my nato hitch rebuild

Yo guys

Here is my nato hitch i am rebuilding.

It was sized up and had about 20 years of paint on it.

So i striped it this morning and put all the parts is thinners and the years or paint just fell of.

I cleaned up the pins and next i will shot blast the parts and paint.

What size are the 4 counter sink screws that hold the retaining plates in place?

Cheers Landy-Lee

What do you mean what size? Just take one out and measure, mine came out surprisingly easily

flat said:

What do you mean what size? Just take one out and measure, mine came out surprisingly easily

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I was referring to thread size. They are not metric seem to be a mix of UNC and UNF.

landy-lee said:

I was referring to thread size. They are not metric seem to be a mix of UNC and UNF.

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Oh I see, no idea sorry, mine cleaned up okay so I reused them - couldn’t tell when they had a new layer of red paint on top

Always wondered what people were on about when they said NATO hitch - surely it should be baby blue

Does the top open then lock against that t bar in the middle?

Re: screw size - no idea! I’d tap them out to take metric machine screws.

If you are not using the originals, make sure the replacements are or the correct grade of steel for bolts securing a tow hitch.

Al2O3 said:

If you are not using the originals, make sure the replacements are or the correct grade of steel for bolts securing a tow hitch.

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The bolts he’s asking about only hold the two half’s together. The 4 securing bolts, I think they are supposed to 3/8”, or 1/2”, are usually replaced with metric, M10 or M12. Its been a while since I done any work with my nato hitch, so can’t remember.

I can remember I used 12.9 bolts for all aspects of my tow bar, but it worries me that some sites sell stainless tow bar kits, especially in A2 - 70 spec.

The 4 countersunk screws should be 1/4 unf & the 4 mounting bolts 1/2 or m12

Done bit on the hitch today.

I striped it shot blasted it then primed it. Coat of black tomorrow.

landy-lee said:

Done bit on the hitch today.

I striped it shot blasted it then primed it. Coat of black tomorrow.

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For a second I thought you had painted the rotating coupling part. Needed to zoom in to check. Make sure you use a decent waterproof grease when you rebuild it.

mick 1986 said:

For a second I thought you had painted the rotating coupling part. Needed to zoom in to check. Make sure you use a decent waterproof grease when you rebuild it.

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I have masked off all the faces where it rotates.

What grease do you recommend?

Cheers Landy-Lee

landy-lee said:

I have masked off all the faces where it rotates.

What grease do you recommend?

Cheers Landy-Lee

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I noticed when I zoomed in.

Personally, I would use the same stuff as I use in my props and UJs, which is Castro’s EPL, not sure if it’s grade 1 or 2, but I think it’s EPL2. Basically anything that has a high load capability and waterproof.

I have some teflon grease that is water resistant.

Done and fitted!

Im really pleased how it turned out. Thanks for all the help to guys.

Nice job...want to do mine? iv'e 2 fitted front and back for some reason!

landy-lee said:

Done and fitted!

Im really pleased how it turned out. Thanks for all the help to guys.

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Did you use an adaptor to fit your towing electric socket into the chassis? Or did you just drill the chassis and fit it?

That looks smart now. Wait until you clout your knee/thigh off it. You will wish you didn’t fit it.

mick 1986 said:

Did you use an adaptor to fit your towing electric socket into the chassis? Or did you just drill the chassis and fit it?

That looks smart now. Wait until you clout your knee/thigh off it. You will wish you didn’t fit it.

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When i fitted the new rear crossmember i rewired the back end. there was a hole for the wires behind where the socket now is but i made i bigger and fitted a rubber grommet. No adaptor plate i just dried n tapped for mounting the plug and then packed the pins with dielectric grease.

landy-lee said:

When i fitted the new rear crossmember i rewired the back end. there was a hole for the wires behind where the socket now is but i made i bigger and fitted a rubber grommet. No adaptor plate i just dried n tapped for mounting the plug and then packed the pins with dielectric grease.

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I planned to fit mine in a similar way, but I don’t want to drill the galv chassis if I can help it. I wonder if tigerseal or stixall will hold a nylon adaptor solid?

mick 1986 said:

I planned to fit mine in a similar way, but I don’t want to drill the galv chassis if I can help it. I wonder if tigerseal or stixall will hold a nylon adaptor solid?

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If everything is nice and clean yeh it will stick. I use tiger seal for loads of stuff its awesome! I repair quarry machines out on site and i have done some tests by sticking things to steel in harsh conditions to see how they last. It sticks well.