Rusted Tow hitch removal

Anyone have an idea on how I can get this out? I am repairing surface rust in the rear bumper reinforcement bar, tow hitch bar and bumper. Ran into a problem when the tow hitch was rusted in place. Has anyone dealt with this before? I was thinking heating it up to break the bonds wouldn’t be bad. Opinions?

 

It's accessible from the back if you drop spare tire.

Lube it up, and get to pounding.....

 

Did you pull out the BFH?

 

Knock it out with a hammer.

Edit: I see 2 people have already proposed knocking it out with a hammer by the time I refreshed the thread.

 

Kroil for a couple of days, then take a sledge and drive it in a little to break the bond, kroil it some more, then put a chain on it tightly locked around the ball and insert {NOT just the ball], chain the other end to a tree and just using idle speed, pop it lightly a few times. It'll come out. Don't go nuts and give it a ton of slack or speed.

 

Hammer Time. Parachute pants optional.

 

Thank all of you, I will be working on that but in the meantime I have come across a slightly larger problem.
A bolt snapped, here are some pictures. Third photo is what it should look like. The nut looking thing on top is part of the frame so I can’t get that off. Any suggestions are great. In case you can’t tell from the photos I attempted to use a bolt extractor but my drill doesn’t have enough torque to break it loose.

 

Nope! If you're gonna do it right you've gotta have the pants!

 

If you can get two nuts on the exposed threaded portion then you should be able to turn it all the way through the top (you'll want to tighten the two nuts together then put an open ended wrench on the lower nut to turn it.) If there isn't enough thread for two nuts then you may have to purchase 2 jam nuts (low profile nuts.)

The other option is get a better drill, drill bit and/or extractor. Get a wire brush/wheel for your drill.. that area really needs to be cleaned up and spray painted. Good luck.

 

This is perfect thank you.

 

For the hitch, get some PB Blaster and spray it in there to help loosen it up. I used an electric jackhammer to get rid of mine on my old truck. Took some time.

I vowed never to leave anything in the receiver ever again.

 

Pulling the bed isn't too hard and gives you much better access to those bolts and sections of frame, you should be able to work standing up instead of on your back. My hitch bolts were also ridiculously hard to remove, but I got lucky and none broke.

 

I grew up in Cleveland and worked on a lot of rusty cars. Penetrating oil works on minor jobs, but for major rust, like that broken bolt, torches are your best hope. And it's not 100%

 

Penetrating oil....good strap (kinetic rope is even better...less jolt on truck)...good tree...drive away.

Don't let anyone stand around while you're doing it.

 

I'd use a death wheel and just cut off the welded nut, dress up the mess left behind with a flapper wheel and use a regular self locking nut.

Don't chuck up an extractor in a drill.. when that extractor breaks off, you will then have a piece of carbide stuck in the hole which you won't be able to drill out with common drill bits.

 

Some judicious use of MAP gas on the "nut" that contains the remainder of that bolt along with a pair of nuts locked on it should get it out. If the locked nuts don't work and you can get a pipe wrench in there they're handy for jobs like that. The harder you push it the harder it bites whatever is in the jaws.

 

This or big vice grips. @wdunnlee Get it good and hot first before putting any force onto it (whichever method you choose) that should come right out.

I think heat on the receiver tube is a good idea. BHF to get it moving. Big chain and very slowly driving away to finally get it out. And of course penetrating oil

 

What about putting a hitch pin in, hooking up to a heavy trailer, and just driving around on some rough roads or highways for awhile? Our roads around here are horrible. A bridge expansion joint at 70mph might do the trick!

 

Seriously. I think I could get that out with a sledge hammer.
A few good smacks from different directions, and I bet it will start to loosen up.
Once it starts wiggling, you are set.

It doesn't look to bad to me.
I've seen worse.

The worst for me are those stupid locks people put on.
They either loose the key, or the tumblers in the lock freeze up and you have to cut them off.
And cutting them off with out scratching up the receiver is not too easy.