Trailer Hitch Installation - 2010 Subaru Outback Wagon

Installation of a Trailer Hitch on a 2010 Subaru Outback Wagon

Today on this 2010 Subaru Outback Wagon we are going to be installing Curt hitch part number 13390. We are underneath the vehicle, the first thing we want to do is lower the exhaust down so we have some working room. We need to remove the three rear most hangers from the system. One at the outboard side at the front of the muffler. On on the inboard side here at the rear. Then if we follow forward, just in front of the rear axle there is a third hanger we need to remove it off of. To remove the exhaust off of its hangers we need to take a spray lubricant, like a WD-40 and spray the studs down. Then we want to take a pry bar or pair of pliers and separate the two pieces. :41

Before we remove the forward most hanger, we want to put a support strap across the exhaust tube. When we remove the exhaust off of its third hanger the system will want to fall. If not properly supported, it will damage the system. I am going to take a simple cam strap and hang it from the suspension. With that support there we need to go ahead and remove the third hanger. The next thing we want to do is remove the heat shield. There are four fasteners holding it into place. With the exhaust lowered and the heat shield off we can point out the mounting holes we are going to be using to attach the trailer hitch to the vehicle. 1:31

Looking over here at the passenger side of the vehicle you can see we have two rubber plugs here at the bottom of the bumper. We want to remove both of those from the frame rail. We are going to be using the rear most hole as an attaching point for the trailer hitch. The forward most hole here is going to provide our access point to get the hardware inside the frame. The next thing we want to do is enlarge the access hole. It needs to be enlarged to 1-1/8. You can do this a couple different ways, I am going to take a 1/4 drill bit and drill the four corners and chisel out and metal remaining in between leaving a large enough hole to get our hardware into place. That is going to be the same on both the driver and passenger sides. Now that we have the hole enlarged enough to get our hardware in place, I am going to take the bolt leader next that is provided in the installation kit and take and feed the threaded end through the bottom of the attaching hole and back out our access hole. We will next take the block and it onto the bolt leader. At this point we can slide it inside the frame and follow it up with the carriage bolt. We are going to take and thread the carriage bolt on the threads of the bolt leader. Insert it inside the frame and pull it into position. You want to repeat that setup for the drivers side as well and we will hang the hitch up into position. 2:46

We are going to be attaching the hitch to the carriage bolt using the 1/2 inch flanged hex nut. When putting the hitch up into position it might be a good idea to get an second set of hands to hold one side while you do the other. Now that I have the bolts tightened I am going to be using the hitch as a template and am going to use it to drill the forward most attaching point. We want this hole to be a 1/2 inch in diameter. I am going to take a 1/4 inch bit and run it in there first through the pilot hole, and then we will enlarge it to a 1/2 inch. Again, that is going to be the same on both sides of the vehicle. With the holes drilled, we just want to fish the carriage bolt and block assembly in position, at this attaching point as well, like we had done previously. Repeat that on the drivers side and we will be ready to start torquing our bolts down. With all the hardware in place we are going to torque the bolts down now. You want to check with the directions to verify the appropriate torque rating for each individual bolt. 3:49

Now that we have the bolts torqued down, we need to modify the heat shield so it fits around the trailer hitch. We want to cut out the area as we have highlighted here. With that section trimmed off we can put the heat shield back up into place. The last thing we need to do with the heat shield up its put the exhaust up on its hangers back up into position. You can see how the rear most hanger comes through the hole in the trailer hitch. Then we can remove the support strap and our installation will be complete. Now that we have our hitch installed we are going to give you a couple final install dimensions which will help choosing your hitch accessories a little bit easier. From the top of the receiver tube opening to the ground is going to measure 14-1/8 inches. To the center of the pin hole, to clear the rear edge of the bumper is approximately 4 inches. That will conclude the installation of part number 13390 on a 2010 Subaru Outback Wagon.