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WeRetired · 12-02-2021, 07:33 AM

Have a Curt Q24 hitch on a puck system in my Ford. Lately have noticed a clunking sound when starting from a stop. Hitch mount is tight in the pucks, no play. Is there a standard for rebuilding/replacing jaws and mechanism. 5th pin and jaws all look good but appears to be the source of noticed clunk. Somewhere way back I vaguely recall seeing an article showing a rebuild kit for these hitches. Looking on Curts website I don’t see anything.
Thanks for the suggestions.

MADP4301 · 12-03-2021, 05:45 AM

My A20 does the same thing. I checked everything and it seems there is slight play in the jaws. Thought about changing hitches down the road as I figured replacing parts on it would result in the same thing after it breaks in. My neighbors A16 does the same thing but barely noticeable.

I have no idea where to get replacement parts…

txcpl · 12-03-2021, 06:31 AM

Curt used to warranty their hitches for 10 years. Call them with your questions.

Rhagfo · 12-04-2021, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WeRetired

Have a Curt Q24 hitch on a puck system in my Ford. Lately have noticed a clunking sound when starting from a stop. Hitch mount is tight in the pucks, no play. Is there a standard for rebuilding/replacing jaws and mechanism. 5th pin and jaws all look good but appears to be the source of noticed clunk. Somewhere way back I vaguely recall seeing an article showing a rebuild kit for these hitches. Looking on Curts website I don’t see anything.
Thanks for the suggestions.

Does your hitch latch tight to your puck system? The cams on the hitch are adjustable as there are slight variances in fit, I would check that first.

jimcumminsw · 12-04-2021, 10:51 AM

I also believe there has to be some slop between the hitch jaws and the king pin in non-slider hitches. A millimeter or two is all you will need. Why? The trailer king pin needs to rotate as the truck maneuvers and the trailer will follow thru. If this was a tight metal on metal fit the king pin and or hitch jaws would wear after time and may need to be replaced.

My old Reese hitch head jaws had a slight gap when closed. I used paper bluing sheets the first time to ensure that a gap existed. There was no transfer of blue on to the hitch jaws form the king pin.

oscarvan · 12-05-2021, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhagfo

Does your hitch latch tight to your puck system? The cams on the hitch are adjustable as there are slight variances in fit, I would check that first.

OP stated the hitch is tight in the bed mounts........

WeRetired · 12-06-2021, 07:55 AM

Going to hook it up today and take another look, sometimes a second look helps.

freestyle_freddy · 12-06-2021, 09:18 AM

I had exactly the same problem with my 2017 F350 puck system with a Reese M5 hitch. I first checked the puck shafts to make sure there was no play in them. Then I noticed about 1/16" play in the hitch head mount assembly that mounts to a shaft running front to back. This allows the side-to-side tilt. When I accelerated, the hitch head assembly would slide back on that shaft & hit the rear frame of the hitch mount. I took a 1/16" washer, cut a notch in to allow it to slide over the shaft & tapped it down into that space. It still tilted side-to-side easily, but now there was no play. that completely solved the clunking problem.
In my previous truck, a 2008 F450, I had a similar clunking problem. After 7 years of fulltiming, the frame cross pieces that the old style Pullman cross bars bolted thru the bed floor into, had cracked & separated under the bed. This caused the bed floor to actually rise slightly when accelerating or braking, while pulling an 18.5K lb 5th wheel. I discovered this while cleaning out the truck bed on the day I was trading it in for my 2017 F350. I was removing the wiring for the air compressor in my Hensley air ride hitch, that ran under the bed to the battery up front, when I noticed the cracks & separation of the cross frame pieces.