hitch receiver

[andym]

I'm wanting to put a hitch receiver on my PT. Is it worth the money to have the dealer install, or is it a fairly easy do-it-yourself job?

[gonzomania]

I think if I had to do it over again I would do it myself. Before you buy you might be able to down load instructions. If you have ramps and a floor jack you could probably do it.

[satellite66]

I got one for mine but have not put it on yet. I started to but it became a project so I retreated. It did not seem hard but with the one I got you had to grind out the hole in the frame to put the threaded plate in for the some of the bolts. I did not have a grinder at the time so I just put it off.

[andym]

Hey Satellite66,
Did you get one of the hitches sold by Chrysler for PTs, or an aftermarket hitch? If it's a matter of bolting it on, I can handle that, but I'm not interested in buying tools needed to grind out holes etc.
Thanx.
Andy

[satellite66]

It is a Hidden Hitch from JC Whitney. It does use the two stocks holes but it also needs a third hole for added strength and safety. I think they all do that. The hole is already there but you need to enlarge it to get the threaded plate in needed to secure the third bolt. I am going to look at it again tommorrow and if I feel ambious put it on.

[satellite66]

Okay I did it. Less than 2 hours with basic hand tools. The hardest part was the third bolt setup. That took about 30 minutes of thinking to figure out and 2 mintues to do. Mine is an 03.
I jacked up the car and placed jackstands to support it. Remove the spare tire. Remove the ground strap from the muffler 10mm. Remove the six 10mm bolts that hold up the exhaust pipes and muffler. 2 bolts at the rear of the muffler, 2 bolts at the front and 2 bolts in front of the rear axle holding the pipe. You might be able to slide the pipes off the hangers but I just removed the bolts. Remove the factory tow tie down brackets from the frame rails. 4 15mm bolts. 2 on the side and 2 on the bottom of each bracket. Now comes the part that gave me pause the last time when I gave up. On mine there was an oblong hole in the bottom of the frame rail forward from the tow bracket holes. My kit had a rectangular shaped flat piece of metal that supports the third bolt which is a carraige bolt. I had to take a round file and file just a small notch in one side of the oblong hole in the frame to allow the support to slip in. Not hard. The tricky part was putting the carriage bolt into the support when it is up there. My solution was to take a thin piece of wire. I used speaker wire. I stripped back the insulation enough so I could wrap it around the carriage bolt at the end. I pulled the wire through the support bracket, slipped the carriage bolt in first then slipped the support bracket in. Gently pull the wire and the bolt should fall into the hole in the support bracket. The kit I got came with replacement bolts instead of using the orignal bolts from the tow brackts. The new bolts are the same thread but have 16 mm heads with lock washers and flat washers. I used blue locktite and bolted everything up. I torqued the 16mm bolts to 36 ftlbs and the nut on the carriage bolt, which is 17mm to 50 ftlbs. The instructions should give you the proper specs for whatever kit you get. Reinstall the exhaust hangar bolts. The ground strap on the muffler and the spare tire and you are in business. Mine has a 200 lb tonque weight limit. More than enough for the stuff I need to carry. I put 2 of the original bolts back in the holes on the side of the frame to close them off since they are not needed anymore. I hope this helps if you decide to do it yourself. Good luck it is not that hard.
If you live around central NJ and need a hand let me know.

[andym]

Thanx "66" for your detailed description.