SH (MY'09+) Forester Recovery Points

Gidday Carl

carljwnc said:
I actually don't have any way of finding out what kind of steel it is. What I will do is look at some of the lifting eye bolts we have at work with the same or similar thread and see what they are rated at. That should give a good indication of what kind of load it can take.
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True.

How about taking the Subaru part in to work, and asking around people to see what they think?
Maybe someone will be able to identify the grade of steel by eyeballing it?
 
Gidday NL

Nachaluva said:
+1. Even though I am an offroad beginner, I have seen on many shows that using the least number of compnents is the way to go. More components equals more things to break and go flying. So using the pin directly onto the snatch strap makes a lot of sense.

Have to agree here. Never use the tow ball as an anchor point. If it is rated to 2.2T, that could EASILY be exceeded in a snatch. If it does snap, the consequences are extreme. A tow ball flying through the air at ballistic speed in the direction of the pull...ie, straight through the windscreen. It would easily pass right through the windscreen and the drivers skull. Not a risk to be taken under any circumstances.

This in fact has been known to happen, although with bigger vehicles than ours. Still, not a risk to be taken under any circumstances.
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I doubt that the ball would break under these circumstances, unless faulty to start with, as the 2.2 tonnes is a SWL rating, not a breaking strain. A 5,000 pound coupling would normally be expected to take this kind of force as a live load. If you have ever towed livestock trailers, you will know just how 'live' that load can be ... :poke: :rotfl:

It is still a practice to be avoided at all costs IMNSHO also.
 
Did a little looking at work; a lifting eye bolt with a 1/2" x 13tpi thread (about half the diameter and courser thread than the recovery eye bolt) can dead lift 2500lbs. (1134kg) We didn't have anything even close to the thread size of the recovery bolt. I'm thinking as long as you are recovering in a relatively straight line, that the stock SH recovery set up should be fine for a snatch.
 
carljwnc said:
What exactly kind of steel it is I can't say but it is very high quality (I know, I work with the stuff all day:iconwink:) , thread is an M16x1.5 and 25mm long, with the main shaft being a 20.25mm diameter. Should do what it's designed for. I'll have a look later at where it bolts into the car. I do think your on the right track.:ebiggrin:
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I was just going to ask you for bolt/thread measurements, Carl. And you already provided them.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2608908103...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_2619wt_1073

I've been looking at a 3rd party replacement for those OEM screw-in devices. Found a really good-looking one on eBay for $30 shipped. Unfortunately it's for Nissan, which use M22 (22mm diameter) thread. So not a drop-in for the 2009 and later Foresters.

As for my MY06, it's an entirely different story. No port in my bumper. And no attachment point behind the bumper. So I've still got my thinking cap on...
 
looks nice but its billet aluminium....IMO guaranteed to snap in a snatch :(:shake:

When I finally get my bullbar on, I want to put in integrated snatch points in a reinforced steel bar behing the alloy bullbar. Just havent worked out all the details.
 
Gidday Carl

carljwnc said:
Are you referring to the recovery eye bolt? Definitely steel, yes aluminum would break.
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Sure as heck looks like drop forged and/or swaged high tensile stainless steel to me.

At this diameter and thread pitch it should have a SWL of at least 5,000 kgs; but I sure as heck do not claim any expertise in this area, just comparing it with similar items I have come across in drop forged stuff. If it is swaged or peened, it will be even stronger than I think it is.

I also think it highly unlikely that Subaru would use substandard materials, or make a minimal strength item of this type, for this purpose.

Has anyone asked Subaru what the SWL of this item and its attachment point are? Fair question, IMO.
 
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2608908103...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_2619wt_1073
Escher said:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2608908103...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649#ht_2619wt_1073

I've been looking at a 3rd party replacement for those OEM screw-in devices. Found a really good-looking one on eBay for $30 shipped. Unfortunately it's for Nissan, which use M22 (22mm diameter) thread. So not a drop-in for the 2009 and later Foresters.
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It said in the blurb was billet aluminium for racing, but you can never trust ebay ads lol
 
Gidday NL

Nachaluva said:
It said in the blurb was billet aluminium for racing, but you can never trust ebay ads lol
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Quite right ...

Also, drop forged, swaged and peened steel can look just like aluminium to the untutored eye.

However, aluminium feels colder when first picked up, and warms up more quickly than steel. The weight difference is also a big giveaway.
 
Thanks, everybody.

So the billet aluminum solution is out. We need not just a forged steel bolt, but also a forged steel shackle. Right?

I might still pick up one of those aluminum hooks to play around with the design and figure out fitment for the MY06 Fozza, which unfortunately doesn't come with a fitting to attach such a hook to the bumpers. My purpose for a front tow hook would be to tie off my one-man hot air balloon during inflation, not for vehicle recovery when off-road.
 
Escher said:
Thanks, everybody.

So the billet aluminum solution is out. We need not just a forged steel bolt, but also a forged steel shackle. Right?

I might still pick up one of those aluminum hooks to play around with the design and figure out fitment for the MY06 Fozza, which unfortunately doesn't come with a fitting to attach such a hook to the bumpers. My purpose for a front tow hook would be to tie off my one-man hot air balloon during inflation, not for vehicle recovery when off-road.
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Why don't you just get a couple of bow shackles and a distribution strap, attach them to the stock tie down points, then attach the balloon to the center of the strap with a big carabiner(Sp?) or bow shackle? I just don't think you will find anywhere to screw in that big eye bolt.
 
Reasonable advice, Carl. Right now I just tie off to one of the stock points. I'd just like to have something pretty and elegant. :)
 
Why not tie off to the towbar? Either the tongue with the ball removed or in the box tube thingy (technical term :lol:)
 
Nachaluva said:
Why not tie off to the towbar? Either the tongue with the ball removed or in the box tube thingy (technical term :lol:)
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For hot air ballooning purposes, I need to tie off to the front of the car, because that's where the weight of the engine is. If I were to tie off the balloon to the rear of the car, and a strong gust of wind were to catch the balloon unexpectedly, the balloon could actually lift the back of the car up, or at least drag it around. (I have a relatively small one-man balloon, so it has a smaller surface area and volume than your typical basket balloon.) With the tie off to the heavier front of the car, the setup is virtually guaranteed to be rock solid. :biggrin:
 
Escher said:
For hot air ballooning purposes, I need to tie off to the front of the car, because that's where the weight of the engine is. If I were to tie off the balloon to the rear of the car, and a strong gust of wind were to catch the balloon unexpectedly, the balloon could actually lift the back of the car up, or at least drag it around
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Barry said:
Sounds ideal to me Escher... when bogged attach balloon to rear and get dragged out! :lol:
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hehehe :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
 
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