Towbar Question

[Oilkid]

Hi

Looking for a wee bit of info regarding towbars. I have aquired a Brink(3295) tow bar from another fellow Rav4 owner who had upgraded there Rav to a newer version. I have had to source a Helicoil kit M12 1.25 pitch to rethread the offside mount points. While doing a bit of surfing to find out about the bolt size(length) i have found out this towbar will only fit cars with 215tyres not 235? Does anyone know why this is? I would have thought that all cars would have a standard chassis frame size?

Another quick question is the use of Helicoils. Do you think these are ok for repair on a towbar mount?

Towbar that one has got

link

Towbar that it might have to be?

link

any info appreciated

Jas

[IanXT4]

My guess is its probably something related to ride height ?

The 4.2 has a very low back door and the Brink 3669 is designed for the tow ball to just clear the door when fitted.

This makes the tow ball extremely low (Brink told me its right on the legal limit).

I have found it OK for my trailers, they ride very nose down. I even have to remove the jockey wheel before I set off.

If you intend to tow a caravan I would be tempted to buy the higher bar (4089 as supplied OEM by Toyota).

This has to be removed before you open the back door :ffs:

I would have thought the helicoil manufacturer would have information on usage. I am sure they can take the torque but these bolts are under regular "shock loads" would this loosen the helicoil ?

If there is enough material in the chassis (not sure how you determine this) I would be tempted to drill the hole, tap to next size M14? and use new bolts.

Any advice given is meant to be helpful and in good spirit. No liability is accepted for loss , damage or injury. WORK SAFELY

[pmb]

Never understood this I have a detachable on my 235 shod 4.2. How much difference is there between a 215/70 and a 235/60? My 2002 brochure says exactly what your links quote. Don't get me started about advice from Brink.

[Oilkid]

Hi

Am i right in thinking that this towbar will fit, but may be on the low side? The main reason for fitting is to fit a cycle carrier and may look to tow a trailer every now and again. Ian, I did look to drill and tap a 14mm hole but uncertain to the amount of material in the chassis fo retapping? The helicoils are meant for this kind of repair but mainly get used for gearbox repairs etc(soft metal thas been stripped). They are meant to be as good as, if not better than the original thread?.

I'm off to work now and will do a wee bit more research.

Thanks

Jas

[Oilkid]

Hi

Just for info regarding the saga of 215,235 tyres in relation to towbars that will fit/won't fit.

I fitted this towbar/towball (Brink 3295) roughly to find out if it's going to work. And it does. All mounting holes line up. The towball center is approx 38cm from the ground and the back door can be opened(clears towball by about 10mm). Like Ian said in a previous post it may be too low to tow a caravan, but could maybe be changed to a permanently fixed swan neck version?.

Now going to tackle the thread repair/recovery process for getting the towbar fitted. If it ever stops raining that is. Leccy drill and monsoons don't get on very well

Jas

[JesusJohnson]

Hi,

Just signed up and having a look round and noticed your post, where I work we repair a lot of threads but dont use helicoils, we use timecerts, similar in principle but rather than a coiled wire they are solid with a shoulder that stops it just below the job surface. They are made by Wurth, they are much stronger so if you could find someone using them in you area take a look at them.

Jason

[Oilkid]

Hi

Jason I had ordered the helicoil kit before I read your post. As you say the timesert is probably the better one to go for.(how reliable are the coil repair kits?) I have only had to repair one hole and the other I managed to clean up with a M12 1.25 tap. I have used a bit of flat bar and checked both threads torq'd to 140Ib/ft and they are ok, yeha. I think you only have to got to 85Ib/ft.

I have went to MrT to get a bolt kit £15 for this towbar. I couldn't get any M12 1.25 50MM mounting bolts anywhere local.(except ebay) I will just replace all the bolts for peace of mind basically when they arrive.

Jas