Hey guys i got a 94 tr magna and am gonna buy a motorbike soon so i will be needing to tow a tralier around, The car currently doesnt have a towbar fitted and i am just wondering if anyone has fitted one themselves or knows how hard it is to it? Whats the price of one of these new or would i be better to go to pick a part and take one off of a magna there? also is it just a thing that can be put on with no modification to the rear bumper?

Thanks for the help

i think that for safety reasoning, a professional must install a towbar...

should be able to get one that comes down from under the bumper, not requiring any cutting of the rear bar, trouble is if your car is lowered then the scrapage risk increases a bit more.

think you can get one professionally installed for around 800ish dollars.

I bought one from ebay for around $70, had it fitted with wiring for $100 IIRC.

A new Hayman Reece towbar costs around $300 for a "lighter duty" one, and around $500 for the heavy duty ones. Difference being the weight they can tow, and the amount of downforce on the towball.

Mine is light duty and it can pull (IIRC) 1200kg with 90kg downforce. I didnt think i would tow anything heavy so im happy, but they did have to cut a tiny bit out of my vrx bar.

Here is the hayman reece page for a 94 magna http://www.haymanreese.com.au/consumer/catalogue/searchResult.aspx?procat=9&subcat=MITSUBISHI&model=Magna&year=1994&CateName=TOWBARS+%26+HITCH+RECEIVERS

As you can see the difference between the 300 and 500 is just 40kg downforce on the bar

yeah i'm not gonna be towing heavy trailers just a moto trailer with a max of 2 motos on it so the bikes would only weigh like 250 kg for the both and what ever a trailer weighs

Don't know why you guys are paying so much for a tow bar. I paid approx $300 for a heavy
duty square (removable hitch) towbar. 1600kg tow with 160kg down force. It was installed
by ATB in Adelaide. They do fittings for Mitsu dealers as well. As for going for light weight,
you need to remember it always and also inform the next owner. It is always better to fit a
towbar to the max weight a vehicle can carry, reduces the unknowns.

How easy is it to remove a towbar from a second gen? I've got a parts car that doesn't run anymore and I wanna nick the tow bar off it and get it put onto my good car. Is removal something I can do myself and then give it to a professional to install?

Its not hard to install a Tow bar... if you are only towing light weight you won't even need the electronic brake control unit, which means its even easier as you just use the feed to the right rear tail light to run the lights for the trailer.

mean magna, if you are taking off a Tow bar, its not hard but don't waste your time with trying to rip out and reuse any wiring, just start fresh... much easier, also as above depending what you are towing you might be able to avoid the brake unit install. ie a box trailer doesn't require electronic brakes as it is lighter than there specified limit however, a caravan or large boat would require the unit.

Not sure if any difference between Wagon & Sedan - I have Wagon

Got mine from the wreckers for $60 & fitted myself.
A triangular bracket at the back (underneath of course :P ) on either side. Remove said brackets & tow bar bolts in place.

And as ADZA27 wrote, don't bother trying to salvage any wiring, put in fresh new stuff :)

**IMPORTANT**

Not sure if bolts from the triangular bits are up to spec, so if you get bar from wreckers, KEEP & USE bolts from wreck
FULLY check bar for any abnormal bends/kinks etc, check wreck to make sure it's not had any rear-end damage. If any, don't bother with the bar, it's probably weakened.

Thanks for that. As for needing the braking unit, I'm probably not gonna need it 'cos I won't be towing anything too drastic, I've only got a 4 cyl afterall. Thanks again.

One thing to watch out for is where the lugs are positioned on the tow bar that you attach the trailer chains to.
I fitted a Hayman Reese towbar on my TS ten years ago and the lugs were positioned quite far forward.
First time I hired a trailer from a garage I found the chains on the trailer weren't long enough, and then found out EVERY trailer chain were too short, so now I have to carry 4 "D" shackles about with me along with 2 lengths of chain to extend them.
Annoying more than anything, but had I realised at the time I wouldn't have bought that towbar

Not sure if any difference between Wagon & Sedan - I have Wagon

Got mine from the wreckers for $60 & fitted myself.
A triangular bracket at the back (underneath of course :P ) on either side. Remove said brackets & tow bar bolts in place.

