NATO hitch

The latch that locks the top of the hook is very stiff. So stiff in fact it needs a mallet to move the lever. I dribbled some 3 in 1 oil down the joints that lead to the pin. I started working the lever back and forth. It was really stiff. I just kept dribbling oil and working the pin. Little by little the pin eased up. Twenty minutes later the lever could be moved with some resistance but fairly easily.

Then done I fitted the safety pin. The pin has a chain to stop it getting lost. On the centre of the hitch pin pivot is a nut that traps a tag onto which the chains attach. There is a chain attached to the "R" clip swivel locking lever pin. I managed to get both the "R" clip and the hitch pin chain to fit onto the same tag. A waft of black paint over the chain to keep the rust at bay and the job was complete.