equal-i-zer 10K hitch ball loose

[Bill_C]

Originally Posted by kbrown1075

I went by a truck tire shop and they did it for free. I then put a tac weld between the nut and the thread so it won't get loose. If I need to remove the nut, just grind off the weld.

Not a good idea to hit any metal that has been heat treated with a weld. Instant tiny cracks form around the weld.

[Bill_C]

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

I bought a 3/4" drive 1-7/8" socket and a 1/2" to 3/4" drive adaptor and used my impact wrench to tighten it as it's rated at 450 ft-lbs. However if I hadn't already had the impact wrench it would have been much cleaper to run by a local truck tire place or mechanic and have them do it for me. 450 ft-lbs is a lot and you're never gonna reach that without a lot of leverage.

Understanding lbs. foot torque on a bolt. When an item (in this case your trailer ball) comes with a torque value it does not mean it is 'rated' for that torque. When you tighten a nut onto a bolt the metal in the bolt and nut is stretched. Over stretch (over tighten) and the bolt breaks or exceeds its strength capacity and is likely to fail. Under tighten and it is likely to come loose. 450 lbs. foot torque means they want that nut torqued to 450 lbs. foot. (The nut will be then locked in place by the best distortion it can achieve.) Not less, not more, not impacted, not guessed. And, by the way, there is no way a 1/2" impact wrench is going to achieve 450 lbs. foot torque. A 3/4" drive with a 4 foot torque wrench is a grunt to get up to 450 lbs.foot.

[thebrakeman]

Take it to a hitch shop, or any nearby garage. They will probably do it for free. In that case, bring them back some donuts, or leave a tip.