Ball mount stuck in receiver hitch
09-11-2009, 07:50 PM
#16
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I did the same thing with a pickup last month. Put tension on the hitch with a strap hooked to a cement pillar then wailed on it with a sledge. After it moved a bit I put more tension on it by puling the truck forward a bit more. Had to pull the truck forward 4 times and took about 20min of wailing but it finally came!
09-11-2009, 08:10 PM
#17
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09-11-2009, 08:31 PM
#18
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I had one stuck, and what i did was sprayed it good with penetrating oil, and hooked up a heavy trailer to it, I put in a pin about 1/8 in smaller than the right size and drove it on some good old bumpy roads, and within a few hours it worked it self fairly free and i unhooked and beat it out with a few hits of the old sledge
09-12-2009, 04:15 PM
#19
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09-12-2009, 04:55 PM
#20
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>> Anti Sieze Anti Sieze Anti Sieze <<
There is some stuff available at auto-parts called "anti-sieze"; it is a silver paste; some claim that there is also a copper-colored anti-sieze for special applications, but I have never been able to find it anywhere.
I buy it by the five-gallon bucket-full and plaster it onto everything that gets screwed in or slid in that I might want to get out again sometime fifty years from now.
Get close to anything of mine and you will get it all over you.
Paint the entire insides of a receiver and the portion of the hitch that slides in with a good coat of anti-sieze and next time it will slide right out.
The brain-storms at the shop left one in the old feed/farm truck for a couple years with cow-salt, fertilize, and the like constantly bombarding it.
Of course they put it in and not me, so no grease or anti-sieze; it's a wonder they even thought to put in the pin.
Seeing as how the hitch was one I myself had built and a lot stouter than anything for sale new, they took it off when the truck went to the junkers; they worked for nearly two years in periods of free time and it finally came out; every method already mentioned was applied at one time or another; I am not sure which method finally did get it out; it was probably a combination of all.
I buy it by the five-gallon bucket-full and plaster it onto everything that gets screwed in or slid in that I might want to get out again sometime fifty years from now.
Get close to anything of mine and you will get it all over you.
Paint the entire insides of a receiver and the portion of the hitch that slides in with a good coat of anti-sieze and next time it will slide right out.
The brain-storms at the shop left one in the old feed/farm truck for a couple years with cow-salt, fertilize, and the like constantly bombarding it.
Of course they put it in and not me, so no grease or anti-sieze; it's a wonder they even thought to put in the pin.
Seeing as how the hitch was one I myself had built and a lot stouter than anything for sale new, they took it off when the truck went to the junkers; they worked for nearly two years in periods of free time and it finally came out; every method already mentioned was applied at one time or another; I am not sure which method finally did get it out; it was probably a combination of all.
09-12-2009, 11:35 PM
#22
Registered User
It's just one of those things I thought of twenty years ago and been meaning to take time and do ever since; then, this guy is in the shop yesterday and he has already implemented my idea.
Tucked neatly between the frame drop-down of his steel flat was a row of "holsters" with every possible necessary hitch standing ready, right above the receiver.
He had used a slightly larger I.D. tube to make the holsters, so that the hitches would not sieze in them.
They were angled, being higher at the exit end by about two inches.
Each hitch was pinned just as if it were in the receiver.
Now, when I finally get around to making my holsters, everyone is going to think it was his idea.
Oh, and on my truck, the receiver is open-ended; so, when I am not towing anything, the one with a two-inch ball, the most often needed one, is slid and pinned into the receiver from the forward side, completely out of the way.
While we are talking receiver hitches, I have been given at least five hitches, and probably more if I actually counted, usually really nice ones with high-capacity two-inch ***** already installed, Reese or Valley brands.
How this plays out is some soccer-mom or golfer guy buys himself a second-hand SUV, complete with receiver and hitch sticking out to knock their shins off.
These people aren't even safe watching someone else drive, let alone pulling a trailer; most don't even own a trailer.
