Video Transcript for Setting up the Curt Trailer Hitch Receiver on a 2005 Ford Freestar

Today on our 2005 Ford Freestar we're going to be installing the CURT 2" receiver tube hitch, part number C13587. Here's what our hitch will look like once it's installed. Next I'll give you a couple measurements to assist you with selecting accessories for your new hitch. From the center of the hitch pinhole to the outermost edge of the bumper is 4-1/4". From the top of the receiver tube opening to the ground is 12-1/4". This will assist you with selecting accessories such as a ball mount, bike rack, or cargo carrier.

We'll now go ahead and with the installation. Now to begin our install we'll first need to lower the exhaust. The lower the exhaust we'll remove the rubber isolator from the metal hanger. To make it easier to remove we're going to hit it with some spray lubricant and then use a pry bar or pliers to remove the rubber isolator from the metal hanger. Once we have that off we'll be able to pull the exhaust down enough that we can get the hitch in place. Next, using an extra set of hands we're going to want to put the hitch up into position to make sure all our attachment points line up. There are a total of six attachment points, three on each side.

These attachment points are either slots or pre-drilled holes in the frame by the manufacturer. The forward and bottom attachment point is going to be this oval slot here that will get the large spacer block, a 1/2" carriage bolt, and a 1/2" flange nut. Then the side frame attachment points, there will be two of them. The forward one here will get the narrow spacer block with one of the shorter 1/2" carriage bolts and the same 1/2" flange nut. Then the rear attachment point, which is also in the side, is going to get the wide but shorter spacer block, a shorter carriage bolt, and then the flange nut. Now to assist in getting our hardware in the frame we're going to use the 1/2" bolt leader that's provided with the install kit.

Now before we attempt to install the hitch we're going to go ahead and look at the side attachment points. Here you can see where the metal overlaps but there's plenty of room that we'll easily be able to install our fastener. Here where the sheet metal overlaps, if the hole isn't large enough you may need to ream it out to make it a little easier to get the hardware in place. We're just going to use our file bit to open it up a little bit where the sheet metal overlaps. As you can see, the round file bit on the drill will make quick work of the overlapping sheet metal to enlarge to hole enough to get our hardware in place. Now once we have enough clearance for all our hardware we're ready to start putting it in place.

We're going to take the 1/2" bolt leader, go through the bottom frame attachment point, and out the large access hole. There we'll take the large spacer block and the longer carriage bolt, thread it onto the pull wire, feed the block and then the bolt into the frame, and pull them into position. Once in place I'll go ahead and remove the bolt leader and repeat the same process on the other side, because as we stated earlier, the attachment point are the same on each side so each process we do here on the driver side will get repeated identically on the passenger side. We're now ready to go ahead and put our hitch in place. It's a good idea to get an extra set of hands to help you hold the hitch while you install the fasteners. We're going to feed the passenger side up over the exhaust first and then bring our hitch up to the frame and install our flange nut to help hold it in place. We'll install our flange nut here to the bottom frame attachment point finger tight to help hold it in place. Now with our hitch held in place we'll go ahead and take our bolt leader, feed it through the attachment point, and out the same access slot. For the forward side attachment point we're using the narrow spacer block and shorter carriage bolt. We'll again feed them into the frame separately and pull them into place. Once in place we'll go ahead and remove the bolt leader and install the flange nut. We're going to install each fastener finger tight until we have them all in place. Now with all our fasteners installed and secured here on the driver side we'll repeat the same process on the passenger side. Now once we have all the hardware installed we'll go ahead and tighten it down and torque to specifications as indicated in the instructions. Now with the hitch secured and torqued to specification we'll go ahead and reinstall the exhaust. Once we have the hanger back in place that will complete the install of our CURT hitch, part number C13587, on our 2005 Ford Freestar. .