Trailer Hitch Installation - 2009 Subaru Forester

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Today on this 2009 Subaru Forester we are going to be installing Draw-Tite hitch part number 75650 and this installation will also apply for Hidden Hitch part number 87493. The first thing we need to do is lower the exhaust down. There are four main hangers and then there is one forward hanger that we need to lower the exhaust off of. 00:20

Before we remove all five of the hangers we want to put a support strap up at the forward side of the exhaust system. We are just going to be using a basic ratchet strap to support it. To remove the exhaust off of its hangers we are just going to take a spray lubricant like WD-40 and we just want to spray down the studs of the hanger. Then we can just take a pair of pliers or a pry bar and then we can separate the two pieces. We want to repeat that for the four rear hangers and the one at the forward side as well. 00:57

With the exhaust lowered down we are looking at the driver side frame rail. We want to point out the mounting holes that we are going to be using to attach our trailer hitch to the vehicle. You see here we have got three plugs at the bottom of the frame. We are going to be removing the two forward most ones and using those as our two attaching points for our trailer hitch. We are also going to need to remove the forward attaching screw for the heat shield. Since there is not an access point for us to get inside the frame we are going to drill two 3/ 8 holes, one on each side, and file them out. What that is going to do is enlarge the hole enough for us to use it actually as an access hole as well as an attaching hole. Do a quick test fit. I am able to get our carriage bolts and blocks inside the frame with just one of the 3/ 8 holes as opposed to having to drill two. If that is the case you can stop with just one. You need to do that on both the driver and passenger sides. 02:02

With our hole enlarged we can start fishing our hardware into the frame. We are going to start by fishing the 7/ 16 hardware into the frame. I will take my 7/ 16 bolt leader and we are going to feed it through our attaching hole and back out our access hole. We will next take the 7/ 16 block and feed it onto the bolt leader followed by the 7/ 16 carriage bolt. What we are going to do is take the threads of the bolt leader and wrap them around the threads of the carriage bolt. Next we will take the block and feed it into the inside of the frame followed by the carriage bolt. Take the other end of the bolt leader and pull them into position. We will next take the 1/ 2 inch hardware and we are going to do what is called the reverse pull for this attaching point. Independent of the frame we are going to take and feed the block onto the bolt leader followed by the carriage bolt. What we are going to do is feed the carriage bolt up first followed by the block and pull them straight back down into position. We just want to repeat that set up for the passenger side attaching holes as well and then we will put our hitch up in position. 03:06

We will be attaching the hitch to the hardware using conical tooth washers and a nut. Now we have got the hardware in position. We can torque our bolts down. You want to verify with the directions the specific torque rating for each of the bolts. Now that we have got all of the bolts torqued down we just want to make sure we put our exhaust back up on all of its hangers and our installation will be complete. Now that we have got our hitch installed we are going to give you a couple of final dimensions that will 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 13-3/ 4 inches and from the center of the pin hole to clear the rear edge of the bumper is going to measure approximately 7-1/ 2 inches. With that, that will conclude the installation of Draw-Tite hitch part number 75650 on a 2009 Subaru Forester.

1. By: etrailer.com
2. Categories Wheels & Wings
3. Views 119
4. Added :30-Oct-10
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