Today on this 2008 Suzuki XL7 we are going to install part number 75529 from Draw-Tite. This will also apply to part number 87436 from Hidden Hitch. The first thing we need to do is lower the exhaust because the exhaust is kind of close to the mounting points. Those I am going to lower just to get some more working room. We will spray it down with some lubricant and then we will pry the rubber hangers off. Also what we did is put up a strap to help support the exhaust so we can lower it in a controlled manner when you take the rest of the hangers off. Now you can see the nuts that are welded inside the frame that we are going to attach the hitch to. They are kind of dirty since it has been out on the road for awhile so we are going to spray it down with some lubricant and then run the bolt inside and out to clean out the threads. If they are really dirty you will probably end up having to use a thread tap to clean out the threads. 01:08
Repeat the same process on the passenger side of the vehicle too. Looking underneath the center of the bumper there are two attaching points there too and again there are going to be threaded holes right here so we are going to clean those out too. Start installing the hitch on to the vehicle. It is kind of awkward shaped so it is going to be a good idea to have an extra set of hands. Just do one bolt on each side so you can still move it around as needed to align the other bolts. At this point we actually took down the spare tire. For one, so you could see what was going on a lot easier and two, it gives us a little extra hand room to do the work. Get all of your bolts started and now we are going to snug them all down. Since we can not get a ratchet in here really what we are going to start off with is using an 18 millimeter ratchet wrench. We are going to hand tighten all of the bolts and then torque them down as specified in the instructions. Once we have everything torqued down we can reinstall the exhaust. There you have it for part number 75529 from Draw-Tite.
Do you have a question about this product?
With thousands of product installations and troubleshoots, we don't just sell this stuff, we know how to install and use it.
Please include the year, make, and model of your vehicle, being as specific as possible, if you have a question about a custom fit product.
Subject:
Name:
Contact email:
How can our experts help?
