Any ideas on how to get a rusted trailer hitch out?

[EYE_WHY]

My OBW has a hitch on the back that I neither need nor want. The problem is, the idiot that had the car before me never took the hitch out so the pin rusted on pretty good to the hitch. I can jiggle the hitch around and the pin jiggles around with it so I'm pretty sure the pin is rusted onto the hitch and not the outside receiver. I've already pounded the livin' tomatoe sauce out of it with an 8 pound maul, soaked it with PB blaster and heated it up with a propane torch. None of which worked.

 

 

Any other ideas?

[bheinen74]

drill it out

[audio_file]

opt1) buy large boat, hook 'er up, and find a long bumpy hill to climb- seems to work on many trucks that need to lose their hitch

 

opt2) find a big A** tree, attach chain, select drive, floor pedal on right (also straightens out bent unibodys quite nicely)

 

seriously . . .

opt3) i think you may have to drill the pin out, probably the easiest way to git'er dun . . . cut the ends of the pin off with a sawsall, cutting torch, plasma cutter- whatever's handy, and then use a large drill bit to drill out remainder of pin enough that it no longer holds hitch into receiver

 

good luck

chris

 

**edit** i just re-read OP, if you're not going to use the hitch, why not just unbolt the whole hitch support bracket from the unibody rails?? 4 bolts (or so) and you're good to go . . .

[backwoodsboy]

heated it up with a propane torch

 

This may be part of the problem.... I have found that propane does not heat fast enough to work well on "large" parts. By the time the outer steel is hot enough to expand... so is the part that you are trying to remove.

:-\

 

Try MAPP gas. .....and +1 for the "tie it to the tree and drive"

 

.... but go gently.

[EYE_WHY]

I would go the tree route except that its the pin that is rusted in, not the hitch itself. The hitch moves around freely inside but the damn pin is rusted to it.

[CNY_Dave]

Hmmm, heat's going to be of limited use, because as you heat the pin it will get tighter in the hitch, but if you get it all hot you might be able to cool the pin very fast, which might create a small gap that will wick up some PB Blaster, or better yet, kroil.

 

You could weld some more metal to the pin (for leverage) and try and rotate it, just a little will let freeing oil creep in.

 

Maybe someone really good with an acetylene torch could cut the pin down enough that the whole hitch would slide out with the pin still in place. It'd be using the torch to divot the pin bit by bit.

 

You could pull the whole shebang, cut the pin flush on both sides, and drill it out with a drill press. You might be able to drill it out without a drill press, but that'd be slow and burn a few bits, I'm sure.

 

The easiest thing to do is hit it with freeing oil a coupla times a day for a week or so- try the easy way 1st.

 

 

Dave

[CNY_Dave]

You know, maybe the key is to weld something to the pin that will let you get a lot of leverage on it, like a big nut right down where it goes into the receiver.

 

Then apply a lot of torque, and when it shears it just might shear flush with the hitch.

 

Find a nut that'll just fit over the pin, cut the pin so it just protrudes from the nut, hit it with a mig welder or a gas welder (or even braze it), and turn that SOB.

 

Dave

[lostinthe202]

...Soooo as audiofile suggested, if the OP doesn't want the hitch, why not just unbolt the whole shootin' match and huck it in the trash?...

[Suzam]

If you can find a hollow pipe long enough to get leverage on the bent end of the pin and twist it loose.

 

I'm guessing the pin is hanging straight down and won't move or turn at all?

[EYE_WHY]

If you can find a hollow pipe long enough to get leverage on the bent end of the pin and twist it loose.

 

I'm guessing the pin is hanging straight down and won't move or turn at all?

 

even worse, its bent inwards facing the car.

 

 

I just want to get the hitch out because the ball is in horrible shape, I want to keep the actual receiver so I can get a new hitch. The hitch that is in right now is in un-useable condition which is why I need it out.

[bulwnkl]

Taking the whole thing off the car might make it easier to manipulate. When you were beating on it, how'd that go? I'm envisioning a heavy hammer (you said 8 lbs. didn't you?) that was not able to be swung fast enough to make a super-sharp blow, but instead was a heavy crushing blow. Is that about how it went? If the pin is rusted in there like you're saying, heavy crushing blows probably just deformed the pin a bit and locked it in there tighter. If you or someone you know has an acetylene torch, go use it. You should be able to do what you need to with a cutting tip. Be careful, though, because doing what you really need to will see you blowing molten steel and slag right back at your face and body. That's not fun if you're unprotected. You may end up having to cut the pin off and then blowing more of it out of the hole until the hitch can clear the receiver tube.

 

A drill will also work just fine, but most folks don't have the strength and patience (not to mention the will to buy the good-quality cobalt bit that's work best here) to make that work, and it'll work much better after the torch cuts off the ends of the pin.

 

If/when you go back to the hammer, remember: Very sharp, very quick blows are what will break things free. The heavy, crushing blows of a mini-sledge will make things worse in most cases if it's really, really stuck in there hard.

[subaru360]

My OBW has a hitch on the back that I neither need nor want. The problem is, the idiot that had the car before me never took the hitch out so the pin rusted on pretty good to the hitch. I can jiggle the hitch around and the pin jiggles around with it so I'm pretty sure the pin is rusted onto the hitch and not the outside receiver. I've already pounded the livin' tomatoe sauce out of it with an 8 pound maul, soaked it with PB blaster and heated it up with a propane torch. None of which worked.

 

 

Any other ideas?

 

I would cut both sides flush with a sawzall, then drill just deep enough on both sides to pull it out.

[Setright]

Have you considered chemical warfare?

 

I don't mean PB/WD...but an acid attack. It's helped many long-fingered individuals steal push-bikes in England. Not sure what acid to use though...