Should I buy Al-ko stabilizer?

[Ron2]

A noisey stabiliser is caused by greasey/rusty towballs wipe the ball with a clean rag then degrease with brake cleaner then rub over with course emery cloth.

We tow caravans around our yard every day and never put the Al-ko handle down and have never lost one yet ,the tongue that snaps under the ball holds it on not the friction pads...

To get over the problem of 4x4 spare wheels just remove the Al-ko handle and use it only to engae and disengage the pads,you can even spend

 

[dave_5128873]

hi when we tow the caravan we get a horrible grinding noise from the stabiliser when turning only,can i lubricate the stabiliser to rectify this.

thanks

dave

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Dave,

Preferably not, lubricating the ALKO tow ball / tow coupling will just contaminate the pads more - and make it squeak more - until you eventually flood the brake pads and they stop working.

The issue you have is that the pads and tow ball are dirty or contaminated, and need a thoroughly good clean.

White spirit or brake cleaner, plus loads of clean cotton rags is the solution.

Robert

 

[John_5040782]

I have already posted a comment on another thread but I think it worthwhile repeating it here:-

There have been various messages over the last few months regarding creaking AL-KO stabilisers to which I add my recent findings. I have an early AKS 2000 which suddenly started to creak and groan quite badly, I am now updating to a newer van and intend to transfer the stabiliser. When I removed it and examined it closely I found the the edges of the friction pads were badly chipped, the AL-KO website for the later hitch (http://www.al-ko.co.uk/edit/files/support/TSHOOT1300.doc) implies that this could be the reason.

I will now give the hitch a thorough overhaul before re-fitting!

John (Bridgend)

PS - I'll let you know the result in a couple of weeks time

 

[rob_jax]

John,

When you overhaul your ALKO stabiliser and fit new pads, you may want to make sure that the pins on the back of the pads are lubricated with a specialist brake lubricant - like CopperSlip.

You don't need the heat dispersing properties of this grease - unless you are very enthusiastic when towing your caravan - but it's other property of reducing vibration (and brake pad squeal) will come in handy.

Of course, when you reassemble the stabiliser, make sure you don't get Copperslip on the pad surface.

Note: You'll only need 5 or 10 ml of this specialist grease - so don't buy a big tube - I've still got my original tube from 30 years ago.

Robert

 

[James_374224753]

Buy the ALKO and some ALKO shocks for the caravan, they make a world of difference