MikeinNH67
Senior Member
The last picture isn't upside down, hard to tell on the others. It all looks good.
Tow hitch rehab job
- Thread starter mr_skittle
- Start date
mr_skittle
New member
I guess some of them might just be upside down for the poster, me. The hitch hanging on chains looks a little funny upside down.
What fun is life without challenges huh? When the rain let up for a couple of hours yesterday I started the reassembly process. I easily got the cross-member bracket bolted on and then went to work getting the last welded bolts knocked out. Much to my chagrin. I finally realized why the last bolt was sticking out a little crooked. The inside of the frame has some rust and has begun delaminating leaving the nuts welded onto a layer of the steel that is loose. The picture does a better job of explaining. So not instead of getting to bolt everything back together, I have to deal with this problem spot. First thing to do is get the inside of the frame cleaned up and relatively flat/smooth. Next I have to fit a steel plate inside the frame that will essentially fill the frame floor from side to side and as far front to back as I can get. Think of the plate as a giant washer for both of the rear bolts. Then maybe I can get to bolting the htich back on. At the moment, the veheicle is sitting on a slight incline with some Evap-o-rust pooled in worst section of the frame. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to get it all cleaned up but I guess I figure something out. I always do.
What fun is life without challenges huh? When the rain let up for a couple of hours yesterday I started the reassembly process. I easily got the cross-member bracket bolted on and then went to work getting the last welded bolts knocked out. Much to my chagrin. I finally realized why the last bolt was sticking out a little crooked. The inside of the frame has some rust and has begun delaminating leaving the nuts welded onto a layer of the steel that is loose. The picture does a better job of explaining. So not instead of getting to bolt everything back together, I have to deal with this problem spot. First thing to do is get the inside of the frame cleaned up and relatively flat/smooth. Next I have to fit a steel plate inside the frame that will essentially fill the frame floor from side to side and as far front to back as I can get. Think of the plate as a giant washer for both of the rear bolts. Then maybe I can get to bolting the htich back on. At the moment, the veheicle is sitting on a slight incline with some Evap-o-rust pooled in worst section of the frame. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to get it all cleaned up but I guess I figure something out. I always do.
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MikeinNH67
Senior Member
That's probably what most look like wherever salt is used on the roads. I washed a lot of sand and rust flake out of that area of my truck then oiled the inside of the frame and will keep oiling it to try and limit the rust. I do have one extra thought for you, make a template out of cardboard that fits in there and mark the holes (once the old nuts are removed) onto the cardboard. Have your metal fab guy make those and weld some nuts on top of the holes so it will be easy to put back together. You'll just have to line up the new plates.
randy88fj62
Member
I just took off my hitch assembly and installed a new swing out bumper. If anyone needs some measurements feel free to pm me.
If anyone wants a CA rust less hitch assembly let me know. Need to list it for sale.
If anyone wants a CA rust less hitch assembly let me know. Need to list it for sale.
mr_skittle
New member
I did in fact use a template although it was made of 1/4in plywood instead of cardboard. I had already been fussing around with a small piece of plywood trying to nail down a maximum size for the plate that would still fit. It was naturally the best way to get the bolt placement. Because I already had the custom-made spacer plates, I used a combination of the plywood template and the holes in the spacer to get the holes in the perfect place on the plate.
With that all taken care of I had big hopes that bolting it in would help to smoosh down the loose edge seen in the picture, but alas, no luck. I cranked on a 1/2 in socket until it woudn't go and the plate still won't sit flat. At this point I walked away from the job and enjoyed several, fresh homebrewed beers to mark my birthday.
Unless anyone has a better idea, my plan at this point is to put the hitch back on and attach it with all the hardware. While the plate isn't sitting flat, the bolts are tightening down and holding. Then I'm going to have the one section that's giving me so much hassle, welded onto the frame. With that compromised steel near the hitch mounting point, and the plate not seating well, I can't really think of another way to get this done and feel confident pulling my camper.
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mr_skittle
New member
The job is all done! Since there isn't much interest in this thread, I'm not going to take the time to upload a bunch more pics. Shoot me a message if you have questions.
I'd be interested in any other pics on this install. I haven't attempted mine yet and could use them for future reference.
I did spend about 10-20hrs this weekend working on my suspension and front end, I don't think I've been sore for 3 days in a row like this since I was working hard manual labor.
mr_skittle
New member
Most of the rest of this job was dealing with the removal of the old, welded nuts inside the frame, and the ingenuity it took to get the new nuts and bolts installed. If the threads are in decent shape you can just screw in a bolt and pound on it till the nut breaks free. A bit of heat before pounding always makes it a little easier. If the threads are trashed, as they were on the rear bolts, I used lots of heat and a chisel. If you need to replace the nuts and bolts, get creative on how to get a nut and washer the 2ft into the frame for the front bolts. I taped a wrench to a stick, the nut to the wrench, and superglued the washer to the nut. I also threw a couple of glowsticks into the frame to see what I was doing. The small holes I cut in the end weren't big enough to shine a lite in and see at the same time. God willing your's will be in better shape and you can just use the original hardwear.
The saving grace for me was having the rig backed up on ramps. Once you remove the spare tire, there is actually quite a bit of room to work on the hitch. Throw down some cardboard or an old yoga mat and roling around on the ground is a little more bearable.
The saving grace for me was having the rig backed up on ramps. Once you remove the spare tire, there is actually quite a bit of room to work on the hitch. Throw down some cardboard or an old yoga mat and roling around on the ground is a little more bearable.
CrashMcLarson
New member
Ive got a similar issue with the nuts breaking off inside the frame, did you cut into the frame through the "end caps" to get in there?
