Lock Washers

[jjy]

Only time I had lock washer break was from removing the ball to different hitch. I torque ball to 250ftlb. Never come loose. Now who greases their balls?

[Franco Cialone]

Do what I did once the nut is tight (300 ft. lbs.) weld the nut to shank, if you use another ball size, get another draw bar. Once its welded no more worries about coming off or theft.

[Huntindave]

Originally Posted by Franco Cialone

Do what I did once the nut is tight (300 ft. lbs.) weld the nut to shank, if you use another ball size, get another draw bar. Once its welded no more worries about coming off or theft.

99.99999% of the thieves out there, are not taking a hitch ball torqued to a measured 300 ft pounds of torque.

[FishManDan]

Not sure how a broken lock washer and nut end up in the same spot? The nut would have to rotate to the point it released from the ball shaft and should not fall at same point unless glued together. Most of the time when I have tried to remove the nut, the shaft of the ball is peened by rocks to make it very hard to remove.

I would think the most important statement is grease your ball. Without traction/grip no turn of the ball, therefore no failure.

[last chance]

Originally Posted by FishManDan

Not sure how a broken lock washer and nut end up in the same spot? The nut would have to rotate to the point it released from the ball shaft and should not fall at same point unless glued together. Most of the time when I have tried to remove the nut, the shaft of the ball is peened by rocks to make it very hard to remove.

I would think the most important statement is grease your ball. Without traction/grip no turn of the ball, therefore no failure.

I had this happen to me. the nut was about 100 yards from where I got stopped and half of the washer was close by. but everything happened as I went over a RR track and that's where I found the nut and both pieces of the washer. I figure the washer was cracked but hadn't come apart and the nut was ready to come off and when I went over the track and the trailer lifted up the nut and washer came off and the trailer came off. either the washer was held together by a thread and came apart when the trailer came off or when it hit the road. so some way it did happen. we were only about 15 miles from home. if I had checked the ball before leaving home I'm sure the nut would have been loose.