cadman Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 I have a current dilemma that I never had before. I bought a stainless steel receiver for my truck along with a 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Tighten the nut up as hard as you can and then touch it with a mig where the bottom of the nut touches the bolt. The only downside is that you will have to cut it off if you ever change it out. www.novalures.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 (edited) The first thing I'd do is get a new lock washer and turn the nut over to get a clean side. Put the ball in a vice and crank that nut down with a big pipe wrench. Keep an eye on it and if it comes loose then bugger up the threads below the nut. You might also look at your trailer tires so see if there is uneven wear because of them being out of balance. That may be extra vibration coming up through the trailer to the ball. Edited September 26, 2009 by Jig Man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted September 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Thanks for the info guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gone2long Posted September 26, 2009 Report Share Posted September 26, 2009 Another thought would be if your trailer has breaks are they working properly? too much force from stopping could be a cause. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CL Rods Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 Ditto on the lock washer, but I'd go as far as to get a new nut as well. Call the manufacturer of the ball and tell them what is going on and see if you can get it for free. Liability for faulty product... Then I'd use Locktite or whatever brand you want and add this to the threads before you tighten the nut down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted September 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 Ditto on the lock washer, but I'd go as far as to get a new nut as well. Call the manufacturer of the ball and tell them what is going on and see if you can get it for free. Liability for faulty product...Then I'd use Locktite or whatever brand you want and add this to the threads before you tighten the nut down. Thanks for the info. Just some info for all. Before I went fishing on Sunday, I took my stn. stl. ball and mount off of my truck. I then had my old black steel mount and a new chrome ball that I put on. I towed my boat 130 miles round trip and no problem. Well you're going to say just use that. I will temporarily, but the steel mount and the chrome ball all will rust in time. The stn. stl. looks so nice.........I think what is happening is the stainless steel mount, lock washer and nut are so hard, that the lock washer doesn't dig into the mount and the nut to keep the nut from backing out. So when I start and stop with my truck the nut slowly starts backing out. You all have good ideas. Welding seems like the answer. However I will call up the manufacturer. This worked for almost 3 years, so I don't know why it doesn't now. I want to say maybe lock nut fatigue. Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jig Man Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 I am glad that you got the problem sort of isolated. Different metals sure do have different reactions. During delivery I used to always stress to the customer about steel nuts and aluminum wheels and the need to check the nuts often on their boat trailers. I don't know how many did but I always felt better for letting them know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted September 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 I am glad that you got the problem sort of isolated. Different metals sure do have different reactions. During delivery I used to always stress to the customer about steel nuts and aluminum wheels and the need to check the nuts often on their boat trailers. I don't know how many did but I always felt better for letting them know. Thanks Jig Man, I do know that stainless is very hard. However I have never heard anyone having this problem with stainless steel ball and mounts. I'm glad I caught this before I had a bad accident. Now I check it regularly every time I go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basseducer Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 Cadman. I don't know how long the stem is on the ball, but if it's long enough you could try putting a second nut on it. Then instead of welding you could drill a hole in the stem and use a slotted nut with a cotter pin like on the prop shaft. Just a thinking out loud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadman Posted September 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 Cadman.I don't know how long the stem is on the ball, but if it's long enough you could try putting a second nut on it. Then instead of welding you could drill a hole in the stem and use a slotted nut with a cotter pin like on the prop shaft. Just a thinking out loud. TJ You and I are both on the same wave length. That was my first idea as I didn't want to weld it and don't have a welder. I looked at the length of threads remaining and the threads are only sticking out about 3/6 - 1/4 inch past the nut. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
