Factory towing package removal

[Tom Kozesky]

Greetings Everyone,
For many of us who's T4R come with factory installed towing packages (any that by far is probably the majority of us) there comes a point in time when the tow hitch becomes rusty, pitted and the factory paint begins to peel. Such is mine, so I have made the decision to remove the entire hitch and have it sandblasted to the metal and start over. With all the cold weather and snow I have not had a chance to crawl under the truck and see what's involved. Does anyone have any suggestions or have they done this??? I know that there are also some electrical connections that need to be addressed. After this is accomplished the hitch will be primed and resprayed with a good rust resistant paint. On the re-install, I plan on replacing the factory hardware with stainless steel nuts, bolts, etc because I don't feel like doing this for another 5-7 years. FYI, this is a 1998 Black Limited. Thanks to all for your input.:driving:

 

[MARSHALLMAY]

Should be 4 bolts, maybe 6, I haven't looked. You might have to drop your spare to get to them. FYI if you don't want to do this again for 5-7 years, I wouldn't spraypaint the hitch. Take and get it powdercoated. Afterwards it shouldn't rust unless you chip the finish.

 

[khaug]

If you're going to all that trouble, I'd look into having the hitch receiver powder coated. This will give you the most elegant and durable finish you can achieve.

There are stainless steel ball mounts and balls available, at a cost of about three times the regular stuff, but they do look great.

There should be no wiring issue for you to deal with, as the third gen trucks simply used a pigtail that terminates in a flat-four connector, which is independant of the hitch receiver.

Whatever hardware you end up using, be certain it's rated at least as high as the OE stuff. SAE Grade 8 is none too good for something as critical and highly stressed as a trailer hitch receiver.

While you have the receiver off, go the extra yard and also pull the rear bumper (not that big a job). Alas, I think you'll be amazed at the amount of rust you'll find. Such was the case with my '98 several years ago when I changed the rear bumper after a minor collision. If you live in the Rust Belt, this kind of thing is simply a fact of life. Rust happens.

Good luck.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

6 bolts to remove and then just zip tie the brake light connection so it doesn't hang down. You'll also have these metal strips which help "lock" the hitch to the truck and will slide out when you remove the bolts.

 

[garrett1478]

17 mm

 

[Tom Kozesky]

Thanks for the suggestions guys...now all I need is a few days of sunshine.

 

[Tom Kozesky]

Factory Tow Hitch Removal

Well guys, this is what happened. I took my 1998 T4R to the local dealership to see what they would charge to drop the factory installed tow hitch. I tried to do it myself but the nuts and bolts were so rusted I couldn't get them to budge. The service told me it was a 2-3 hr. job and I said yea, right. I went to a local garage down the road and they had it off in about 20 minutes. The bad news is that most of the hardware had to be cut off with a torch because nothing wound budge with a air wrench. I returned to the dealership to the parts dept. to order new hardware and the 2 strips that "lock" the hitch to the frame. The three "certified" parts looked at me like I had 3 heads. They told me that toyota doesn't make its own hitches, they didn't know who did and they had no idea about the hardware and the locking strips. They did talk to 2 techs in service, with one believing the hitch locking into the frame via nuts in the frame with the other thinking the hitch was held onto the frame with bolts going thru the frame with nuts on top locking the hitch onto the frame. They sold no hardware there and had no suggestions as to where to buy or order it. If anyonre has any suggestions please let me know. Thanks for all you help in advance. If anyone has any suggestions about the locking strips, let me know too as mine are pretty rusted and one end is broken off. Thanks again.

 

[garrett1478]

Re: Factory Tow Hitch Removal

Well guys, this is what happened. I took my 1998 T4R to the local dealership to see what they would charge to drop the factory installed tow hitch. I tried to do it myself but the nuts and bolts were so rusted I couldn't get them to budge. The service told me it was a 2-3 hr. job and I said yea, right. I went to a local garage down the road and they had it off in about 20 minutes. The bad news is that most of the hardware had to be cut off with a torch because nothing wound budge with a air wrench. I returned to the dealership to the parts dept. to order new hardware and the 2 strips that "lock" the hitch to the frame. The three "certified" parts looked at me like I had 3 heads. They told me that toyota doesn't make its own hitches, they didn't know who did and they had no idea about the hardware and the locking strips. They did talk to 2 techs in service, with one believing the hitch locking into the frame via nuts in the frame with the other thinking the hitch was held onto the frame with bolts going thru the frame with nuts on top locking the hitch onto the frame. They sold no hardware there and had no suggestions as to where to buy or order it. If anyonre has any suggestions please let me know. Thanks for all you help in advance. If anyone has any suggestions about the locking strips, let me know too as mine are pretty rusted and one end is broken off. Thanks again.

i dont know anything about these 'locking strips', but this is how (most) hitches are attached.

there are 2 nuts on each side tack welded to the inside of the frame (from factory). this is where the tie down loops are bolted to.

there should be 1 'nut on a stick' (or it may be a 'bolt on a stick' ) per side to reach holes farther back (by farther back i mean farther towards the front of the vehicle) on the frame.

now, did you receieve any hardware back from the shop that removed it?

its really a pain when the nuts tacked to the frame break off....you'll have to slide a nut in there and hold it while you tighten the bolts....or an easier way is to put a bolt through a small square plate of metal, weld it to the plate, then drop the bolt through the holes in the frame rails.

you'll have to take pics of what you have left or be a little more specific of what you do or dont have.

first of all, go look inside each frame rail and see if there are 2 tacked nuts on each side. they are near the end, you should be able to tell if they are there.