01silvapathy Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Quick question, I was in the market to get a tow hitch and put it off, til about today. I need to tow a friends jeep about a half a mile up to school to fix his trans that went out this past week. Normally my buddies truck would pull it but he is out of town, and I was in the market for a hitch anyways so I figured why not just get one and tow the jeep up to where we are swapping the trans. Anyways, im driving to houston to pick up a used towhitch from a 98, for 50 bucks. New autoparts stores want like 162 without tax and stuff So I am driving 2 hours even with paying for gas thats around 100 bucks including the price of the hitch. So with the hitch being used and all...no instructions. My question is...do you have to take off the rear bumper in order to install the hitch? I looked at it this afternoon and it looks like the bolts where the brackets are now, have nuts on the inside of the frame rail or whatever you want to call it. SO how does it go on? Any info is much appreciated!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finder98 Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Quick question, I was in the market to get a tow hitch and put it off, til about today. I need to tow a friends jeep about a half a mile up to school to fix his trans that went out this past week. Normally my buddies truck would pull it but he is out of town, and I was in the market for a hitch anyways so I figured why not just get one and tow the jeep up to where we are swapping the trans. Anyways, im driving to houston to pick up a used towhitch from a 98, for 50 bucks. New autoparts stores want like 162 without tax and stuff So I am driving 2 hours even with paying for gas thats around 100 bucks including the price of the hitch. So with the hitch being used and all...no instructions. My question is...do you have to take off the rear bumper in order to install the hitch? I looked at it this afternoon and it looks like the bolts where the brackets are now, have nuts on the inside of the frame rail or whatever you want to call it. SO how does it go on? Any info is much appreciated!!! I have a 98 so im not shure what the rear of a 2001 is like. When i put mine on i did not have to remove the bumper. My pathfinder has the nuts on the inside of the fram rail as well and all you need is the bolts. But they are a bi#ch to get in on the top on the driver side. As for yours it might be easy but I had a little bit of touble. Hope this helps you some. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FUELER Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 (edited) Check a trailer supply - i think i paid about 200 or so for my hitch brand new, and the install was free. Might be worth it instead of spending all that time and gas for a used one, and then installing it yourself... They just had some worker dude bolt it up, he did it by himself, didnt have to remove the bumper. But he did have to remove the stock tow hook brackets (the tow hitch goes in its place) its just three big bolts on each side. Edited February 10, 2010 by FUELER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OfftourRoadie96 Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 (edited) Try your local u-haul too, they did mine pretty cheap & an extra $5 got me a lifetime Rust through warranty. Edited February 10, 2010 by OfftourRoadie96 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dududuckling Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 (edited) I'm pretty sure you don't have to remove the rear bumper. You just have to unbolt and discard the tie down plates (secured by 3 bolts). Then align the holes on the hitch with the original holes for the bolts and put them back on. That's what we did on mine. I don't have a spare tire underneath like yours, so the procedure might be different. Passenger side: Driver side: Edited February 10, 2010 by dududuckling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skulptr Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 having a tire underneath is no different simply bolt and go. recommend checking and/or replaceing the bolts you use first. and definetly make sure they are torqued within rating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 Wow, thanks for the quick replies yall! I think that im most likely still going to go get the used hitch. I spoke to a guy there and its in excellent shape, no real rust, or dents in the hitch. Yes I saw those brackets and saw that they needed to come off. My question tho, is that as I put my figers in the hole at the bottom and felt the bolt, you could feel on the inside that there was a bolt on the inside....no it could be welded in or something. But I really dont know. I guess that just before I go I will take a gander and try and remove the plates first. And there is no way in hell im paying over 100 bucks for a hitch. Its a tow hitch, used very seldomly, it seems easy enough to install just have to figure out whats up with these bolts. I'm a poor college kid......I always take the cheap route Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dududuckling Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 I believe you should be fine with PB Blaster and wrench, hahaha... And aside from towing, I use it for rear protection and rear recovery point on the trail as well. I'd rather scraping the hitch on the rocks than having my plastic bumper ripped out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 And as far as fitment, the 96-04 should all be interchangeable. The only changes were cosmetic and engine wise, maybe some interior changes but thats about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 Yah, just went and took a gander at the plates, as it turns out there are indeed nuts on the other side of each bolt, but they are welded in. This though leads to another probelm, the possibility of cross threading when putting in the new bolts, the bolts that came out didnt look to be in too bad a shape, may just re-use them? But the pass side plate came off easy, the driver side top bolt is near impossible to get to with a ratchet May just have to put in the two bolts on that side and wait to get up to the shop on Sat to put in the last bolt with an open-ended wrench. Thanks again yall for the quick replies and help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 (edited) I recommend new, *quality* bolts. Failure here is not worth the $3. JMO. Cross threading is a concern, but if you take your time you will be fine. The only caution I give you is the hitch should have 4 bolts