To cut a long story short I need to lower my towball. The question is can I re-use the nuts, bolts and washers or do I need to buy some more?
Thanks in advance
Mike
Thanks in advance
Mike
Towball bolt reuse
- Thread starter MikeMc
- Start date
Mike,
You'll probably need longer bolts anyway - so why not use new?
Certainly shake-proof washers are single use and must be discarded - likewise Nyloc nuts (if used) - so really the only saving would be a few pence for the nuts.
Robert
You'll probably need longer bolts anyway - so why not use new?
Certainly shake-proof washers are single use and must be discarded - likewise Nyloc nuts (if used) - so really the only saving would be a few pence for the nuts.
Robert
The plate that the ball is bolted to has another set of holes 2" lower so the same length bolts would suffice. If it was a question of pence I would just replace them but when I went to the Whitter website they want nearly
I can't help thinking you must have got the wrong item from Witter.
Towsure (not especially cheap firm) quote a max of 85p per bolt.
Check your local car accessories place or Halfords, and I think you'll see it is not worth re-using. After all, these 2 bolts take the entire tow load!
Towsure (not especially cheap firm) quote a max of 85p per bolt.
Check your local car accessories place or Halfords, and I think you'll see it is not worth re-using. After all, these 2 bolts take the entire tow load!
Presumably this is for a 4x4 off-roader or a pre-1998 car - it's illegal to use drop plates (or raising plates) otherwise.
Unless you have good reason to think the bolts may have been over tightened and therefore possibly weakened? then discard the shake proof washers and reuse the original bolts nuts and washers.
Shake proof washers particularly and washers in general, are not required in this situation if the bolts are correctly torqued to 143lbft. They are though a source of corrosion which will over time cause the bolts to loosen somewhat.
On the subject of torque, the nuts must be free running on your used bolts before the correct torque can be applied, make sure then the threads are clean before reassembly
Shake proof washers particularly and washers in general, are not required in this situation if the bolts are correctly torqued to 143lbft. They are though a source of corrosion which will over time cause the bolts to loosen somewhat.
On the subject of torque, the nuts must be free running on your used bolts before the correct torque can be applied, make sure then the threads are clean before reassembly
This is the torque settings according to Witter website.
Unless stated otherwise in the installation instructions all fasteners are tightened to the following torque settings: M8 - 27Nm, M10 - 53Nm, M12 - 95Nm, M14 - 150Nm, M16 - 214Nm.
I would always go for new bolts etc.... It's a lot cheaper than a caravan.
Mike
Unless stated otherwise in the installation instructions all fasteners are tightened to the following torque settings: M8 - 27Nm, M10 - 53Nm, M12 - 95Nm, M14 - 150Nm, M16 - 214Nm.
I would always go for new bolts etc.... It's a lot cheaper than a caravan.
Mike
Arrrgh, was checking the whitter site and according to them I need a 10mm spacer if using the lower holes. I gave up and rang a mobile towbar fitter, he is supplying the spacer,new bolts and doing the work for
All bolts have a recommend maximum torque regardless of the application, this is generally taken as 60% of the proof load for a given size and quality.
Proof load being the point a bolt would stretch beyond it's ability to return to original length, or more correctly, the point at which it 'yields'
From memory Witter supply 10:8 High Tensile bolts while generally 8:8's are used for towball application, this would account for Witter's recommended higher torque, 8:8 being 190Nm or 143lbft
So check the numbers on the head of the bolt beforehand, I would also say given the above, an applied torque somewhat less or more is not important, excessively though in either direction is!
Proof load being the point a bolt would stretch beyond it's ability to return to original length, or more correctly, the point at which it 'yields'
From memory Witter supply 10:8 High Tensile bolts while generally 8:8's are used for towball application, this would account for Witter's recommended higher torque, 8:8 being 190Nm or 143lbft
So check the numbers on the head of the bolt beforehand, I would also say given the above, an applied torque somewhat less or more is not important, excessively though in either direction is!
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