Towball making a horrible noise when towing?

[jwa]

Hi, we have just returned from two lovely weeks in out van, but towing, although uneventful, was marred by an awful grinding noise at low speed from the towball. It is a new car and swan neck towbar, but the noise sounds quite worrying when approaching junctions or pulling away. it is fine at higher speeds.
I have been told it is normal, but I need to rough up the towball AND the pads, but not to use grease under any circumstances.
Some advice needed please?
Many thanks,
John

 

[craigstaiano]

sounds like there is paint on the towball. You need to remove all paint from the towball with sandpaper so its bare metal.

I had the same issue when towing with a new car and the towball didnt have all the paint removed. When i unhitched i noticed the much of the remaining paint had been removed. Further sanding cured the problem. I also had my caravan engineer check the friction pads on the hitch to make sure the paint hadnt caused any contamination. It didnt.

No dont use grease. The hitch works on friction and thats what helps stop the snaking action.

Hope this helps

 

[jwa]

Thanks for that, I was at the storage today and was told I should have removed the paint from the towball before towing, who knew!! There are bits of paint flecks on the pads, but they can be cleaned up and they will use some wet and dry on them. I need to clean the towball on my car and make sure there is no paint left and then do the same. Hopefully everything should be okay and the journey much less stressful with not having to listen to loud creaking!

 

[GeorgeandAde]

I always use a spray of brake cleaner on both the towball and pads,then clean off with a clean rag before every trip.
Adrian

 

[jwa]

Hi Adrian, interesting? I presume that noise is not an issue! What exactly does that do to the pads though?
John

 

[Parksy]

The best way to quickly remove grease and road contaminant from a towball (after the paint has been removed) and from stabiliser friction pads is to use aerosol brake cleaner. I apply a quick spray to my towball before I hitch up.

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Hijwa.
As Parksy says,its a good way of removing grease and road contamination.
I have also read that by using brake cleaner,it may also help if you tow with a deisel vehicle(as I do).
Adrian