Community Forums

scottandanna · 06-26-2015, 01:07 PM

Seems to grind squeal and pop a lot especially on turns and for a few seconds after we straighten out.. Should joints be lubed to quiet it all down?

First trip with it and it is freaking out the wife.

SkiSmuggs · 06-26-2015, 02:22 PM

How much is normal? Pretty much all of it. You can lube (white lithium spray?) the ball, the sockets on the hitch and the friction points on the A-frame part, and maybe even the clamps that hold the bars on. It does the anti-sway part by friction, so you may lose some of that, but lube won't affect the WDH part.

redcolorado · 06-26-2015, 03:09 PM

That sounds like the one I have. Only lubed the ball.

ahicks · 06-26-2015, 03:32 PM

There are friction type sway bars, and there are cam action. You can lube all of it but the friction type sway controls if the noise makes you crazy. Be aware though, you may be accelerating wear due to grit from the road (sand) contaminating the grease.

Point being, the grease should be cleaned off completely, and then reapplied, frequently if that's the way you're going.

scottandanna · 06-26-2015, 05:45 PM

We got to our first ever campsite and set up. Took trailer off hitch and went to walmart for white spray lube. Will try it on way home and see if it quiets down.

Might even look into a couple thin strips of teflon to put betweeen tension rods and frame brackets and see how that works.

We are in a grand cherokee so any hitch noise sounds like it is inside the vehicle

04266832 · 06-26-2015, 06:46 PM

I have the same hitch set up and the noise takes some getting used to. I'm not technical when it comes to the engineering of the hitch but the advice above is correct from everything I've researched: if you lubricate between the bars and the brackets you eliminate the anti sway benefit because you're reducing the friction.

They do make a small plastic covers to put on the brackets that helps a little but doesn't eliminate the noise.

Onstar20 · 06-27-2015, 12:44 AM

Agree with lubing ONLY the ball to maintain the friction anti-sway effectiveness. During my prior purchasing research, noise accompanying this hitch brand was a determining factor for going with Husky Centerline WD/SC hitch which is a very effective and quiet setup.
Happy Travels!

Walt Bennett · 06-27-2015, 05:45 AM

With our former bumper pull, I used dry lube (Teflon?) on the ball and the torsion bar sockets for 5+ years every time I hitched up and about 80k miles with nothing but normal wear on our equalizer hitch. It still made some noise when turning sharply, but very little otherwise.

Melvo · 06-27-2015, 07:16 AM

I called the Equal-i-zer people when I got my hitch (years ago) and asked them about lubing the bars and they told me it had no effect on the sway control.

SkiSmuggs · 06-27-2015, 07:16 AM

Back when I had a TT, I remember the noise only being noticeable when pulling into campgrounds with curved roads, low speed and the windows down.

scottandanna · 06-27-2015, 12:42 PM

If I was towing with my truck it would be much less noticeable, but in the grand cherokee, even the light clunks and rattles from towing the boat are amplified inside the vehicle. The Equal-I-Zer is outright SCARY inside the jeep!

Scary enough that I was afraid maybe something was broken or in the process of breaking.

After reading you guys' responses, I guess it is normal for these setups.

scottandanna · 07-06-2015, 02:53 PM

The white lithium grease made a WORLD of difference. Almost silent, with just a couple creaks on tight turns.

We even drove home in windy and thunderstormy weather and the sway was minimal, and not anymore noticeable than before I lubed it.