And as ADZA27 wrote, don't bother trying to salvage any wiring, put in fresh new stuff :)

**IMPORTANT**

Not sure if bolts from the triangular bits are up to spec, so if you get bar from wreckers, KEEP & USE bolts from wreck
FULLY check bar for any abnormal bends/kinks etc, check wreck to make sure it's not had any rear-end damage. If any, don't bother with the bar, it's probably weakened.


With regards to the bolts, (don't keep the wrecked bolts, they may have been stressed over years of use, get fresh bolts) but remember they are a high tensile bolt, don't try and use any old bolt you find in the back of your garage, things like stainless steel seem like a good idea but trust me... not wise...as they will snap straight off if you have any kind of impact.

The bolts i use are high tensile steel bolts (sizes are 8.8 10.9 or 12.9) with the relevant number stamped on the head. I would suggest you go to a hardware store and ask them for the correct bolts.

Mate, these are very easy to fit and also wire up.

If you need this done, you supply parts and I will fit for $60 bucks

You will need

Tow Bar
Plug of choice (personally I use the flat 7 pin)
Trailer wire

I usually wire them up so the plug stays in the boot and hangs out when needed, this is a lot tidier, sill not get as wet and rusty on the contacts etc.

As for bolts, yes try and get new ones, instead of a hardware place, go to a bolt shop as they will have the experience on what bolt to use. If you use too high tensile, these can be brittle and also snap

Pick a part, Jolly Rogers and Pick Pay and Go all have them second hand.

Another couple of things to be aware of if you do it yourself. The rear muffler box needs to be lowered or removed to get access to the bolt on point above the heat sheild. This may cause the tailpipe to rattle on the tow bar if the suspension rubber for the muffler are aged too. I did mine on a TS wagon 12 months ago, job took 30 minutes and was a simple enough job. Exhaust rattle was the only annoying part and that was fixed when I put a new back box on anyway. Wiring can be fed up into the boot and spliced into the rear wiring on the RHS. All the rear lights are routed through the right, well on the wagon they are. I spliced into them, soldering the wire in and used a five pin connector box assembly (like the type for radio wiring) and sealed with heat shrink and liquid elctrical sealer. Also put a water seal grommet in the point where you route the wires through. This stops chaffing of wire and water coming up into vehicle.

Thanks For all the help guys, i think that i'll just go down to pick a part and get one and try to fit it mysef as it doesnt seem to be that hard from what most are saying. Will wire it up myself cause im an electrcian and shouldnt have any probs with that, lol

thanks again for the help

the bolts you need are high tensile 8.8. make sure you grab a bolt from the wreckers to check the thread size. a standard hayman reese towbar can be supplied and fitted for about $315-$330 (depending on the place) brand new and wired in with a plug, towball and shackles. the big difference is that you have a lifetime warranty when fitted new by a qualified installer (or until the car is sold) as ive seen damaged towbars, especially if you are purchasing from a wreckers do make sure there arent any hairline cracks or post-production bends or damage

Hi all. Newbie to the Magna club. I've got a 91 sedan - TR SE. I need to fit a towbar. Have seen one on eBay for a 92 GLS. is this likely to be compatible?

Cheers, Terry.

yea 92 will fit as long as there both of the same .body type. ie sedan ,wagon

One thing i advise is take a breaker bar with you if your taking one off at a wreckers as the bolts can be very tight to remove.. But a self install is easy just awkward with the weight, and with the wagons the muffler is the only hard part, all in all a easy job and yes i would take the bolts to a specialist store..your bolts wont need too high a tensile but for added safety i gauged mine to take the weight of a car on a float..Never knew of the electronic braking thing mentioned in above posts, but i only will ever use a large trailer with its own braking built in. Mine is only a 4cyl and has towed a wagon with ease, no sway and braking problems but have had a mate tow the same wagon with his VT and talk about a handful to control..Perhaps magnas do have something over holdens (found magnas more comfortable also) :o)