B*tch of a Receiver Hitch

[DK5]

Hey guys

Heres my weekend project:
I'm trying to take my receiver hitch off of my '88 Blazer (project) and put it on my '90 K5. So far I've got 2 problems:

1. Removal:
i had to take the rear bumper off to get to the 2 rear bolts attached to the frame behind the gas tank. (broke 3 of the bumper bolts cause they were siezed so bad)

now i can get to all 4 bolts.. loosened them as much as I could, but now they are just freely spinning. i'm going to try to see if I can stick a vice-grip on the bolt somehow and stop it from spinning, but theres not alot of room.

I don't have alot of mechanical tools.. i might try to see if i can get my grinder in there maybe if the vice-grip idea fails. try to cut off the bolts maybe that way. what else can I use? I don't really want to rent an air chisel (or any other tools) but if thats the only option then I guess thats what i'll do. you guys have any other ideas/suggestions?

2. Installation:
The previous owner of my '90 K5 had a welded-to-frame receiver hitch but it was cut off sometime before I bought it. so I've got these drop-down plates welded to the frame rails still. looking from the rear this is what you see:
_ _
T==gas=tank==T

Hope that makes sense, the T's are the bottom of the frame rails.. its a plate welded to the center of each frame rail.

How do I cut these off and make a nice mounting surface for the stock receiver hitch on my '88? I was thinking that I might have to drop the gas tank down to get in there with my grinder. Will that work?

thx in advance

 

[dyeager535]

I don't think you can do the hitch without pulling the tank.

I could be mistaken, but I believe there is no way to get a wrench to the nuts furthest at the rear.

 

[mechted]

they might be carriage bolts notched into the frame (if it you pull the bolt all the way down so the head stays on the frame. they shouldnt spins if they are carriage bolts.

i have pulled a hitch before and there were 4 carriage bolts (the front 4 - closest to the tank) and the rear 2 were standard headed bolts because you can actually get a wrench over them.

 

[DK5]

they are carriage bolts but the notches are stripped or rusted and they won't stay seated properly, i tried clamping them up but it wouldn't work. I could only count 4 bolts in total.. maybe i'm wrong? the 2 in the rear are easy to get at if you take the bumper off. And the 2 towards the front of the vehicle (behind the rear shackle) which i can also loosen the nuts to a certain extent but then they also start to spin freely.

 

[DK5]

they might be carriage bolts notched into the frame (if it you pull the bolt all the way down so the head stays on the frame. they shouldnt spins if they are carriage bolts.

the 2 carriage bolts in the rear have to be pushed up (i think whoever installed it put the bolts in upside down) and the 2 bolts behind the shackles are the other way with the nuts exposed.

i think i'm going to have to find a way to cut them all because they won't seat to loosen them, and they are rusty and being difficult

 

[abig84]

if your sure you got no gas leaks just torch them off. or bring it to a exhaust shop and pay them 20 bucks to take it off, beats taking the tank down, knowing the way things are going your tank straps are probably going to break along with everything else.

 

[AZ79K5Project]

... or bring it to a exhaust shop and pay them 20 bucks to take it off, beats taking the tank down, knowing the way things are going your tank straps are probably going to break along with everything else.

x2 - you may be asking for added trouble if you mess with the straps. You may want to order a set from Rock Auto and plan on replacing them if you do the work yourself.

I removed a very light weight ball hitch a couple of years back that was on the truck when I bought it. I used a 4" grinder (HF - $10.00) and ground the bolts off.

I put a on a class III and had to pull the tank to put it on. I just removed that hitch this past weekend when I finished my tube bumper. I was able to get a socket wrench down the frame rail VIA a small access hole. I got lucky and never dropped the socket wrench in the frame rail.