I just got done upgrading my 18K SuperGlide from using white lithium grease for lubricating the way tubes, to relying on SlipPlate dry graphite spray-on lubricant to do it.
The job was rather easy and the directions given by Pullrite were excellent.
As one can imagine, cleaning off two and a half years of accumulated goo from the hitch was a rather odious job. Pullrite recommends cleaning the hitch prior to taking it apart but I found that it's much easier to access all the nooks and crannies after it's taken apart so I bit the bullet and disassembled it with only minimal prior cleanup.
Hint: Don't tell the wife you're using her kitchen gloves. Let her just wonder where they went and then explain you must have misplaced them along with the turkey baster you use to change out the power steering fluid in the old Corvette.
I have a hoist in my workshop so I used it to manhandle the heavy parts of the hitch while taking it apart. It's almost impossible to remove the waytubes without simultaneously adjusting the position of the cam arm assembly to free them up so you might want to have a friend there to help you if you don't have a hoist or other tool to help. Once I got it taken apart, I cleaned everything with spray degreaser from AutoZone but you could use WD-40 also. Have a roll or two of those neat blue paper towels handy so you can swap them out often to make the cleanup easier and more complete.
Once everything was cleaned up, I lightly sanded all 4 sides of the way tubes so the Slip Plate would adhere better. Be aware that the way tubes can be reversed so that the sides which took the wear and tear previously, can be made into the sides which don't take any wear and tear once you're done. IOW, you can actually have what amounts to brand new way tubes if you reverse them. I also coated the surfaces of the cam arm assembly which come into contact with the way tubes. Each surface received 3 coats of Slip Plate (Pullrite recommends two coats minimum) applied as per the directions on the can. Be sure to allow the stuff adequate drying time between coats (Slip Plate recomments 30-45 minutes) so everything will cure properly. Overlap the coats, especially on the corner edges of the way tubes to ensure complete coverage.
Once everything was dry, I put the thing back together. It was much easier than taking it apart. I then adjusted the nylon stop block to specs and the hitch is now ready to be reinstalled in the truck.
Pullrite has also come out with an improvement to their hitch which will require NO lubrication of the way tubes. It entails using plastic instead of steel on the wearing surfaces but they did not have the upgrade available for sale yet. I suspect that by the next time I'll have to take this apart, the upgrade will be available and I'll go to that instead of Slip Plate.
Once assembled, I tested it by cycling the thing several times, front to back. I found that the Slip Plate will appear to be worn off the upper corners of the way tubes and that concerned me. I contacted Pullrite and they assured me that this was normal and that the Slip Plate is molecularly bonded to the metal of the way tubes. They also recommend that touch ups to the Slip Plate be done as was touching up the white lithium grease. The benefit of Slip Plate is that it won't attract all that goo that you've removed and the hitch will remain clean and much less prone to staining the wife's nice white slacks while you have her up there putting more grease on the hitch. In anycase, do not attempt this if you only have one leg.
For more details of this, here is the link to Pullrite's instructions.
http://www.pullrite.com/pdfs/Slip%20Plate.pdf
Edited by: jeb
Linear Mode
