Expedition and Train Tracks - The Hitch Bites the Dust

[Magnified]

Get this – there is a major corporate plant here that may be making me a job offer. I always took the kids out near the plant anyway because of all the rail traffic in that area. One crossing has 8 tracks. The RR or plants in the area recently changed the grade in the middle of the crossing. First 4 tracks are pretty level, then there is a 45 degree drop to the next set. First time it was surprising, and I had the front winch on the car. It stuck out far enough (it turns out) that it lifted the front of the Expedition enough to limit the shock to a hard hard scrape. Later, I removed the winch while chasing a rattle (mostly on start up and only around 700 to 750 RPM). The next time I went through there, without the winch to lift the front end, it was a straight dive and square impact on the front receiver hitch.



This receiver has a 10,000 pound rating, was made in the USA, and bolted to the chassis (no welds). The impact was staggering (my daughter was quite surprised). I had suspected that the loss of the extended weight up front would have actually lessened the impact by lessening the angle of attack, but had not thought about the effect of the winch acting as a buffer. At any rate, huge impact. No pulling, nothing seemed loose, but of course if it pulled inward it would be hard to tell. Could not examine the front end until the following day (long story). When I did, I saw the receiver was angled to the drivers side a little, where previously it was straight across the front. I cannot get down and look under the car because of the all the issues afflicting me. So, dropped by my buddy’s shop. As I walked in I parked at a great distance, and I could tell the front end was jacked when I looked back. We all went out to look at it, and they got underneath. Hitch was complete write off. They had a gap in the schedule next day, so I told them put it on the lift, remove the hitch, inspect the frame, and hit the alignment machine.

Verdict: Alignment (toe) off by .01 from where I had them set it last time, but still in the green. Reset it. The frame / chassis looked perfect, no bend, ripple, crease, nothing. I’d already ordered a replacement hitch (have the electric and winch set up, might as well replace it). So, appears the Expedition EL is none the worse for wear.

Here’s a photo of the hitch itself (sorry for the poor quality). I also had a 10,000 lbs rated S on it (to raise the winch to a usable height) secured with a solid carbon steel locking pin. When I pulled on the pin I found it had broken the locking mechanism cleanly (could not tell it had happened) and put a big bite into that tool steel. I still don't understand clearly how it was able to bend without damaging the frame. The hardware all appears to be good. I'm going to go over it further next week.