They will get tired of banging into the hitch and, not being the sharpest knives in the drawer, figure that removing the offending appendage is a job for UnderDog or the guy at the tire-shop.
They come in and state their business, so I pull their vehicle into the shop, bang some cans together, race the air-gun a few times, and rattle the tire irons together, pull the pin, slip out the usually almost new hitch/ball, and take their vehicle back around front.
These people then think I can fix anything, probably the smartest guy in the world.
I tell them they don't owe me any money, not to worry about it, just keep their purse in their pocket; then, I ask them if they want the hitch and they always say just toss it in the dumpster or I can have it if I can use it for anything.
This snow-*****, because their sister-in-law notices that they have somehow gotten rid of that awful knee-bruiser and ask them where and how; so, a couple days later, here they come a'hunting me up to do likewise for them (you see, they heard it from the other one that I work for free).
You guys may think I am making this story up, but I have the hitches to prove otherwise.
Tucked neatly between the frame drop-down of his steel flat was a row of "holsters" with every possible necessary hitch standing ready, right above the receiver.
He had used a slightly larger I.D. tube to make the holsters, so that the hitches would not sieze in them.
They were angled, being higher at the exit end by about two inches.
Each hitch was pinned just as if it were in the receiver.
Now, when I finally get around to making my holsters, everyone is going to think it was his idea.
Oh, and on my truck, the receiver is open-ended; so, when I am not towing anything, the one with a two-inch ball, the most often needed one, is slid and pinned into the receiver from the forward side, completely out of the way.
While we are talking receiver hitches, I have been given at least five hitches, and probably more if I actually counted, usually really nice ones with high-capacity two-inch ***** already installed, Reese or Valley brands.
How this plays out is some soccer-mom or golfer guy buys himself a second-hand SUV, complete with receiver and hitch sticking out to knock their shins off.
These people aren't even safe watching someone else drive, let alone pulling a trailer; most don't even own a trailer.
They will get tired of banging into the hitch and, not being the sharpest knives in the drawer, figure that removing the offending appendage is a job for UnderDog or the guy at the tire-shop.
They come in and state their business, so I pull their vehicle into the shop, bang some cans together, race the air-gun a few times, and rattle the tire irons together, pull the pin, slip out the usually almost new hitch/ball, and take their vehicle back around front.
These people then think I can fix anything, probably the smartest guy in the world.
I tell them they don't owe me any money, not to worry about it, just keep their purse in their pocket; then, I ask them if they want the hitch and they always say just toss it in the dumpster or I can have it if I can use it for anything.
This snow-*****, because their sister-in-law notices that they have somehow gotten rid of that awful knee-bruiser and ask them where and how; so, a couple days later, here they come a'hunting me up to do likewise for them (you see, they heard it from the other one that I work for free).
You guys may think I am making this story up, but I have the hitches to prove otherwise.
09-13-2009, 06:43 AM
#23
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NO ONE drives the big red truck, 'cept me. And I didn't offer to work on YOUR truck anyway!
I agree. I don't know what the problem is in figuring this out, but that is the solution right there.
chaikwa.
chaikwa.
09-13-2009, 07:07 AM
#24
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It's been a while since I checked back here so sorry for the late reply, but yes, I'm sure it's not welded in. The holes for the pin used to be lined up on it and now the ball mount is slid back far enough to where you almost can't see the holes in it throught the holes in the receiver.
I've been beating it with a sledgehammer ever since I first started trying to remove it--that is how I got the best results so far. Once it slid back about 1/2 inch it stopped making progress though.
This truck was originally owned by a guy in Michigan, then by another guy in Ohio, then me in Ohio (I just got it a few months ago though). Doubtful that it's got sand in it at all; probably just rust from all the road salt in the winters.
