Hidden Hitch Trailer Hitch Receiver with Drawbar - Custom Fit - Class I - 1-1/4"

Video Transcript for Trailer Hitch Installation - 2003 Buick Century

Today on this 2003 Buick Century we are going to install part number 36374 from Draw-Tite. This will also apply to part number 90981 from Hidden Hitch. Now you can see the hitch is already installed on the vehicle. And we will give you a couple of measurements that will help you out in ing some accessories, such as a ball mount, bicycle rack or cargo carrier. From the top of the receiver opening down to the ground is going to be 12-1/2 inches. And then from the center of the hitch pin to the outside edge of the bumper is going to be 7-1/2 inches. 0:31

The first thing we need to do is go ahead and lower the exhaust because we need access to the inside of the frame and the bottom of the frame as well. We are going to remove these two hangers here and there is going to be one a little bit farther back that we will remove as well. We will go ahead and lower the exhaust and we will also use a strap to help hold the exhaust while we lower it. We will spray down the rubber hangers with some lubricant to make it a little easier to remove. Now we can use our strap to lower our exhaust a little more, as we need. OK, we will go ahead and turn our attention to the driver side of the vehicle and we will show you where the hitch will mount up on the frame. Basically use these two existing holes right here and also we are going to have to drill a hole into the side of the frame as well, up here. To drill that hole, we are going to use the hitch as a template. And before that, we are going to go ahead and install our hardware to hold the hitch up. 2:00

We are going to use this as the access hole to install the hardware. And also we are going to use a wire pull to help pull the bolts from the inside out. This is our wire pull right here and basically it is a formed piece of wire that actually will thread onto the end of a bolt. We use this to go ahead and pull the bolt from the inside out of the frame. A wire pull is also known as a bolt leader, part number 80101-1. And that is for a 1/2 inch bolt. To use a wire pull, we are going to put it through the hole we are going to use and then push it out our access hole. We are going to push on a block onto the wire and push it into the frame. And then we will thread on our bolt. Pull it on through and we are done. Now we will go ahead and do the same thing for this hole. And we will repeat the same process on the other side of the car. Believe it or not, the driver side of the vehicle is going to be identical to the passenger side as well. 3:07

Now at this point, we can go ahead and lift the hitch in position. And what we are going to do is just hold it up. Mount it to the existing hardware we have. We are just going to temporarily put some nuts in there to hold it in place. That way, we can use the hitch as a template to mark our hole in the side of the frame. You definitely want to have an extra set of hands when doing this part. Now what we are going to do next, we have our hitch in position, let us go ahead and snug down the bolts. That will put our hitch in the proper spot to mark our hole to drill out. Now to mark our hole, we are just going to use some spray paint and we are just going to spray paint the hole. And then we will go ahead and lower our hitch and then we will have our mark. We will do this on both sides of the hitch. We will let the paint dry for a few minutes and then we will go ahead and take the hitch back down. 3:54

Alright, now you can see where we made our mark in the frame. We will start off with a 1/4 inch pilot hole and then enlarge it up to 9/16. With our holes drilled out, let us go ahead and reinstall the hitch. This time we can put up all our fasteners. To install our fastener that goes in the side of the frame, we are going to use this handle nut and this bolt. And this handle nut you can move any way you want to make it easier to get to the bolt hole on the inside. We are just going to go ahead and hold this up there and then thread our bolt in from the other side. With the driver side done, let us go ahead and repeat the same process back over on the passenger side. OK, with all of our hardware loosely installed, let us go ahead and tighten down everything hand tight and then we will go ahead and torque them down as specified in the instructions. Now that the hitch is completely installed, let us go ahead and reinstall the exhaust back into its proper spot. And then we are finished. Alright and there you have it for part number 36374 from Draw-Tite on a Buick Century.