Trailer Hitch Installation - 2005 Pontiac Montana

This Product Fits The Following Vehicles

2005 - 2007 Buick Terraza
2005 - 2008 Chevrolet Uplander
2005 - 2005 Chevrolet Venture All, Including AWD
1997 - 2004 Chevrolet Venture Mini Van, All Models
1997 - 2004 Oldsmobile Silhouette Mini Van, All Models
2005 - 2005 Pontiac Montana All, Including AWD
1999 - 2004 Pontiac Montana Mini Van, All Models
2005 - 2007 Pontiac Montana SV6
1997 - 1998 Pontiac Trans Sport Van All, Including Montana
2005 - 2007 Saturn Relay

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Installation of a Trailer Hitch on a 2005 Pontiac Montana

Today we are going to do an install of part number 90148 on our 2005 Montana. The first thing I am going to show you is where the hitch goes. It will mount up here. These two bolts will come out temporarily, and this exhaust bracket will come off temporarily. The hitch will mount up with these bolts here, and the hitch will serve as a template to drill out two holes. There will be one up here in this general vicinity and back here. On some models, these holes are pre-existing. It just depends on what you have. And on the drivers side it will mount on these two holes here and plus an additional hole up in this general area here will have to be drilled out also. Now these bolts will be replaced by the bolts that come with the hitch. All right, on some models you might actually have an air compressor that is a load-leveling device. That comes equipped on some models. If you have that you should only need one bolt on there and then the other bolt hole will actually be covered up. What you do is put the hitch upon there like normal go ahead and drill out the second hole - just through the bracket, and try not to hit the nut. And then take the hitch back down. Then put the hitch up flat to the frame. And then the bracket for the compressor goes on top of the hitch.

All right, at this point we can go ahead and install the hitch. We are going to use those existing threaded holes to hold it into place. All right, once you get the hitch close to the frame, take a second to move it back and forth to get it centered as best you can. I like to use this center rib right here in the plastic. Once you have it the way you want it, go ahead and tighten those four bolts down to keep the hitch in place while you drill out the rest of the holes in the frame. First we will drill out our holes at the rear of the vehicle. We will start out with a 1/4 inch bit and work our way up to the 1/2 inch. We will drill out the most forward hole next and then we move over to the drivers side. Now we will follow it up with the 1/2 inch bit to kind of wallow out the hole to make threading the bolt a little bit easier. Next we will install our hardware inside the frame here. That will require using this handle nut. It is pretty simple. Basically you just bend it to match the angle of the frame and going over to the bolt. All right, we will do the same thing in the other location on the passengers side. You do the same thing on the passengers side. And you can see there is a hole in the frame on this side, too. Actually the hole is on both sides of the frame so you can install the hardware whichever is easier for you to do if you like, left- or right-handed.

All right, at this point we can go ahead and install the hitch. We are going to use those existing threaded holes to hold it into place. All right, once you get the hitch close to the frame, take a second to move it back and forth to get it centered as best you can. I like to use this center rib right here in the plastic. Once you have it the way you want it, go ahead and tighten those four bolts down to keep the hitch in place while you drill out the rest of the holes in the frame. First we will drill out our holes at the rear of the vehicle. We will start out with a 1/4 inch bit and work our way up to the 1/2 inch. We will drill out the most forward hole next and then we move over to the drivers side. Now we will follow it up with the 1/2 inch bit to kind of wallow out the hole to make threading the bolt a little bit easier. Next we will install our hardware inside the frame here. That will require using this handle nut. It is pretty simple. Basically you just bend it to match the angle of the frame and going over to the bolt. All right, we will do the same thing in the other location on the passengers side. You do the same thing on the passengers side. And you can see there is a hole in the frame on this side, too. Actually the hole is on both sides of the frame so you can install the hardware whichever is easier for you to do if you like, left- or right-handed.

All right, now we will install our hardware going toward the front of our vehicle. What needs to happen next is this bolt and this plate need to get installed inside the frame and come out this hole. Some kits come with a wire pull to help you do that. In this situation, ours did not. And like I said, some kits will come with it and some will not. The easiest way to do it is to get yourself a piece of safety wire - basically, any kind of wire that you can bend and will hold its shape. And what you can do is thread it through the hole you want to pull the bolt through and then back out the access hole. Take your block, thread it through there, and go ahead and push it into position because it will follow the wire right into place. And then, take your bolt here and just wrap the wire inside the threads. And just go ahead and pull it back through. Just kind of wiggle it and let gravity help it fall through. Now we will finish installing our fasteners. The bottom of this bolt here will get two plates and lock washer and nut. Next we will go ahead and take off these two bolts and then put our exhaust bracket back into place. Then we can go ahead and snug up all the hardware, and then we will give the bolts their final torque. OK, we will give the bolts their final torque. All right, and there you have it for part number 90148 on our 2005 Pontiac Montana.

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