Rear Recovery Points - Welded Steel Bar?!

[JamesBY]

So after seeing the reqs for the group drive, I did a little sleuthing on google and the forums to see if my Pajero had rear recovery points. 

I should preface this by explaining that I've pulled a few people out, including an intrepid FWD rental sedan driven by a tourist who thought u-turning through the sand out at Al Qudra was a good idea, and was surprised the first time that I only had front facing recovery points. A 4x4, with an offroad pedigree no less, that only has front points? I chalked it up to the Dakkar being a long time ago.

Lo and behold, I should have rear points! Great! All systems go! 

But wait..there's that weird steel bar at the back, installed by the previous owner...where are the recovery points? They should be right here?.....shit - Pictures Attached.

Any idea what I can do here? I'm assuming renting an angle grinder and going to town is probably a bad idea.

However, it does look like I may just be able to remove that rusty bolt to have it drop off? Going to give that a shot and see what happens.

[JamesBY]

Update: Nope. It's welded too.

[JamesBY]

Angle grinder and metal cutting disks are ordered, same day delivery. Let's see if the building security at my apartment building has an issue with me finding a power point and cutting through some steel tonight.

[Gaurav]

Isn't this a stock Pajero tow point?

[JamesBY]

17 minutes ago, Gaurav said:

Isn't this a stock Pajero tow point?

Yeap! It is! But I need to get that dam steel bar off to make it accessible. On the left side it's just a rusted bolt, on the right side its' been welded. 

[Frederic]

IF, and only IF the steel bar and tow points are in good condition and the rust we see is only light surface rust, you can perhaps apply a good coating on the steel bar and keep it.

Then on the plate in the middle where you have the 4 holes you can perhaps bolt a hitch receiver as it looks that this was something the previous owner had done.

 

 

[JamesBY]

1 hour ago, Frederic said:

IF, and only IF the steel bar and tow pointa are in good condition and the rust we see is only light surface rust, you can perhaps apply a good coating on the steel bar and keep it.

Then on the plate in the middle where you have the 4 holes you can perhaps bolt a hitch receiver as it looks that this was something the previous owner had done.

 

 

Ah! A pintle hook may work you're right, I didn't think about one at all. I don't really like the ball receivers so my immediate reaction was to angle grind the whole bar off 😄

Any way I can inspect the steel myself? I suppose I could go at it with some sandpaper and see how far down the rust goes, although it looks like surface stuff as there's no flaking, cracking, or any other obvious signs of weakening structural integrity. 

Found the pintle hooks online, so i'll put an order in for one of those. Any bolts you guys recommend? I admit I feel a little uneasy just having something like that, which will undergo some serious pressure, connected by 4x bolts..but seeing as that's how the majority of them are, it must be okay! 

*Edit: Judging by the distances between those holes however, looks like it was made for a trailer receiver tube, so I'll need to be careful with what I buy.*

*Edit 2: Yeap! It'll fit! Putting in an order as soon as I'm home.*

Edited October 17, 2023 by JamesBY
Update

[Frederic]

1 hour ago, JamesBY said:

Ah! A pintle hook may work you're right, I didn't think about one at all. I don't really like the ball receivers so my immediate reaction was to angle grind the whole bar off 😄

Any way I can inspect the steel myself? I suppose I could go at it with some sandpaper and see how far down the rust goes, although it looks like surface stuff as there's no flaking, cracking, or any other obvious signs of weakening structural integrity. 

Found the pintle hooks online, so i'll put an order in for one of those. Any bolts you guys recommend? I admit I feel a little uneasy just having something like that, which will undergo some serious pressure, connected by 4x bolts..but seeing as that's how the majority of them are, it must be okay! 

*Edit: Judging by the distances between those holes however, looks like it was made for a trailer receiver tube, so I'll need to be careful with what I buy.*

*Edit 2: Yeap! It'll fit! Putting in an order as soon as I'm home.*

Take a good hammer and give the steel bar some good knocks across the length. If the rust has done its work it will just fall into pieces but I doubt it. Its probably just surface rust 

[JamesBY]

1 hour ago, Frederic said:

Take a good hammer and give the steel bar some good knocks across the length. If the rust has done its work it will just fall into pieces but I doubt it. Its probably just surface rust 

Gotcha will do, thanks again

[JamesBY]

Alright, 15ton rated pintle mount has arrived, need to get some nuts, bolts and washers tomorrow. Angle grinder has gone into the powertool cupboard..shame, I was looking forward to using it..

Flag & suction mount have also arrived, though I'm going to need to find something a bit more interesting than the standard little red flag!