trailer hitch weld nuts

[2ndhandyotaman]

Has anyone successfully removed these nuts from inside of the frame? I was mounting up my OEM hitch yesterday when I managed to strip both weldnuts on the DS. I can't really see them in the frame but I can feel them. I can't tell if they're on a separate steel plate or if they're welded straight to the frame itself.

I need to figure out how to remove them so that I make a new nut strip for that side.

 

[97t4r81]

I did the same, so I tapped out to next size and got larger bolts

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

I did the same, so I tapped out to next size and got larger bolts

Are the slots in the hitch frame large enough to take a M14 bolt, I haven't measured yet. I need to push my USB bore scope into the frame and have a look to see how crusty things are in there.

 

[Off Camber]

Is it possible to helicoil them?

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

Is it possible to helicoil them?

Not sure how bad the corrosion is inside of the chassis. I'll shove the USB camera down inside tomorrow and have a look. I know that I have the inserts, I'm just not sure it's worth the effort.

 

[97t4r81]

Are the slots in the hitch frame large enough to take a M14 bolt, I haven't measured yet. I need to push my USB bore scope into the frame and have a look to see how crusty things are in there.[/QUOTE

My bad, I broke the bolt, then buggered the threads getting her out. The new bolt wouldn't tighten down. So I welded more metal in.then retapped the hole and it holds full torque(mostly,I still add tack welds to the hitch)

 

[19963.4lsr5]

I had one side almost come apart. End result I cut the heads off the bolts and used the nut mounts as a pattern and cut/made new ones out of 1/16" stainless steel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[4bangr]

sorry for the semi-hijack of your thread....

i was looking at taking my hitch off and it feels like all the inside the frame nuts just turn with the bolt. I don't see how you could ever get anything inside the frame for backup. So my plan, was to just cut the heads off and then drill all the way thru the frame and put a plate on the back side with bolts all the way thru.

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

sorry for the semi-hijack of your thread....

i was looking at taking my hitch off and it feels like all the inside the frame nuts just turn with the bolt. I don't see how you could ever get anything inside the frame for backup. So my plan, was to just cut the heads off and then drill all the way thru the frame and put a plate on the back side with bolts all the way thru.

The 2 deepest nut ( closest towards the front of the truck) have a metal strip with nuts tack welded on to them. The strip is inserted at the bumper end of the frame opening and slid down until the holes in the frame align to the nuts. Hope that makes sense. The 2 that I'm dealing with are closest to the bumper end of the frame. There's a more permanent nut plate inside, I just have to see how rusted those nuts are. If they're thin and crumbly it's pointless to try to use a helicoil or drill/tap for M14 hardware.

 

[Scramble]

Are the slots in the hitch frame large enough to take a M14 bolt, I haven't measured yet. I need to push my USB bore scope into the frame and have a look to see how crusty things are in there.

If you take your bumper off you can see right into the rear of the frame. No scope needed. Two nuts are welded to the frame & 2 are attached to a removable bar.

I snapped one of my bolts off in one of the welded nuts on the frame. I drilled it in the center but it wouldn't come out. I like the idea of tapping it larger for a bigger bolt. Thanks!

 

[Scramble]

Here are the old inserts soaked in wd40 for a week before removal. I think they're called hitch brackets. One came out fine & the other got destroyed. I picked up 2 new (used) ones from a rust free Cali truck part out & put 3 coats of paint on them to keep them from rusting in the future.

 

[BrianK14]

The 2 deepest nut ( closest towards the front of the truck) have a metal strip with nuts tack welded on to them. The strip is inserted at the bumper end of the frame opening and slid down until the holes in the frame align to the nuts. Hope that makes sense. The 2 that I'm dealing with are closest to the bumper end of the frame. There's a more permanent nut plate inside, I just have to see how rusted those nuts are. If they're thin and crumbly it's pointless to try to use a helicoil or drill/tap for M14 hardware.

If you take the bumper off, you can easily get to the welded in nuts inside the frame. I used a sawzall to cut them out after the PO had snapped off the bolts. Then just used loose nuts to replace when bolting a new hitch in. No drilling/retapping necessary

 

[4bangr]

Here are the old inserts soaked in wd40 for a week before removal. I think they're called hitch brackets. One came out fine & the other got destroyed. I picked up 2 new (used) ones from a rust free Cali truck part out & put 3 coats of paint on them to keep them from rusting in the future.

this is very helpful; thanks.
I should have known that Toyota had a better design than i imagined.

 

[7echo]

My truck came from Indianapolis and has some surface rust. I removed the hitch and sandblasted, primed, and painted.
I fished out the the inserts and sandblasted them clean. The welds on the nuts where a too light/small so I had them welded more securely before priming, painting, and re-assembling. Seeing the lack of weld on the nuts I realize this is part of the reason they wring off.

 

[2ndhandyotaman]

I didn't have time to remove the bumper today, plus the mounts looked a bit crusty. I pushed the USB endoscope into the frame and saw where the old weld nuts had basically crumbled, so I opened up the holes to a 33/64 hole and used a chisel to knock apart the rest of the weld nuts then fished some M12x1.5 bolts/nuts and cranked everything down, it will hold for the winter. I'll do a proper nut plate once the weather gets warm in 4 months.