Trailer Hitch Installation - 2006 Chevy Malibu Maxx

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Today on this 2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx we will be installing Draw-Tite hitch part number 36379. And this installation will also apply for Hidden Hitch part number 90136. Okay, we are underneath the vehicle. We are actually looking at the driver side of the vehicle. I want to note that the trailer hitch, on both sides of the vehicle, is going to have two attaching points, one vertical attaching point and one horizontal attaching point. The vertical attaching point will be the rearmost attaching point for the hitch. We will actually attach it to the vehicle end panel here, which is nearest the bumper. As you can see, we have an existing screw here at the lower side and then we have an open hole at the upper side. 0:37

The open hole at the top side is the one that we are going to be using as our attaching point for the trailer hitch. What we are going to be doing is, once we have the hitch up into place, we are going to be taking the 1/2 inch hex bolt, along with a conical tooth washer. We are going to be inserting it through the trailer hitch, through this hole. And we are going to be taking the 1/2 handle nut and actually feeding it from the rear side of the end panel so that the threads of the handle nut are right over the top of the hole. And we will be inserting the hex bolt this way and threading the two together, like so. And that is going to be the same on the passenger side as well. 1:18

We want to go ahead and make that attachment first. And then, we will actually use the hitch as a template to drill a hole in the bottom of the frame rail. On those holes, we are going to be feeding a carriage bolt and block through this larger access hole here at the forward side of the frame, down into position. So we are going to go ahead and now put the hitch up into position. It is a good idea having a second set of hands when putting the hitch up in position. And attach it using the handle nut and hex bolt that we showed you previously. And then we will go ahead and drill out our holes in the bottom of the frame rail. I do want to note that the vertical attaching point here, that tab does have a second hole that will go over the existing bolt and nut assembly at the bottom side of the end panel here. That is going to help you to line it up. When drilling out the hole, I am going to start with a 1/4 inch drill bit and drill that as a pilot hole. And then go ahead and continue through that with a 1/2 inch drill bit that is required for our fasteners. However, on the driver side, there is an existing 1/4 inch hole that is already in the frame rail. So, we will not need to drill the pilot hole on that side. 2:17

And now with the holes drilled, we can go ahead and start fishing our bolts and blocks into position. We are going to be using the 1/2 inch bolt leader that is provided with our installation kit to accomplish this. And to do so, we just want to take it and go ahead and feed it through the hole that we had just drilled and up the forward side of the frame, out the access hole right here. And then next we will go ahead and take the carriage block and feed it onto our bolt leader, followed by the 1/2 inch carriage bolt, which we are going to thread on to the bolt leader. And we will take and feed those through the access hole. You may need to pull the line out of your way a little bit and pull those down into place. We are just going to repeat that set up for the passenger side as well. However, if you take a look over here, your vehicle may have this fuel filler tube which is covering your access hole. And if that is the case, you want to go ahead and move it out of your way first, before fishing the bolts into the frame. Okay, and with those fasteners in place, we can go ahead and start torquing our bolts down. I would recommend torquing the bolts going down to the vertical end panel first and then followed by the bolts at the bottom of the frame last. You want to check with the directions to verify the specific torque rating for each of the bolts. 3:35

Okay, and with all of our bolts torqued down, our installation is complete. You want to make sure that over here on the passenger side, if you had removed the mounting bolt for the fuel filler tube, that you put that back into place. From the top of the receiver tube opening to the ground is going to measure 11-1/4 inches. And from the center of the pin hole to clear the rear edge of your bumper is going to be approximately 6 inches. And with that, that will conclude the installation of Draw-Tite hitch part number 36379 on a 2006 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx.

1. By: etrailer.com
2. Categories Wheels & Wings
3. Views 77
4. Added :23-Nov-10
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