When we were using the tractor to pull on it, the chain was very close to level. The chain was connected to the hook that's welded to the top of the front end loader bucket. Doesn't even make sense to me that the rear end of the truck was coming up off the ground but it was. I'm surprised and relieved that the sudden jerk from him pulling backwards didn't throw him on the ground behind the tractor. He probably yanked on it 10 times or more.
I'm going to wait till it's later in the morning and probably go heat the receiver with my torch and beat the ball mount in and out with the sledgehammer some more. This will be my last attempt before giving up on it and buying a whole new hitch.
I've been beating it with a sledgehammer ever since I first started trying to remove it--that is how I got the best results so far. Once it slid back about 1/2 inch it stopped making progress though.
This truck was originally owned by a guy in Michigan, then by another guy in Ohio, then me in Ohio (I just got it a few months ago though). Doubtful that it's got sand in it at all; probably just rust from all the road salt in the winters.
When we were using the tractor to pull on it, the chain was very close to level. The chain was connected to the hook that's welded to the top of the front end loader bucket. Doesn't even make sense to me that the rear end of the truck was coming up off the ground but it was. I'm surprised and relieved that the sudden jerk from him pulling backwards didn't throw him on the ground behind the tractor. He probably yanked on it 10 times or more.
I'm going to wait till it's later in the morning and probably go heat the receiver with my torch and beat the ball mount in and out with the sledgehammer some more. This will be my last attempt before giving up on it and buying a whole new hitch.
09-13-2009, 11:23 AM
#25
Registered User
If you do the intelligent thing and scrap the mess for a new one, it will haunt you the rest of your days.
If you give up, when you least want to be distracted, that stuck hitch will pop back in your mind, time over and again, and you will always think you should have given it one more whack.
09-13-2009, 11:28 AM
#26
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I'd back the truck up to a tree, use a tree strap and a comealong. Add a bit of tension then smack the hitch and the mount with a hammer. (STAND BACK and put a shirt on the strap so it'll fall to the ground if it breaks) P.S. you can't have too much oil...
This is how they help straighten frames and the like in body shops. The hitting with the hammer seems to allow the metal to reshape.
Just my $ .02 and good luck
This is how they help straighten frames and the like in body shops. The hitting with the hammer seems to allow the metal to reshape.
Just my $ .02 and good luck
09-13-2009, 01:31 PM
#27
Registered User
There are some, such as lawn-care people, landscapers, and the like, who will have a trailer hooked to the truck for months at a time.
These people aren't gonna remove/replace the hitch every couple days; then, when they do need it out, it is frozen in place.
It would be a simple matter to drill/tap the receiver-tube in four or six spots for Alemites (grease fittings); do this when the hitch is not plugged into the receiver.
You can weld on a nut where you want the fitting, then drill/tap through the nut, thus giving a little more thickness so the Alemite doesn't interfere with the hitch.
Give them a squirt every few weeks and the grease will push out any grit, salt, or the like, plus lubricating and preventing corrosion.
These people aren't gonna remove/replace the hitch every couple days; then, when they do need it out, it is frozen in place.
It would be a simple matter to drill/tap the receiver-tube in four or six spots for Alemites (grease fittings); do this when the hitch is not plugged into the receiver.
You can weld on a nut where you want the fitting, then drill/tap through the nut, thus giving a little more thickness so the Alemite doesn't interfere with the hitch.
Give them a squirt every few weeks and the grease will push out any grit, salt, or the like, plus lubricating and preventing corrosion.
09-13-2009, 02:12 PM
#28
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I've successfully used the tree and chain method with a little added PB Blaster. Don't yank on it with another vehicle/tractor; hook to a stationary object. If you get it to move out a little, but it won't come out completely, use the sledge to drive it back in the receiver a bit, and then yank again.
09-13-2009, 05:52 PM
#29
With age comes the cage
If no one drives the big red truck cept you, how do you explain this chaikwa?
Story:
http://www.knx1070.com/pages/5171264...nner_Div#imgXR
09-13-2009, 08:42 PM
#30
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chaikwa.