Westfalia Tow Bars

[TORTUGA]

Hi

I have a Wesfalia tow bar system fitted to mine, it has everything bar the detachable bit(swans neck).  I believe these are the OE item, and a guy is selling the missing piece on ebay at the moment stating its the OE part for an E70.  The picture shows it has BMW written raised on the side, but is this the Westfalia item as he does not know?

I bought one before that had westfalia on it only to find it did not fit, so I had to return it.

Does someone have one to comfirm what it has written on it?

Many thanks

[noxid1969]

Have just checked mine and the lettering is ground off (from new) but there is a faint B showing. Happy to take a picture if it will help your search.

[The Mechanic]

I have just had a look at mine.  It looks identical to the one in the pic on Ebay (assuming it is the one currently at £70)  I took some pics but the focus is not good so can't read the lettering.  It is dark.  Mine even has the red cap for the ball.  If yours is a factory fitted option I would say go for it.

[TORTUGA]

Many thanks for doing that.  It is that one, so I will give it a go tomorrow.

[Jontyp]

FWIW I've just had a look at mine and it has "Westfalia" and a series of ident stuff on there but no "BMW". I can't say wether it was OE fitment or not (was on the car when I bought it August last year). BTW, does yours sometimes think there's a trailer attached, when there isn't, and disable the reverse sensors.

[The Mechanic]

I have checked in hte daylight and mine has BMW and a number stamped on it just like the one on ebay

[TORTUGA]

I was the only bidder, so won the auction.  Fingers crossed then that it fits.  ::) Thanks for checking for me, itsreally appreciated.

[Graeme]

Make sure you get the keys and just a couple of points about cleanliness each time you use it to ensure a good fit:

- on mine at the entrance to the socket area are couple of V shaped notches , with corresponding male V shaped wedges on the ball - give them a good wire brushing to get rid of any rust;

- wipe clean all the ball bearings on the male part of the socket and grease them - use the rotating locking ring to push them in and out to check that they move freely;

- get up inside the female part of the socket and clean out the annular ring where the ball-bearings on the male part protrude to hold it all together, and lightly grease it.

It really is important to have no rust or grit anywhere. I find these precautions vital to allow the locking ring to rotate to the green area so the key can be withdrawn.

The ball should be absolutely tight with no free play when you have it inserted properly.

Hope all goes well,

Graeme

[Nine468]

[quote="Graeme"]
Make sure you get the keys and just a couple of points about cleanliness each time you use it to ensure a good fit:

- on mine at the entrance to the socket area are couple of V shaped notches , with corresponding male V shaped wedges on the ball - give them a good wire brushing to get rid of any rust;

- wipe clean all the ball bearings on the male part of the socket and grease them - use the rotating locking ring to push them in and out to check that they move freely;

- get up inside the female part of the socket and clean out the annular ring where the ball-bearings on the male part protrude to hold it all together, and lightly grease it.

It really is important to have no rust or grit anywhere. I find these precautions vital to allow the locking ring to rotate to the green area so the key can be withdrawn.

The ball should be absolutely tight with no free play when you have it inserted properly.

Hope all goes well,

Graeme
[/quote]

I agree with everything Graeme has just said, as i found out that mine would initially fit, after an hour of faffing about with a wire brush and greasing it up etc its all ok now...

[TORTUGA]

Its arrived

But does not seem to fit

I am going to have to take it to a Wesfalia dealer Tuesday so they can see what the issue is, it does not seem to fit up inside properly and sits a good inch or so from the v shape notches fitting together.  So either something is wrong with the swans neck in which case it can go back or the female part it sits in, in which case it will need replacing, or it could just be the wrong part for whats fitted.  I checked the part number on the side and it is listed as the OE part, and Westfalia are supposed to be the OE fitting.  As I said it is a Westfalia system fitted to the car so I am loosing the will to live now.

Let the experts check it out and tell me what to do next I think. ::)

[TORTUGA]

OK

Seem to got to the bottom of this tow bar lark.

Westfalia are the OE suppliers for BMW tow bars, however if your car left the factory with one you have one model (stamped with BMW etc, which seems to be the swans neck I have bought), but if it was dealer fitted you end up with another model, both are billed as being OE but both are different :'(.  The other parts on my car are dealer fitted so the 2 parts dont fit each other. 

So I have plumped for buying a new part from the specialist centre, as it turns out the electric socket on mine is shot with rusty pins and is not working so they are going to fix that as well while they are at it.

Anyone want to buy an OE swans neck (FOR FACTORY FITTED WESTFALIA BARS ONLY) )

Thanks all

[X5Sport]

You will probably find that the constant 12V supply for a fridge has not been installed by the factory either.  It is usually missing as BMW decided that even though it is used in the UK, they were not going to fit it.

Mine was fixed and properly installed under warranty.

Richard

[IWH]

How can you tell if it is factory fitted?
I am in the same position as you, I have everything on the car but no swan neck.

Cheers
Ian

[X5Sport]

Put the last 7 characters of your VIN into this site and you'll get the factory build spec.

On mine it is option code S235A - Towbar, Detachable.

Richard

[IWH]

Thanks Richard,
No tow-bar listed 
Must have been installed by the dealer...

Cheers
Ian