Today on our 2013 Ford Escape well be installing the Draw Tite hitch, part number 75746. This is what our hitch will look like once its installed. Next well go ahead and give you a couple measurements to assist you with selecting accessories for your new hitch. From the center of the hitch pin hole to the outer most edge of the bumper is five inches. From the top of the inside of the receiver tube opening to the ground is 13 inches. This will assist you with selecting accessories such as a ball mount, a bike rack or a cargo carrier.
Now lets go ahead with installation. First well go ahead and point out the attachment points. There are a total of four attachment points, two on each side. The attachment points are predrilled holes in the frame, however well need to install the hardware to secure it. The hardware well be using with our installation kit will be the new seven-sixteenths carriage bolt and block along with a conical tooth washer and nut.
Each attachment point will also get its own pull wire or bolt leader to assist in getting the hardware fed through the frame and into position. Note, it is especially a good idea to check and make sure the block and bolt will go through the access hole before attempting to install the bolt leader. In cases where the carriage bolt will not fit in through the access hole, its recommended to take a small file or round bit file and simply shave down around the edge of the access hole, making it large enough for the carriage bolt. Lets go ahead and install our hardware first. Well take the large, or threaded end of our bolt leader, feed it through the attachment point and out the access hole.
Then well go ahead and slide on our block and thread on our carriage bolt. Then well feed our block up into the frame followed by carriage bolt. Once we get them into the frame, well go ahead and pull them into position. Now that weve got our attachment point ready, were going to actually go ahead and push it back into the frame just exposing the pull wire that will lead onto the carriage bolt. This will make it easier to install our hitch once we have all our fasteners in place.
Now Ill go ahead and repeat the same process for our rear attachment point here on the drivers side and both attachment points on the passengers side. Now with all our hardware in place were ready to go ahead and install the hitch. Its a good idea to get an extra set of hands to help you install the hitch while you secure the fasteners. While putting the hitch up into position well feed the bolt leader through the hitch and out. Next Ill go ahead and take a socket and use it as a spacer between the frame and inner fender well to give us a little more working room when installing our hardware and fastener here on our forward attachment point. Then we can remove the pull wire, sliding on our conical tooth washer and then tightening down finger tight with the nut. Note, in cases where the hardware wants to fall back into the frame, to make it easier to hold the carriage bolt and block into position by sliding the conical tooth washer over your pull wire and into position before removing it. Now with all our hardware in place were ready to go ahead and tighten them down. Next well torque to specifications as indicated in the instructions. Now with everything tightened and torqued to specifications well go ahead and remove the socket that we used for a spacer between the frame and inner fender well, and there you have it. In just a few simple steps weve gone ahead and installed our hitch. That will complete our install of the Draw Tite hitch, part number 75746 on our 2013 Ford Escape.