Al-Ko Friction Pad Cleaning

[GeorgeandAde]

Hi.Having collected our caravan last week,ive noticed that the Al-Ko 3004 stabiliser is making a creaking noise when turning corners at low speeds.

The van is only 18 months old but i would imagine that the side friction pads have been contaminated in the past.(My towball is spotless).

I know the side friction pads can be replaced,but was wondering if i could try to clean them first with a fine emery paper/white spirit.

Also,could this be done with the pads in situ?

Many thanks

 

[Parksy]

Hi Adrian

The best method is to use brake cleaner which is in an aerosol.

Give the towball a squirt and then turn the hitch upside down and spray the brake cleaner inside.

The brake cleaner will evaporate quickly.

 

[Mikey1]

If your tow ball is nice and clean and shiny i would say that your pads have glazed a rough up with fine emery paper should do thje trick just enough to take the glaze off

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Thanks for that you two.

I will try both.I have ordered some new pads so if the emery paper doesnt work i will have to change them.Thanks again.

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Oh,forgot to ask.would it be ok to use the emery paper without taking the pads out?

 

[Parksy]

I've never tried using emery paper but pad removal is a fairly simple job

http://www.a-tconsulting.co.uk/caravan_tech/alko_pads.html

 

[John_miller]

Just come back from weekend away, so a bit late to this thread, but I'm puzzled by the advice to turn the hitch upside down to spray brake cleaner. Perhaps I've misunderstood this, but the Alko 3004 hitch is fixed and surely turning it upside down would mean flipping the caravan over?

 

[trevgib]

the ball socket should turn around 180 so you an spray into it

Trev

 

[Rick1]

mine doesn`t turn 180 degrees, moves a little but no way does it turn that much,its 3004 model on coachman amara

 

[Parksy]

Perhaps I ought to have put 'turn the stabiliser as far as possible' before spraying.

The idea is to allow the spray to clean the contaminant off the pads if possible as an alternative to removing them.

 

[John_miller]

Thanks for the reply. My stabiliser (on a Bailey Pageant Champagne) doesn't turn either - in fact the only hitch I've ever had that turned was way back in 1988 on an ABI caravan with a B&B hitch where the hitch would turn right over. I always thought that all modern caravans had fixed hitches - hence the reason that overturning caravans almost always take the car with them!

John M

 

[Heethers]

Put a new 3004 one on my last van plus a new shiny tow ball, that creaked.

Bought a new caravan last year, that creaked, even after cleaning with brake cleaner, suggest you wind the window up and turn the radio, up problem goes away.

Do the same when the wife starts to nag.

NigelH