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I know of 4 of us who've modified our ET hitches to draw the jaws closed all the way, and keep them locked. Different approaches to alleviate a manufacturing problem, all just a better band-aid than what the manufacturer incorporated. Yes, I believe the problem arises not with the design, but by machining that makes assembly easier, and thus creates a situation where the locking block has a stress it wasn't designed for. Henry didn't drop this ball. If the jaws were finished like I believe Henry designed, the locking block would slip between parallel sides of those jaws. But the jaws are finished with a slight taper, compounded by sloppy pin holes. It ain't a perfect world.

Close. There are pins protruding from the head to which springs are attached. My rear mount slips over a pin, and is held on by the spring. In talking to others, it seems this issue is only affecting the hitches built by Youngs.

Mote:

As advertised, here’s some pictures.

I plan to get back to the shop tomorrow. (Retirement is great.) I'll grab some pics then.

Yep, there's no doubt the machining is sub par. Even so, there's no doubt the ET is the best hitch on the market, but that "Super Binkley" needs some refinement.

Yesterday, I fixed three things on the truck, two of my own doings, and the third a flaw in the ETHitch design. First was a retaining bolt on one of my sliding smart loading trays. Pretty easy fix by through drilling and putting in a carriage bolt where I'd just had a smaller bolt into a tapped hole. Second was making a release tab on a drawer slide. Lastly was making a retaining loop/chain to replace the silly safety pin on the latch arm of the ET. The pin was a band-aid to prevent unlatching due to a flaw in the design/machining process. I know I'm not the only one to modify this head, though my approach is very different from a couple others I've seen.

As to the triangles getting run over, our granddaughter works for Stop Stick. Perhaps combining the two......

In addition to what Steve and Rod have mentioned, go to the HDT Resource Guide and meander about, looking at requirements for your state, or domicile, projects, etc. It's a bit dated, and to me, was a little difficult to navigate until you get a feel for it, but there's a world of valuable info there. Thanks to Mark Bruss for compiling it.

While I certainly don't oppose such laws, it's a sad thing to realize we need laws to replace common sense and curtesy.

Dang Carl, yer a lot smarter than we thought. Thanks.

A myth that needs to be busted is the nasty rumor that there is no Santa Claus. A couple of my grandkids have been trying to convince me that he's just a myth, SAY IT AIN'T SO!!!!!!!

Happy Holidays!!! Merry Christmas!!! Happy Hanukah!!! Or, whatever other greeting seems appropriate. In the spirit of the season, I bid you all a joyous holiday, celebrating in the way you see fit. It matters not what we believe (or not), but that we play nice and share good will. At our house, we'll gather around a decorated tree and pass out trinkets, then belly up to the trough and munch on too many snacks until it hurts. Then a few days later, resolve to be good in the upcoming months, a vow which will be quickly forgotten as we slide into our old habits. Sound familiar?

Agreed on all points. While wondering about a junk yard in Tok, Alaska, I looked at a KW suspension that had 1/2" or bigger air lines connecting the bags, rather than the spaghetti lines most of us have. Those big lines would allow the suspension to react to uneven terrain much quicker. We had three Macks on the farm, one air ride and two camelback. Once or twice a year, those old camelbacks would shine. The rest of the year, they sucked.

I'd never heard of that guy, but like his delivery and common sense approach. Now to check my filter supply for that symbol he points out.

Gotta admit I just learned something. For years, I believed the max single axle weight was 19k. Not true. For most states, it's 20k or lower. Six states allow a higher weight, with Hawaii being the highest at 22.5k.

Thanks for confirming that Ray. I've suspected it ever since buying the Volvo, with an ISX. It cranked longer than all my previous diesels before firing. So, this brings up another question....where is that sensor? If it's after the filter, the engine will protect itself from starting if a filter was not pre-filled.

I can't help but wonder if, as spindrift pointed out, that reference is for a rebuild, where all the lines/passages are empty? More unanswered questions.

Unfortunately, my bride has figured out how to leverage her assets to her advantage..........

Dang. You win this round.

Spin, agree to dis-agree here too. There's so much anecdotal garble out there, it's hard to separate fact from fiction. But, I would like to find something in print from a manufacturer recommending to pre-fill. I too have heard about flunking for not using the clutch. I've found that eventually, your hand and foot do the shifting, and leave the brain out of the equation. For me, that's a plus. Another myth I've heard is that using the Jake (Jacobs Exhaust brake), causes premature cam wear. Duh. If that were true, the warranty would be shorter on engines with Jakes.

I suppose one could view it as, the Kroil had time to do the job, the "other stuff" came late to the party. Expecting instant gratification from a penetrant is asking a bit much.

Tom, I forgot the smart. Gasoline, turbo, horizontal filter. Please don't think for a minute that I think there's anything wrong with pre-filling a filter, but I can't find solid evidence of a need to do so. I'm one of those weird-o's that actually reads owners manuals, and service manuals, and I've yet to see this addressed.

Well, I spent some time searching for definitive answers about oil flow through filters, and found lots of opinions, and few solid facts. I appears that some engines/filters are designed as "full flow" meaning that all the oil coming from the pump goes to the filter, unless the filter by-passes for some reason. Other engines shunt a portion to the filter, the rest going on to lubricate and/or cool something. Just from personal experience, I've owned perhaps 20 diesels, nearly all had horizontal filters. The 3 Cummins being the exception. I've also owned 4 gasoline fueled, turbocharged engines of two very different designs. All had horizontal filters.

Good stuff. I cut my teeth on old Farmalls and John Deeres. The Farmalls had had a cartridge filter that could not be pre-filled, and the Deeres had horizontal filters. Most of my light duty trucks (half tons through one tons) have had horizontal filters too. I'll see if I can dig up documentation on how much oil goes through the filter v. how much is by-passed.