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Gooseneck Hitch Installation - 2008 Ford Super Duty Pickup
Custom Fit Gooseneck Hitch
Products Featured in this Video
Gooseneck Trailer Hitch Installation Rail Kit - Ford Super Duty Trucks
4430
$199.95
Manufacturer Instructions
Installation of a Gooseneck Hitch on a 2008 Ford Super Duty Pickup
Today we are going to install part numbers 9460 and 4430. This is a Hide-a-Goose install kit for a 2008 Ford Super Duty pickup. This is a diesel version with a 6-foot bed. Next we are going to create some working room beneath the vehicle. We are going to take off this heat shield temporarily, and we are going to lower our exhaust system, too. That way we will have plenty of room to work with to put the head assembly between the two rails. This is the second exhaust bracket we need to lower, too. Once you have the secondary one down you can go ahead and actually pull the exhaust down a little bit out of the way to give you some more working room. Next, go ahead and loosen up the bed on this truck. It gives us a little bit easier working space underneath the vehicle. And once we get all the components installed underneath we can set the bed back in. We are just going to loosen the bed up, put some blocks in it, and maybe raise it 1-1/2 inches or so. Next, we will go ahead and mark off the bed so we know where to drill the hole. What you want to do is find the center rib and measure back on the bed, per the instructions. On our 6-foot bed, in this particular case, it is 47-7/8 inches. So from the back edge of the bed itself you want to mark off 47-7/8 inches and then you want to center it in between the fender wells. It is kind of handy to use these edges of the bed itself. We are looking at 24-1/2 to the center. And what we will do next is go ahead and punch our mark, just enough so we can see a dimple on the bottom side of the pickup, because we will save drilling the hole for one of the last things we need to do. We just loosened the bed and we have got it propped up with these blocks right here. And on the 6-foot bed, it looks like it is a little bit tail heavy, so we have got plenty of space up in front.
Before we install the rails it is a good idea to go ahead clean off the threads that are on the end here because they are covered with that powder coating and it makes it a real tough time for the nut to thread on there. So take a few minutes to run the nut off and on on so that it will be easier to install when you are ready to go. Next we will get our rails ready to install between the frame and the bed of the vehicle. Simply, all we have got to do is just run the bolts in, like so. This will actually hold the gooseneck assembly itself. But these will be trapped once the rails are in there so put the bolts in first. Next we will go ahead and install the rails. It probably would be a good idea if you have an extra set of hands on the other side to catch it. And just let the rails sit like that. The corners are going to be facing toward the outside of the vehicle. All right, next we will install our side brackets. And those simply hang onto the crossbars right here. And also, the plate will actually go across these two rivets in the frame, too. Just hang those those on there for now and just loosely put our hardware onto them. And repeat this for the other side. Next we will install the U-bolts that go toward the front of the vehicle, and they will install at an angle, like this. Now there is a shock tower right behind the plate here, so it will sit in front of it, too. Next we will go ahead and install our hardware that will go toward the rear of the vehicle, and it is going through a square hole, right here, with the carriage bolt. First, you want to install your spacer block behind the bracket, and on the back side of the bolt you install the spacer block, lock washer and the nut. We are not going to tighten these down, still. We are just going to leave everything loose so we have room to work with the head assembly.
All right, next we can install the head assembly. And we are going to take these nuts back off. We will install the head assembly with the flat washers and these nuts. When we will install our head assembly make sure that the head is offset toward the front of the vehicle. Depending on the bars you have, it is going to fit into one of these two holes on top, and the same thing on the bottom. At this point, it is a good idea to go ahead make sure that the hole here matches up to the dimple that we put in earlier in the bed. We have double-checked our dimple here and cross-referenced it with the head assembly, so it is approximately in the center position, so we will go ahead and drill out our hole. We will use a 1/4-inch pilot hole first and then follow up with our hole saw. Once we got our head assembly installed underneath the bed, we went ahead and took the blocks back out and lowered the bed down. It took a few seconds to go ahead and make sure the bed was still straight on the frame and the rest of the body. And then we go ahead and tighten the bed back down.
Some models actually come with an extra trim ring. If it does, it is probably a good idea to go ahead and install it at this point. That way, we can align the hitch head assembly with the trim ring and make sure it is centered. Next, tighten down the head assembly. It is also a good idea to have somebody on the topside applying some pressure to the head assembly, pulling it up while we tighten it up. OK, we have got our bolts snugged up. We will take one more final check of the operation of the ball, and then we will give the bolts their final torque. OK, let us give the head assembly its final torque according to the specifications listed on the instructions. Next, we will tighten down the last 5/8 fastener that is toward the rear of the bracket. All right, next we will go ahead and tighten down the U-bolts. You want to tighten them down evenly until you get to the specified torque. And also, these plates will bend in as you tighten them down, too. That is part of the design it is just the way it is. Next we are going to install the handle for the pin itself. You just slide it inside it, put it into the assembly here, and line up the holes and install the clip. At this point we can actually start drilling more holes in the bed for the U-bolts. And the U-bolts will install in two slots. Put the U-bolt in upside down to get a better reference point, just like that. But of course the U-bolts will be on top. The slots are pretty generous, but you want to be on the bottom part of the corrugation. First we will drill a pilot hole with a 1/4-inch bit. We will do that on both sides. And then we will come from the top side down with our final 1/2-inch-size bit.
Next we will go ahead and install the hardware for the U-bolts. First, we just install this spring right here, and then the lock nut itself. And this nut will only go a few turns and then stop. Tighten this down to where you have got two or three threads past the nut, and that will be just fine. That way, you still have room to pull the U-bolt up and out when you need it. When you reinstall the exhaust, you may run into this situation, where the exhaust hits on the hitch itself. To fix that, we will modify the exhaust bracket by placing these spacers on the bolts on the forwardmost hanger. There is another adapter for the rearmost hanger as well. We reinstalled these brackets so you can see where the spacers are between the bracket and the frame. Now we will install our new bracket on the rearmost hanger. It will fit like this on our factory bracket. We are going to reuse this bolt from up here and install it like so. Now I will reinstall the heat shield. With the spare tire installed, the installation is complete. We will show you the operation of this gooseneck. It is simple. You pull the lever until it hits the dent-in that holds it in place, and then you can remove the ball. And there you have it for part numbers 9460 and 4430 on our 2008 Ford Super Duty pickup.
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