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My 2017 has the factory ford gooseneck hitch. I bought the truck used, it was used for towing the majority of its life, and I don't think the ball was ever removed from the socket in the hitch frame. The issue I'm having now is that I've tried to remove it a couple times for hauling other things and it's stuck. More specifically the plastic center piece that you're supposed to lift up to release the retaining mechanism is stuck. I've tried prying it up a couple times with no luck. The last time I had two 2"X4"s laid on edge on either side of the ball, then used prybars to pry up equally on both sides. it was chipping and breaking the plastic so I left it alone before there was nothing left. The plastic never even started to move or wiggle. I'm starting to think I might have to drill out the plastic from the top and ultimately replace the ball. I don't want to go down that road though until I have to. Not seeing one of these out of the truck I'm not 100% sure that would let the retaining ***** release without a lot of headache anyway.
Anyone else deal with this? Luck with methods to fix it?
soak it in penetrating oil every chance you get. My B&W got stuck, soaked it, loosened a little, got underneath it and pounded it upward til free . clean and lube before you put it back!
I think there is a drain hole under neath in that position.....could try some penetrate from the bottom and then tapping it with a thin nail from the bottom drain hole.
The ball itself is loose - I can wiggle it just fine by hand. It's the center plastic release mechanism that's stuck and won't pop up. The original owner must not have believed in using grease between the ball and trailer hitch because the top of the ball is all chewed up. I'm thinking this is a big part of the problem. The metal and plastic have kind of been ground together. Might have to hit the edges of the groove where they meet with a thin cut-off disk on my grinder or a hack saw blade to open it back up, give it a shot of penetrating oil, and see if they release from each other. I have to crawl under the truck to change oil this weekend so I'll see what kind of access I have to try to drive a long punch up through the center from the bottom.
Sounds more like the two ***** that hold it in are froze up thats why the little plastic tab wont pull up. That design ball is really kinda dumb get yourself the B&W ball for it.
Sounds more like the two ***** that hold it in are froze up thats why the little plastic tab wont pull up. That design ball is really kinda dumb get yourself the B&W ball for it.
The way I envision it working if the locking ***** are froze up the plastic tab should still pull up. Kind of like the socket release button on a ratchet. I could be wrong though. The B&W is a nice setup for sure. It's definitely under consideration If I can't make this one work reliably once I get it out.
When Reese first came up with that plastic lever on the ball design, and Ford adopted it, I was very skeptical of the durabilty of the ball retrieval and retention. I did like the idea of pucks under the bed, rather than hat channel rails on top of the bed.
B&W hadn't yet come up with their replacement ball for the Ford factory "goofball", so I wanted to use an original square shank B&W ball for the gooseneck, along with the underbed puck mount system for a higher capacity 5th wheel hitch that didn't apply any pressure to the bed floor using skids (hence, I didn't want the Companion 5th wheel hitch). So this was my solution... an amalgam of both brands of underbed hitch holes.
Now that the B&W replacement gooseneck ball is available to fit in the Ford and Reese round hole ball bearing retained hole, there is no reason to risk the mechanism on the Ford supplied ball getting stuck again.
I've been concerned about this happening with the Curt ball I'm now using. Those tabs on top of the ball just have a flimsy look for something towing a 15K fifth wheel. I have a Reese Goose Box I got in February so gooseneck towing is new to me. My previous 17 F350 had the ball kit as an option so I still have it. When I put the Goose Box on our previous fifth wheel it sat too low with the Ford ball so I got the B&W with its 2 inch rise. When we bought a new Jayco Pinnacle in May I had the Goose Box transferred to it. The Ford ball was too low and the B&W made it sit too high. The rise on the Curt was just right so I decided it was easier to get the new ball rather than mess with adjusting the 225 pound Goose Box.
I wish I had found the Pullrite ball before I bought the Curt as it has no tabs. I did look and most of the places show it is out of stock so not sure if it has been discontinued. I need to Craigslist some of these things as I seem to be getting quite a collection.
I wish I had found the Pullrite ball before I bought the Curt as it has no tabs. I did look and most of the places show it is out of stock so not sure if it has been discontinued. I need to Craigslist some of these things as I seem to be getting quite a collection.
I had a heck of a time finding a Pullrite ball in stock. A couple showed up in stock on Amazon back in March and I pulled the trigger.
Prior to that I had called Pullrite to inquire about the shortage and they said at that time (March) that they were not discontinued but making a change to the manufacturing process. I’m not sure why there’s still a shortage - maybe supply chain issues due to the ongoing scamdemic.
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