted.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

You can not buy an unpainted ball as far as I know which is why Alko say remove all the paint.Towsure do a ball for the Alko hitch at 1/2 the normal price but its painted.

http://www.towsure.com/product/303-Extended_Towball_for_Stabiliser_Hitches

 

[Clive-Cardiff]

Hi Paul, One cause of scratching of the ball is if you are not exactly in position before you lower the van onto the ball. The coupling will then land on one side of the ball and then slide on causing the scratch.

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Paul,

Once you've got the tow-ball in a reasonable condition - and it's only the ball itself that needs to be clean of paint - then you're set.

Assuming you don't scratch the ball when coupling, the friction pads in the stabiliser will (very) slowly wear the ball down and you shouldn't see any more scratches or pits appearing. If they do, then just use some emery paper to resurface that damaged section.

Note: Don't get overly aggressive with the emery paper - a new ball is 50mm and the AL-Ko will start to indicate a "worn ball" if the diameter drops below 49mm (I think) - but that would need a really long sanding session.

Robert