Bloody towbar!

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:01 pm

Went to remove the rear tow bar/bumper today on the wagon as we're stripping down everything underneath for some paint. Tow bar was fitted a couple years after car was bought, decent tow bar or so you'd think.

Held in by 3 bolts on either side, 4 bolts came out easy, leaving the two most hard to get to. Got one of them undone very very slowly as it was unbelievably tight all the way out (with about a mile of thread in a captive nut) had to undo the whole way really struggling on a huge breaker bar but the thread wasn't dirty or damaged. By the end my shoulders were like jelly. Onto the other side, last bolt. Hidden up on top of part of the tow bar...hmm that's odd can't get a socket over it...spanner? nope, there's something in the way.
I stick my head up and have a look and what do I see? The bloody head of the bolt is WELDED to the tow bar!!

:evil::evil: That's right, a 17mm head bolt that goes into a captive nut inside the chassis rail...WELDED to the tow bar after they installed it! Absolute disbelief is the only word to describe how I felt on seeing this. Why would anybody do this??? worried the bolt would vibrate loose? out of 6 bolts they decide to weld this one? Now even a proper weld, just a blob of an afterthought from a stick welder jammed up under there after they installed the bar.

Just couldn't believe my eyes, whoever did this needs a proper slap about the face as they were clearly drunk at the time. Now I have a towbar held on by 1 absolutely impossible to remove bolt...gonna have to actually cut the tow bar practically in half while it's on the car and grind the bolt down...joy of joys

Subydoug · Post by **Subydoug** » Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:28 pm

That sucks mate

. Cant get a grinder up in there?

Another option you might be able to use is some carbon arc gouging,

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DC-ARC-GOUGI ... 1c2ba7d1c9

Ordinary stick welder and it will remove the weld.

Regards

Doug

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:29 pm

That must be so frustrating! It never ceases to amaze me what some hacks do to cars. Good luck, hope you get it out without too much drama...

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 6:49 am

Obviously a class mate of the person who welded the shift rail to the shifter component on my 4 speed. Needed unwelding before I could change the seal that copped a bashing from the weld material every 2nd and 4th gear shift. Make ya spit huh ?

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 9:22 am

That's some sad news there

I would like to add.. just make sure you put a couple of good bolts back in before cutting off the dodgy one.. thus stopping said item falling onto ones noggin

Post by **Bantum** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 9:49 am

I can see one reason why they have done that ... stop some bugger nicking it !

P.S. - My wagon also had the same deal ( one bolt was welded ) I seem to recall some installers did it to protect them selves' from claims of 'tampering' - I can't confirm that though ...

Cheers, Bantum ...

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 10:09 am

RSR 555 wrote:That's some sad news there

I would like to add.. just make sure you put a couple of good bolts back in before cutting off the dodgy one.. thus stopping said item falling onto ones noggin

Haha a good tip there, thanks

I can get a grinder in there just to cut the towbar itself up, gonna take a while since it's 10mm plate and no chance of reaching the bolt without cutting the bar. I might attack that little blob with a big chisel first though, maybe I can dislodge something.

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 10:31 am

Silverbullet wrote:Haha a good tip there, thanks

No probs.. I say this because I've done my head so many times

Silverbullet wrote:I can get a grinder in there just to cut the towbar itself up, gonna take a while since it's 10mm plate and no chance of reaching the bolt without cutting the bar. I might attack that little blob with a big chisel first though, maybe I can dislodge something.

Yeah, try to chisel off the weld bit or can you get in there with a drill? maybe drill the head off then pull the remainder out with say a stud remover tool?

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 12:12 pm

RSR 555 wrote: I would like to add.. just make sure you put a couple of good bolts back in before cutting off the dodgy one.. thus stopping said item falling onto ones noggin

RSR 555 wrote:No probs.. I say this because I've done my head so many times

Lol

try to chisel off the weld bit or can you get in there with a drill? maybe drill the head off then pull the remainder out with say a stud remover tool?

If you can do it this way its much better than having to cut through a towbar! If you cant reach it with a chisel maybe you could with a big long drill bit

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 12:26 pm

The shape and location of the offending blob doesn't really allow for drilling or grinding and it's even hard to get a good look at it without neck and back straining...I'm still aching from yesterday

If I got a pic of the location it would help to explain the difficulty of the situation

Cliff R · Post by **Cliff R** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 1:11 pm

I don't have much to add here except if you can sacrifice an old chisel and weld a piece of round/square bar onto the end of the chisel you may get a clearer go at hitting the "blob".
Basically, I am saying make the chisel longer and get it clear of the underneath of the car so you can hit it easier.

RSR 555 · Post by **RSR 555** » Sun Oct 20, 2013 1:27 pm

Silverbullet wrote:The shape and location of the offending blob doesn't really allow for drilling or grinding and it's even hard to get a good look at it without neck and back straining...I'm still aching from yesterday If I got a pic of the location it would help to explain the difficulty of the situation

Sorry. I didn't mean drill the blob just the head of the bolt, then once the towbar frame is off the car, then you can remove the blob. You will be left with the threaded part in the car and this you can remove with a stud remover tool.

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Sat Nov 02, 2013 7:43 pm

Just a little update, the bar is off the car at last and completely unsalvageable. I cut it off right next to the bolt and it took a lot of bashing with the big chisel and FBH to move the blob until I could get a socket on it, and the bolt was incredibly tight all the way out just like the other side. Shame, it was a Hayman Reese towbar.

NachaLuva · Post by **NachaLuva** » Sun Nov 03, 2013 11:17 pm

Bugger! At least its off though...

Post by **Bantum** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:15 am

Got any pictures to show us ?

Depending on how bad the end result of your 'butchering' is - you should still be able to fix it with new end plate ...

Cheers, Bantum ...

Silverbullet · Post by **Silverbullet** » Mon Nov 04, 2013 4:56 pm

It's not as simple as just welding another end plate on I'm afraid. There's a piece of the actual bar about 15mm long missing off the end, before the end plate comes in. It would be possible to weld a 15mm plate spacer to the end then the actual end plate, but this is a towbar and it would have to be properly strong. It's also 10-12mm plate all round which is a bit too thick for my little welder.