Today on this 2006 Acura TSX we are going to be installing Draw-Tite hitch part number 24768. This installation will also apply for Hidden Hitch part number 60831. Alright, we are starting off underneath the vehicle, the first thing we need to do is lower down the exhaust from both sides of the vehicle. There are two hangers per muffler that the exhaust needs to be lowered off of. :22
Before removing the exhaust off its hangers, I am going to put a support strap across the front side of the exhaust tube. The reason for this is because once we do remove the exhaust off of its four hangers, two per side, the exhaust system will want to fall down and if it is not properly supported it could damage the system. To aid in the removal of the exhaust hanger, I am going to take a spray lubricant, like a WD-40 and spray the exhaust studs, and then I will take a pry bar and a pair of pliers and separate the two. :53
With the exhaust lowered down we can now take and remove the heat shield off of both frame rails. There are four bolts per heat shield that we are going to need to remove to get the heat shield down. With the heat shield lowered down we can go ahead and point out the mounting holes that we are going to use to install our trailer hitch. Looking at the bottom of the frame, towards the rear of the vehicle you can see we have one existing hole. If you follow forward in the frame we have 3 holes there, two large ones and a smaller one in between them. The smaller one in the middle is the second attaching point for our trailer hitch. We are going to be using the forward most large hole as our access point to install our carriage bolt and block inside the frame. That is also going to be the same on the passenger side of the vehicle. Into those holes we are going to be installing the 7/16ths carriage bolt and block combination. The access hole here as you can see fits the carriage bolt okay, but the block is a little too big for the hole so we are going to need to take a chisel and open it up a little bit, just enough to get the block inside there. 1:52
With the access hole enlarged we can start fishing our carriage bolt and blocks inside the frame. I am going to be using the 7/16ths bolt leader that is provided with the installation kit. What we are going to do is take the threaded end of the bolt leader and slide it through the rear most attaching point first and back out our access hole. Next, we will take our block and slide it onto the bolt leader. Then we will take and wrap the threads of the bolt leader around the threads of the carriage bolt and the block first followed by the carriage bolt and pull them into position. We want to repeat the procedure for the forward hole on the driver side and then two on the passenger side as well and then we will put the hitch up in position. With the hardware in place we are going to put the hitch up in position. We are going to attach the hitch to the carriage bolts using conical tooth washers and a hex nut. With all our hardware into position we can go ahead and torque our bolts down. You want to check with the directions to verify the appropriate torque rating for each individual bolt. With the bolts torqued down we can put our heat shield back up into place. You can see that there are two holes here that the threads of the carriage bolt are actually going to come through. Finally, we will put our exhaust back up into place. With the exhaust back up our installation is complete. 3:20
Now that we have our hitch installed we can give you a couple of final installed dimensions that will make choosing your hitch accessories a little bit easier. From the top of the receiver tube opening to the ground is 11-3/4 inches. From the center of the pin hole to clear the rear edge of the bumper it is going to be approximately 4 inches. This will conclude the installation of Draw-Tite hitch part number 24768 on this 2006 Acura TSX.
