Hi, I am having the same problem what did you use to clean it please? I was thinking of brake cleaner thanks Phil

A mechanic friend recommended an aerosol can of brake cleaner. Four of five good applications fixed the squealing sound on my hitch (caused by brake dust build up).

Captain hi, I wouldn't recommend the use of any cleaning agents as this is a braking system of a sorts for all tense and purpose (sway and pitch).

Maintenance of the hitch Once a year I would recommend in the way of cleaning inside the hitch, using a stiff brush (new loo brush), air line, very fine emery-paper. Emery the tow ball too to a dull finish, a new tow ball cover does not go a miss as you do get a build up of road grease and grime inside, a good wash in warm water would help here.

Now for operation, hitch in the normal way green indicator showing , turn wheel no more than 4 to 5 clicks dependent on pad ware, you'll soon see if your tension is correct as the tow ball was a nice matt look, now after 1 or 2 outings you should see signs of two polished lines appearing both sides of the tow ball indicating you have the right pressure.

Any creaking squealing or clunking noises coming from the hitch is a good sign the tension is to great, suppression of its natural movement .

Food for thought, would you use chemicals, sprays, degreasing agents on your car pads or brake shoes



Philip.

I'm going with the recommendations of the manufacturer AL-KO which can be found on Google, can't post links yet sorry.

Well this would seem to very clearly advocate the use of brake cleaner when prepping a tow ball. And by Alko themselves...

https://www.al-ko.com/shop/media/uploads...r_first_use.pdf

It is the perceived wisdom that I have always followed without any obvious detriment...

Please accept my public apology for the ramblings of a stupid old fool, that knows nothing about towing and towing equipment, I stand corrected

Phillip