Today on this 2011 Mazda CX-7, we will be installing Hidden Hitch part number 87421. And this installation will also apply for Draw-Tite hitch part number 75512. Before we get started with our hitch installation, we are going to go ahead and show you a couple of final install dimensions which are going to help make choosing your hitch accessories a little bit easier. From the top of the receiver tube opening to the ground is going to measure 12 inches. And from the center of the pin hole to clear the rear edge of the bumper is going to measure approximately 9-1/2 inches. Now we can go ahead and move on to our hitch installation. 0:32
Alright, we are starting off underneath the rear of the vehicle. And the first thing we want to do before we point out our mounting holes is to go ahead and lower the exhaust system down. There are four rearmost hangers that are holding the exhaust system up. There are two on the driver side and two on the passenger side as well. To separate the exhaust from its rubber hangers, we just want to use a spray lubricant or penetrant if you will. And then we will just take a pry bar and go ahead and separate the two pieces. Before moving the exhaust off of the fourth hanger, it is a good idea to put some form of support strap across the forward side of the exhaust tube here. Ok, with the exhaust lowered, we can go ahead and point out the mounting holes that we are going to be using to install the trailer hitch to the vehicle. Starting over here on the passenger side of the vehicle, looking directly at the bottom of the frame you can see we have two large existing holes here. Those are going to provide our two attaching points for the trailer hitch and that is going to be the same on the driver side of the vehicle as well. 1:34
Into each one of those holes, we are going to be placing the 1 by 2 inch carriage block along with the carriage bolts, which are provided with the installation kit. What we are actually going to be doing is using one of the two attaching holes as also the access point to get the hardware inside the frame. If you take the hardware, you can see that the carriage bolt will fit into the hole easily but the block is just a little bit too big. Whichever hole you decide to use as your access hole, you are going to need to enlarge it just a little bit. Again, just enough to get the block into position. To open up the hole you can either use a metal file, possible a drill. I am just going to be using a basic chisel. Now with the hole enlarged, we can go ahead and start fishing the bolt inside the frame. And what we are going to do is take the provided bolt leader that comes with the installation kit. Since this is the hole that we enlarged, we are going to go ahead and feed the hardware into this hole first. So we will just take the bolt leader, it from the bottom of the frame through the attaching hole and back out our access hole. Next go ahead and take the carriage block and go ahead and slide it on to the bolt leader. And then take the carriage bolt and thread the bolt leader onto the carriage bolt. Insert the block inside the frame, followed by the carriage bolt and pull them down into position. Then for the second hole, we are going to do what is called a reverse pull. In this instance, we are just going to assemble everything independent of the frame and then it last. So I will first take the block and go ahead and slide it on to the bolt leader, followed by the carriage bolt. And in this instance we are going to go ahead and the carriage bolt in the frame first, followed by the block and then we will just pull them straight back down into place. That finishes the passenger side. We want to go ahead and repeat that set up for the driver side of the vehicle and then we will go ahead and put the hitch up into position. 3:35
OK, we just want to align the carriage bolts with the holes in the trailer hitch. We will be attaching the hitch to the carriage bolts using a conical tooth washer and a hex nut. And now that we have the hitch up in position and the hardware in place, we are going to go through now and torque the bolts down. You want to verify with the directions the specific torque ratings for each of the bolts. And then with the bolts torqued down we just want to make sure that we put our exhaust back up on its hangers. And our installation will be complete. And with that that will conclude the installation of Hidden Hitch part number 87421 on a 2011 Mazda CX-7.
Trailer Hitch Installation- 2010 Mazda CX-7
Today we are working on a 2010 Mazda CX-7. We will be installing Draw-Tite part number 75512. Here are a couple of measurements that will assist you in ing accessories for your new hitch. From the center of the hitch pin hole to the outermost point of the bumper is approximately 6-1/2 inches. From the top of the receiver tube to the ground is 11-3/4 inches. 0:26
Trailer Hitch Installation - 2010 Mazda CX-7
Today on this 2010 Mazda CX-7 we will be installing Draw-Tite hitch part number 36419. This installation will also apply for Hidden Hitch part number 90154. Looking under the vehicle, the first thing we want to note before installing our trailer hitch is that our exhaust is going to need to be lowered off these two rear most hangers. One on the passenger side and one on the drivers side. :22
Trailer Hitch Installation - 2010 Mazda CX-7
Today on this 2010 Mazda CX-7 we will be installing Curt hitch part number 12093. the first thing we want to do in preparation to installing our trailer hitch is to lower the exhaust out of the way. There are four hangers, two per side, one at the front side of the exhaust and one at the rear side of the exhaust. And then there is two in the same position on the drivers side. :19
Trailer Hitch Installation - 2007 Mazda CX-7
Today we are going to install part number 87421 from Hidden Hitch, and we are going to install this on a 2007 Mazda CX-7. The first step involved is to actually lower the exhaust so we can get a better view of the frames, where you see it mounts up at. First off, we are going to take off this muffler hanger right here, and this is the other muffler hanger we have got to take down, too. It is always a good idea to spray down the rubber hanger with a lubricant to make it easier to slide it off. And from the back side of the rubber hanger, you can use a pry bar or whatever tool you like to push off the rubber hanger toward the center of the vehicle. All right, that gives us a lot more room to install the hitch and to show you where the hitch installs on the frame.