per side, those tow plates have 3. The 4th hole is already there with a nut, so that is good, but it may be full of rust or mud so clean the threads... I think it is a 14mm but I am going off of memory. When I did mine I did not have a tap the right size to clean the threads. What I did was take a small cut off wheel (hack saw might work) and make some slit cuts in the old bolts. I then deburred the bolts with a wire wheel and use this as my tap. I coated the slits with grease to be sure that my "tap" captured and removed any debris or chips from the nut. Hope that helps. EDIT: IIRC the torque was 68ft.lbs, but double check that. If you want actual install instructions several hitch manufactures have them on-line to d/l. Good luck. Edited February 11, 2010 by BowTied Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 I recommend new, *quality* bolts. Failure here is not worth the $3. JMO. Cross threading is a concern, but if you take your time you will be fine. The only caution I give you is the hitch should have 4 bolts per side, those tow plates have 3. The 4th hole is already there with a nut, so that is good, but it may be full of rust or mud so clean the threads... I think it is a 14mm but I am going off of memory. When I did mine I did not have a tap the right size to clean the threads. What I did was take a small cut off wheel (hack saw might work) and make some slit cuts in the old bolts. I then deburred the bolts with a wire wheel and use this as my tap. I coated the slits with grease to be sure that my "tap" captured and removed any debris or chips from the nut. Hope that helps. EDIT: IIRC the torque was 68ft.lbs, but double check that. If you want actual install instructions several hitch manufactures have them on-line to d/l. Good luck. Wow man, thanks for the great reply....now I just need to find this 4th hole, and get some bolts. I will look on a few common websites for hitches and install instructions, they cant vary that much! Great idea BTW, never thought about that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 now I just need to find this 4th hole, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 Story of my life Homebro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skulptr Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 fourth hole is visible in the pics posted by dududuckling. should be pretty easy to do once you get the right tooling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted February 12, 2010 Author Share Posted February 12, 2010 Picked up the hitch today and MAN O MAN what a BEAUTY!!! Paid 70 bucks with tax for the super nice hitch. Its the nissan factory one I think. It has 6 bolt holes PER SIDE! and that as alexrex explained was for LOAD DISTRIBUTION...it even has the fancy plastic step on top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Glad I could help. I have not seen the factory hitch with 6 holes/side, post a up a pic when you have a chance. BTW, $70 is a very nice score!!!! I got stupid lucky and bought a brand new Reese missing the box and instrutions on fleabay and got it shipped cross the border to my door for the same price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skulptr Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 (edited) i'm not sure if its an oem hitch or not, but is the same as on my pathy, mine came with a hitch cover stamped with the nissan emblem. i dont think all 6 bolt holes are used, but i will look tomorrow when its daylight again the step comes in handy sometimes. Edited February 12, 2010 by skulptr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted February 12, 2010 Author Share Posted February 12, 2010 i'm not sure if its an oem hitch or not, but is the same as on my pathy, mine came with a hitch cover stamped with the nissan emblem. i dont think all 6 bolt holes are used, but i will look tomorrow when its daylight again the step comes in handy sometimes. Yup thats the same exact hitch I got, it looks pretty dang beefy to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dasanii19 Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 Now you got me wanting a tow hitch.. haha.. Just called a auto wrecking yard and they said they had a 2001 Nissan QX4 with a tow hitch on it that will fit my 2003 Nissan Pathfinder. Any truth to this? he wants $75, he didn't know if it was factory or not. if it will fit, ill go take a look at it. Thoughts.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 It was my understanding that 01-04 Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4s were nearly identical save for rims, trim and maybe different struts or something like that. It may even be true, for hitch mounting that '96-04 is the same. Hopefully somebidy will confirm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dasanii19 Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 It was my understanding that 01-04 Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4s were nearly identical save for rims, trim and maybe different struts or something like that. It may even be true, for hitch mounting that '96-04 is the same. Hopefully somebidy will confirm. Thanks for the reply, if we can get a confirmation on that ill go take a look at its condition and possibly pick it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted February 13, 2010 Author Share Posted February 13, 2010 Well the hitch I got is off a 98, right now im wiring up 4 roof lights and its a PITA, after that I will move onto mounting the hitch. I held it up (thing weighs a ton),and it looked to match up just fine. Now I just need to find some bolts and get the top 2 bolts off, which on a VQ is hard cuz the muffler gets in the way. and the drivers side the gas tank evap canister is in the way too I just hope I dont strip the bolts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowTied Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 I remember that canister being a pita to work around. I can't recall if I unbolted a part of it and let it hang or what I did. I shoulda taken pics for a write up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01silvapathy Posted February 14, 2010 Author Share Posted February 14, 2010 Haha yeah, I just managed to get the ratchet stuck on the pass side bolt which was stripped and got that whole plate off. The drivers side well...I only had the top bolt left, so i moved the evap canister, and stuck the ratchet up there, it was a PITA to get on, and well.....kinda cant get it off now So ya been driving around with my ratchet stuck on the bolt..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now