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Towbar corrosion

2K views 16 replies 5 participants last post by  PURPLE_2L_LX 
#1 ·
Hi folks, this towbar has been installed for about 20 months, the detachable part shows no signs of corrosion however i am slightly concerned about the rest. If it was 5yrs old i wouldnt mind so much and just scrub it down and repaint it but i think its a bit much for its age, what do you folks reckon?, its a pct automotive towbar and was installed by way of the ford dealer when i bought the car, cheers.

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#2 ·
Also it has dedicated electrics fitted (eventually after bypass relay was fitted first which made me not to happy!), and the fuses for it have been put in the engine bay next to the battery - is this normal?, cheers again!

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#3 ·
Surface rust is normal. The paint they stick on the towbars doesn't seem

to last long on many makes.

Some rust killer or zinc rich paint will have it looking better again. But

its not really needed. It will last many years.

Unless you specified you wanted the fuses hidden then the position

its in now seems OK.

Nothing wrong with a bypass relay..
 
#5 ·
Hi purple, i know that bypass relays do work, the issue i have with them on a mk4 is the car not knowing its towing anything and not altering the characteristics of the esm, which ultimately may make the difference between a brown trouser moment and an accident. Also after speaking to my local garage which had had a few cars in with canbus electrics and the owners facing big bills from poorly installed towbar wiring. When towing the caravan as well if i have the fogs on i dont have the front of the caravan illuminated with the car foglights. I know it is the expensive option but i plan on running the mondeo pretty much into the ground so the right one for me long term.

Back to the rust i agree itll clean up fine but i dont think it should be so bad in this space of time, it is used every couple of months and the electric drop downs are rusted solid, ill loosen them off, clean them up and paint them but as it is now if i was to try to force them down they will break off!, i really think the manafacturer finish should be of a better standard, cheers, stu
 
#6 ·
Cheers gary, i just had a bit of a trust issue with the fitters, as i said before they had fitted bypass relay electrics and then they couldnt understand why the car couldnt be programmed like you have to with dedicated electrics.to get all the tow features to work.
 
#7 ·
Sent the pic to pct automotive, they just replied by sending the fitting instructions pointing to the box which said touch up paint as required. These are apparently powder coated which i doubt or very poorly done. Never had this problem with a towbar before so im really annoyed for it to be in this state. Would definitely not recommend anyone to buy from this company. If any other folk have had a towbar for roughly 18 months would you mind having a look and let me know what you see on yours?, cheers, stu
 
#8 ·
Just looking again and for this to be treated properly the drop down arms will have to be removed and the whole lot treated with anti rust paint.
 
#9 ·


This is about a year old. The small round rust spot underneath is a bulge in

the weld and it loves low kerbs when you park with the rear overhanging

them.

As you can see though, Its starting to go also.

If i remember i will take a new photo and compare them.
 
#11 ·
when I got my mits on a used towbar for my mota it was in a bit of a state with regards rust on the main bits & the lecyy point bit crumbled as I tried to undo the nuts holding it on ( good job I had new plate & leccy bits to go on :} )

I spent a short while with a drill & wire brush attachment ( would have spent even longer if I had the angle grinder & wire brush then like I have now :( ) & then gave it a blasting over with some hammerite black before I fitted it

not actually looked at it if honest since fitting it about 12 months+ ago but will have a butchers when I remember next to see how its fairing ( I know a few places may be iffy as I have ( like purple above ) scraped the underside of the lowest point along a few high curbs while parking & the odd very high speed lump that the car could straddle ( I try not to now as I have a parking camera on that bit - it has suddered twice though, glad the tie wraps gave out before the camera did though :} )
 
#12 ·
Thanks purple and fordboi!, im going to get mine cleaned up tommoro hopefully if i have time. Still think the final finish is very poor for the amount these things cost, way of the world these days eh :(
 
#13 ·
Lol thanks compuwiz :)
 
#15 ·
Cheers gary, sorted mine today, wire brushed and coated with hammerite, if i had left it 3 years there would have been nothing left of the electric dropdowns, will be keeping my beady eyes on it :)
 
#17 ·
Did they not change the towbar also? I would have insisted. Or was it light

corner damage?
 
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