F.A.O Damien.Re;Hitch noises

[GeorgeandAde]

Hi Damien.Sorry to bother you again.
I took onboard all of your advice regarding the above problem I had and im very grateful.
This weekend,after no end of cleaning with emery paper and brake cleaner,decided to renew the 2 side friction pads.(2 new ones were in the front locker when we purchased the van which saved us a few pounds).
After renewing pads and cleaning towball once more with the emery paper and brake cleaner,I took the van for a test run around north Bristol using all the roundabouts and turnings i could.
For the first 3-4 miles...no noises whatsoever..perfect.
Then it began again.Very slighly at first and by the time I had got back to the storage compound(a total of about 10 miles)the creaking and groaning was as bad as before.
I remember you saying that it does take a while for the pads/towball to "bed in" so i will have to persevere.
Just one point i would like to ask though..
I have 2 grease nipples on top of the stabiliser.
If these are dry and require greasing,would that add to the noises i am getting,or are these grease points not associated with that?
Adrian.

 

[Damian]

First of all, the grease nipples.
They are for the draw tube and would not have any connection with the hitch noise unless they were not greased at the last service, but it would not account for the creaking.

Now that you have replaced the side pads, you have, unfortunately, put the situation back to square one.
The new friction pads will take a while to mould themselves to the towball.
I am wondering what hitch weight you have on the ball?
I found with mine that anything over 80kg had a direct effect on the amount of noise, but 80kg or less, no noise.

 

[SteveW77]

I had a similar problem on my Challenger. I replaced all the pads in the hitch, but when I took the van back to the storage yard it was as bad as ever. I was at a loss, until I found that I could re create the noise by jumping up and down on the tow ball.
I had paid good money to have it professionally fitted so it would not affect the cars warranty and that they had not done a particularly good job, So I decided I would have a look at it myself. I ended up removing the tow bar completely and refitting it from scratch and guess what, I actually stopped the noise. So dont always look to the obvious or you could end up going round in circles.

Steve W

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Thanks for the reply Damian.
Using bathroom scales and the van laden with our belongings I had a reading of 85gk.
I thought this would have been fine as the Hondas max.is 100kg.
I dont really like to move things around the van too much to try to "balance it out"but i could perhaps carry the battery in the car which at present sits just a fraction in front of the axle line.(We used to do this in the Lunar and place the battery,securly behind the drivers seat on the floor).
I havent measured the van like this,but i would imagine it may reduce the noseweight a little and help the towball and stabiliser to bed in with less noise.
As you said before,its not doing any harm...just annoying.
Adrian

 

[Lutz]

If the towball was badly contaminated then no amount of cleaning or rubbing down will get all the contaminant out of the metal. If replacing the pads as well hasn't provided lasting relief then I would suggest replacing the towball, too.

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Hi Lutz.
The towball was brand new.
Had it fitted 3 days before i collected caravan.
It didnt have any black paint on it but i did use emery paper and brake cleaner on it before i first hitched up.
Adrian