Trailer Hitch Installation - 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
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How to Install a Trailer Hitch on a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis
Today on this 2003 Grand Marquis, we are going to install part number 13707. The first thing we are going to show you is where the hitch mounts up to the frame. There are no existing holes in the frame. So what we are going to have to do is go ahead and hold the hitch up, mark our holes and then drill out the frame. To prepare the frame, what you want to do is make sure you have gotten rid of any large weld splatters that are along the seam right here. This one is in pretty good shape but if you see anything you can take a chisel to it and just knock it off and it will be clean right there. The next thing that we need to do is make a mark from the end of the frame towards the back about 1 inch. And we will line our hitch up with that. It is about 1/8 of an inch past this point right here. You can see how the steel wraps around. Basically right on this seam right here, where it was welded, will work just fine. So, we will line our hitch up against that. We will make sure we mark it even on both sides. 0:51
At this point, we will go ahead and push the hitch up onto the frame. And we will use a can of spray paint to help mark the holes for us. You want to have an extra set of hands on the other side to help hold it up. Actually, the hitch will overlap the seam a little bit that is on the frame. Alright, let us go ahead and drill out our holes for our hitch. We are going to start with 1/4 inch bit and then go up to a 1/2 inch bit. When you are through, go ahead and drill it at an angle like this so you make the hole a little bit oval. That way, it will be easier to install the bolt because the energy absorber inside kind of gets in the way. Try to work at an angle like this. That will enlarge the hole a little bit and make it easier to pull the bolt through. 1:46
Let us go ahead and start installing the hardware. Alright, we are going to install the carriage bolt and this block. Tilt the block up a little bit to help it through and then the bolt in. And then our fastener going towards the front of our car we are going to go ahead and use a bolt leader that comes with the kit. And we are going to use the same block. So we will take our bolt leader, that is going to thread into the hole we just drilled. It will go out our access hole which is farther up in the frame, by the tire. Slide on our block. Push that into the frame. And then we will thread on our bolt. Pull it all of the way through. We are done with the driver side. Let us go ahead and repeat the same process back over on the passenger side. 2:41
We are going to go ahead and install our hitch. We will line up the bolts. It would be a good idea to have an extra set of hands to help hold everything up and line everything together. OK and we will just use a flange nut to hold everything together. Once you have the hitch loosely installed, take a second to move it back and forth to center it up the best you can. And then go ahead and snug down the bolts. And then we will torque them down as specified in the instructions. So with the bolts torque down, that will finish it for our install. We have our vehicle off of the lift and let us give you some measurements. From the top of the receiver opening down to the ground on this particular vehicle is going to be 12 inches. From the center of the hitch pin hole to the outside edge of the bumper is going to be 7 inches. And there you have it for part number 13707 from Curt, on our 2003 Grand Marquis.
Info for this part was:
Test Fit:
Joe V
Test Fit:
Rick A
Test Fit:
Randy B
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Zack K
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Andrew K
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Jacob T
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Andrew L
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Mike H
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Chris R
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Kathleen M
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Dave
3/3/2015
So this does require a torch? Would a drill be acceptable to use for drilling into the frame?