Grinding noise !

[Tina3]

Hi

read the post on noises when towing and knew nothing about having to remove the paint etc,my towbar is from towsure and is gold coloured,I have since looked again due to the horrendous noise( I have a winterhoff stabiliser) the gold is coming off so I know I will have to clean the pads! my question is.. Is this coating a plating or just paint and whats the best way to get it off !!???

Thanks !!!!

 

[Mike_5041089]

Tina - I suspect the coating is a lacquer of some sort to stop the ball rusting when the bar's in storage at the fitters. Fine emery paper should remove it, but be careful that you don't scratch the towball surface. Use plenty of water with the wet & dry paper and ensure you thoroughly dry the ball afterwards. try scratching a bit off from the underside of the ball, which is not in contact with the friction pads, first to make sure.

 

[jacky3]

give the towball a rub with emery paper to get the coating off the ball,then clean with white spirit and dry

somewhere im sure those gold coloured towballs were not up to stand spec will have to look(how long has it been on car???)

 

[Tina3]

Thanks guys!! klarky the towball was fitted about two months ago,and I first towed with it about one month ago, in what way do you mean not up to spec ?

 

[jacky3]

it should definately be ok then

there was some problem with them sometime ago,alko did not recommend fitting them in conjunction with their stabalisers for reason of spec- british standard or somewhat will dig out and reply

 

[Tina3]

it should definately be ok then

there was some problem with them sometime ago,alko did not recommend fitting them in conjunction with their stabalisers for reason of spec- british standard or somewhat will dig out and reply

Ta!

 

[Bri2]

As others have stated, clean the ball with emery and give a final clean with Brake Drum cleaner, obtainable from Halfords in spray form. You can also clean the pads with this. A lot handier than white spirit and you can keep it in the car for use before hitching up at anytime although it costs more.

Brian

 

[Roz_5041467]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Our outfit suddenly started making this horrendous noise every time we cornered last weekend. Whole villages came out to watch and it was truly embarrassing not to say bloody annoying. Will try the remedy this weekend and see if it works, Roz

 

[Icemaker]

klarky, the problem was a few years ago with some gold coloured tow balls that where on sale at retailers, off my memory they looked identical to alko's but where 1 mm smaller and the neck was a fair bit thinner which could have resulted in the ball snapping off with the strain of the stabiliser. it was widely advertised and i dont suspect that any retailer would have sold any for a good deal of time now. having said this it is always good to remind people of these past problems just in case. cheers.

 

[jacky3]

yeh it was something like that john,caused a bit of a stir at the time,cant imagine any been around now but you never know,thanks for that