Trouble Tightening Hitch Pin on the Thule Apex Swing

Question:

I bought my trailer hitch from you, so I thought I would come to you with a problem. My Thule Vertex swing away has a handle connected to a screw and the screw holds the whole swing away assembly together. The rack is new thus never had a problem. Took a long trip to a hot climate beach, and for some reason the screw would only screw in half way even without the bikes. The threads arent stripped because it screws in part way plus the threads are in good shape. When I got home, car was in my garage overnight and the garage was cool. When I went to take off the rack, I could screw the handle in all the way. It was hard to do but at list it tightened all the way. My only guess is the heat expanded the metal screw thus making it impossible to screw in all the way. Once cooler, the metal shrunk and could be screwed in. Agree or do you have another idea?

asked by: Harvey

Expert Reply:

The temperature change will have to be near 100 degrees fahrenheit in order for the metal to expand so I really doubt that is the issue. The likely culprit is some loose dirt/rust or damaged threads on either the hitch pin or weld nut inside the shank of the Thule Swing 4 Bike Rack part # TH9027XT.

I would first take some spray lubricant like WD-40 and then use a tube brush like part # 814113 to clean out the threads inside the shank and on the hitch pin. If this does not work then you will want to take a flashlight and look inside the weld nut on the shank to see if any of the threads are damaged. Just because the hitch pin screws in part way does not mean the threads are not damaged.

expert reply by: Conner L