Damaged Ball

[jeremy_283]

Will this knick cause premature wear of the coupler?

[Trackrig]

Never greased a ball in my life, I get greasy enough as it is around equipment. If a ball hasn't been used in years, use a little sandpaper on it for 10 seconds to remove any corrosion if needed.

Never heard of crystalizing a ball - how does that happen ? There's no way a hitch could generate a lot of heat.

And back to the OP's question. Smooth out the nick if you want, it will be fine.

Bill

[FlatBroke]

It ain't the space shuttle. I spray the lock down latch and give the ball a shot of WD40 as needed. That may happen once a year. How Far does it move, maybe 1/4 turn going around a corner. I bet someone will chime in that they put the temp laser to it every stop. LOL

[Dog_Folks]

Dave H M wrote:
Oh oh, now we have gone from simply smoothing out a nick in the ball to, Whoah that thing looks crystallized from lack of grease. :h

Considering that this is the RV.NET, you are actually surprised. :h

[Chris_Bryant]

I hate to mention it, but I've put hundreds of thousands of miles on a hitch ball...... not using any grease!
Didn't wear the ball, didn't wear the coupler, didn't put grease on my clothes when I walked by, did make it a bit harder to slip on to the ball, if not perfectly lined up.

[Dave_H_M]

Oh oh, now we have gone from simply smoothing out a nick in the ball to, Whoah that thing looks crystallized from lack of grease. :h

[Golden_HVAC]

Have you been putting a little grease on the top of the ball before hitching up?

Do you have a grease gun?

You could also use 'high temp disk brake grease'. It comes in a 1 pound can for about $8 and will last many centries if you just put a drop on the ball every trip. Start out with a tablespoon for the first couple of trips, then just a teaspoon on the ball every once in a while once there is a coating of grease inside the coupling. You will not need to add lube each time, if you are using the trailer frequently enough to keep the ball coated in grease. You want a 'thick' grease, not something thin like WD 40, that will both wash away any grease, and cause more wear on the ball.

Fred.

[Me_Again]

Is that ball crystallized from lack of grease? Chris

[Old-Biscuit]

Yep.....clean it up with a FINE flat file.
Metal files are made to cut on push stroke....not on return stroke

[ScottG]

Matt_Colie wrote:
Jeremy,

If you file or stone down any raised edges and grease it - Then No.

Matt

X2!

[Matt_Colie]

Jeremy,

If you file or stone down any raised edges and grease it - Then No.

Matt