Trailer Hitch Installation - 2001 Volkswagen Jetta

This Product Fits The Following Vehicles

2000 - 2004 Volkswagen Jetta except Turbo models

1999 - 1999 Volkswagen Jetta IV except Turbo models

2005 - 2005 Volkswagen Jetta Old Body except Turbo models

2000 - 2004 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo - Diesel TDI models

1999 - 1999 Volkswagen Jetta IV Turbo - Diesel TDI models

2005 - 2005 Volkswagen Jetta Old Body Turbo - Diesel TDI models

2000 - 2004 Volkswagen Jetta Turbo - Gas models

1999 - 1999 Volkswagen Jetta IV Turbo - Gas models

2005 - 2005 Volkswagen Jetta Old Body Turbo - Gas models

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Installation of a Trailer Hitch on a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta

Today we are going to be installing Hidden Hitch part number 60963 on a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta. The first thing we want to do is to go ahead and remove the spare tire and the Styrofoam spacer here from the trunk area. We will be drilling a hole through the trunk well as an attaching point for the trailer hitch. OK, with the spare tire out, the hole that we are will be drilling in the spare tire well is actually over in this area here. We also are going to be drilling two holes up onto this upper surface here as well. We will put the hitch up into place and get it aligned, and then we will drill our holes out from underneath. Over here on the drivers side, we are going to need to go ahead and remove the exhaust from its rear-most hanger. To do that, we just can remove two bolts that are here, connected to the bottom of the frame.

OK, with the exhaust lowered, we are going to go ahead and put the hitch up temporarily so that we can mark the holes that we are going to need to drill. Note that here we are going to be attaching here to the passengers side at the tow hook. On the bottom here, I have got some extra undercoating that is going to interfere with the hitch sitting flat at the bottom there. So I want to go ahead and scrape that off before we get started. The next thing we want to do is to take the spacer here with the cutout on it. That is actually going to go inside the frame and provide the two attaching points for the hitch. We are going to align it over the tow hook here. What we are going to do is go ahead and put the hitch up and tighten it to this bolt hole right here. That is going to allow us to take the hitch, center it up, and mark out the hole that we are going to drill here and the three on the passengers side. We are going to go ahead and do that now.

We are going to hold it up and set the alignment of the receiver tube and make sure it is nice and straight. OK, we are inside the trunk area now, and we can see where we drilled one of the holes here. The other one is actually below this plastic threshold here, so I am going to need to remove it. And you can see with the threshold piece removed, we have got our other hole located. And then we are going to go ahead and put the plate, provided in the installation kit, there. OK, and then we just want to the 7/16 carriage bolts in through the holes, like so. We will come back down and put the hitch up into place and we will use it as a template to drill our last hole, which is going to come through the side wall of the trunk. OK, and that hole we just drilled inside the trunk well, we are going to be using the large carriage block and carriage bolt as well. Again, those are going to come out from inside the trunk well and out that way.

As you can see, now I have got the bolt through, and the block is in between the hitch and the trunk well. OK, I am just going to add the lock washer and nut. OK, and then we will go ahead and tighten all the bolts down. And now that we have got all the bolts in place, we are going to go ahead and torque them down. We want to check with the directions to verify the appropriate torque rating for each individual bolt. OK, now that we have got our bolts torqued down, the only thing we need to do is to put our exhaust back up on its hanger, and our installation will be complete. This will conclude the installation of hitch part number 60963 on a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta.

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Trailer Hitch Help - Videos

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Handle Nut Demonstration
Drilling to Enlarge a Frame Hole for Hitch Install
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Using Fish Wire for Trailer Hitch Installation
Lowering Exhaust Example for Trailer Hitch Installation
Lowering Exhaust Pipe on Vehicle with Rubber Hanger
Using Stove Wire as a Bolt Leader Demonstration
Class III Trailer Hitch and Weight Capacities Review
Class II Trailer Hitch and Weight Capacities Review
Class I Trailer Hitch and Weight Capacities Review
Trailer Hitch Classes and Weight Capacity Comparison

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