BX Towbars

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philhoward

BX Towbars

Post by philhoward »

Perhaps i'm doing somthing daft here, but...
Bought a s/h towbar for the BX, offered it up and it don't seem quite right. The 4 holes on the bracket line up perfectly with the holes in the towing eyes at the back, so I bolt it up.
Now comes the interesting bits..
<ul><li>The towball is too close to the rear bumper to get the hitch on.
</li><li>Can't get the spare wheel bracket back up, or the spare wheel in.</li><li> The towball seems a strange angle. </li></ul>
All says to me that it needs to spaced backwards, and tilted a bit; any comments? Should there be some sort of bracketry I didn't get with the towbar?
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AndersDK
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Post by AndersDK »

Hi phil -
1) be sure it's a towbar for sedan or break. They do not fit vice-versa.
2) You should have 2 long flatsteel bars reaching under the boot, and bolt down near the spare wheel cradle hinge points.
From your description it seems you've got both the wrong type and are missing the bars.
philhoward

Post by philhoward »

Gees, Anders, this ain't quite what I've got...
It was (apparently) taken off a K reg Hatch, not Estate/Break. It's basically some 50mm box section with two vertical plates, each plate having two holes in it which line up with the two pre-drilled holes in each towing eye (the 10mm ones). No sign of floor brackets, or the suchlike.
It's more an angle/spacing issue which doesn't seem right, or is there something wierd about a GTi rear end?
If all else fails, then i suppsoe i'll have to buy a new one!!
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AndersDK
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Post by AndersDK »

The only thing that may differ on a GTI, is the bumper design, but that should not in any way prevent the correct towbar to fit.
In DK the only (legal) BX towbar fitted I've seen, is the type with 2 flatsteel bars reaching under the boot floor as described above.
Even the expensive removeable hook types has this fitting.
This is because the BX boot chassis box section is not strong enough to have the simple type rear transverse bar fitted alone.
Strange thing is, that the <i>hatch</i> fitting towbar usually exactly gives the problems you describes - fitted on an <i>Estate</i>, because the Estate boot box section reaches longer rearwards, than the hatch. Thus the hook will usually be located too close (within an inch) to the bumper.
I found out when we had to retrofit a towbar to son-in-law's BX van (Estate), as we then started out with one of my stocked <i>hatch</i> towbars. We even had the towbar sanded, galvanised and painted, before the small disaster was evident [;)]
bxbodger
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Post by bxbodger »

Just been out and looked at mine-its exactly as you describe, a transverse box section with the flat plates attached to the towing/lifting eyes.
Mines a witter, so it doesn't sound as if you have got a homemade concoction.
It may have been bent in a rear end smash-mine sits quite close to the bumper and spare cradle as well, and only bending it three quarters of an inch or so inwards would cause the problems you describe-the bracket for the spare cradle on mine can only be pushed inwards-theres not enough room to pull it rearwards because of the bars box section.
I would disagree about needing flatsteel bars uner the boot floor; mine has been on since the car was new; I got the receipt in the history when I bought the car, and I have towed some pretty monstrous weights with it, including my dad's twin axle caravan, with no problems-god knows what the 2 previous owners lugged with it!It could quite easily have taken the brunt of an impact without much obvious damage to the car.
philhoward

Post by philhoward »

I've done a Net search; some towbars say that they use one hole and you need to drill another one whch confuses me even more!
Perhaps I have got an estate one instead? WHo knows! It's needed to tow the caravan next weekend, so looks like i'll have to try a new one instead. Just bought one off ebay (still boxed) so will try that instead!
philhoward

Post by philhoward »

It's amazing what a new day and a clear head does...
The two obvious looking holes (the bottom ones) are NOT the towbar mounting holes!! The third 10mm hole (inbetween the other two, and 40mm higher up) is hole number one, and another one needs to be drilled!
What threw me is that, being a GTi, there's the "aeration resevior" (extra fuel tank) which covers the same hole on the RHS. Fix it to these 2 holes, wang the bolts up, then lift the bracket until the ball hitch is nice and level..drill the second hole and job done.
Surprise, surprise, the spare wheel fits and it's now WELL clear of the back bumper!
Anyone want a brand new towbar? Still boxed ebay purchase...
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