DIY Trailer Hitch--56k No Way!

codypet · 11-05-2009, 06:32 PM

Now I know this is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I figured I'd post it in case someone wanted to install a hitch, and maybe learn from some of the mistakes I made. Personally I'm using the hitch for my bikes since I don't want to scratch my paint job with my bikes. Anyway enough with the introduction here we go.

Tools you'll need:
Flat head screwdriver
Needle Nose Pliers
9/16" Deep socket
19mm socket
10mm socket with extension
Lots of patience

If you have the draw tite hitch (which is the one I have) you'll see this in your kit.

Step 1: Jack the car up or roll up on ramps (I did the later CHOCK THE WHEELS FOR SAFETY and use your Ebrake!)

Step 2: Remove the rubber muffler harness off the body of the car (push toward the drivers side)

Step 3: Remove the heat shield bolts from above the muffler (two bolts are shown…..the third is on the other side of the muffler, even with the left bolt.) Lower the heat shield, don’t take it completely off.

Step 4: Remove the plastic pin that holds the plastic shield to the car. (Use your needle nose pliers)

Step 5: Insert the threaded backing strap into the large hole, align the thread so they align with the hole directly behind the large hole.

Step 6: Here’s the trickiest part and may be beneficial if someone helps you with this. You need to bring the hatch under the car careful that you don’t mess up the muffler…..Or the paint….or the heat shield. Make sure that the muffler mounts and rubber harness stay between the hitch and the car, and hand tighten the bolts into those threaded sockets from the backing strap you installed earlier. Once they’re located, inspect the area and ensure that you will be able to locate the muffler where it belongs and that its mount doesn’t end up below the hitch. Once you ensure that, tighten the 19mm bolts using your trusty socket. Once finished, they should look something like this.

Step 7: Take the horseshoe shaped bolt and thread it through the link hanging from the center of the car. The bolt will drop through two holes in the center of the hitch, tighten the nuts with the deep 9/16” socket. (Sorry for the fuzzy picture)

Step 8: Reattach the heat shield (don’t worry it will bend into place with the hitch there) reattach the plastic pin on the drivers side, and reattach the rubber bracket that holds the muffler to the car. Once you’re done your hitch should look like this:

Or this:

The whole thing took me about an hour and a half, made a couple of mistakes, but overall I would rate it a 1.5 out of 5 for difficulty. I hope this helps some of you guys. Good Luck!

BigBird271 · 11-17-2009, 01:17 PM

Nice DIY! I did this on my Si about two years ago works great for pulling light loads, carrying bikes and protecting your bumper from idiots that can't parallel park. Any one interested in towing should go to U-Haul and get there lighting controler it draws the power for the lights from the battery not your tail lights so you won't blow your fuses at inconvient times. A 7 pin round socket with a cover also looks better than a wiring harness hanging off the back of your car.

Rev. Nathan · 11-18-2009, 08:47 PM

Yo the manual says the Civic should not be doing any towing of any sort (then again, it says your rear row passengers shouldn't weight more than 300 pounds). Does it lug at all or feel like it's unsafe for your frame or motor?

codypet · 11-18-2009, 11:50 PM

Well I havn't pulled a trailer with the civic, but I have put the bike rack on it and didn't feel a pull. This weekend I'm going mountain biking so we'll see how it feels fully loaded. I only have 2 cars and the other is a Caravan with a carbed 2.6L 4 cyl engine with less power than this civic and it had no problem pulling a trailer. At most though I've only had the trailer and a riding lawn mower on it. I doubt I'll be doing that with the Civic though.

Frankie Figs · 11-19-2009, 08:49 AM

Would this install be the same for an Si? For some reason Im thinking that black plastic cover is different but it has been a while since I was under my car and actually payed attention to anything lol

Fishytron · 11-19-2009, 09:44 AM

great info thks

BigBird271 · 11-19-2009, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frankie Figs

Would this install be the same for an Si? For some reason Im thinking that black plastic cover is different but it has been a while since I was under my car and actually payed attention to anything lol

Unless I am missing something the instllation procedure looks the same. According to the u-haul guy the hitch for the Si is a bit different in some way. It might be the part of the bar on the right side that goes over the muffler is bigger to accomidate the slightly larger muffler of the Si. Just a guess. As far as towing goes the manual says it is possible but not recomended. The total weight of the trailer, people and cargo in the car must not exceed 1000lbs so you are not going to be pulling a 30' travel trailer or a yahat any time soon. I have pulled a 750lb boat/trailer plus my 180 lb butt and hiking gear over the mountains with no problems. Just make sure you are gear or two lower that you normally would be when going up the steep hills and don't be suprised when your gas mileage falls off a bit.

codypet · 11-19-2009, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frankie Figs

Would this install be the same for an Si? For some reason Im thinking that black plastic cover is different but it has been a while since I was under my car and actually payed attention to anything lol

I assume it would be pretty similar. They have the same part # for si and civic.

dirtbike_man15 · 02-25-2010, 11:51 PM

I did this with my car. My hitch was slightly different and had two bolts for each frame rail and the bolt for the tow loop was slightly different as well. All in all, wish I had found this before I did my install. would have saved me a lot of head ache. Good DIY post!!!

xcracer · 04-19-2010, 07:19 PM

FYI, I just installed on on my SI Coupe. Thanks for posting the installation instructions! Very helpful. Took me about 2 hours, but most of that time was spent looking for the right sockets, etc., as my tools are woefully disorganized. The install itself went pretty much to plan, but man, the rubber exhaust hanger is a PITA to get off and on!

11-05-2009, 06:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
codypet Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: MCO/Orlando Posts: 107 Rick iTrader: 1 / 100%	DIY Trailer Hitch--56k No Way! Now I know this is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I figured I'd post it in case someone wanted to install a hitch, and maybe learn from some of the mistakes I made. Personally I'm using the hitch for my bikes since I don't want to scratch my paint job with my bikes. Anyway enough with the introduction here we go. Tools you'll need: Flat head screwdriver Needle Nose Pliers 9/16" Deep socket 19mm socket 10mm socket with extension Lots of patience If you have the draw tite hitch (which is the one I have) you'll see this in your kit. Step 1: Jack the car up or roll up on ramps (I did the later CHOCK THE WHEELS FOR SAFETY and use your Ebrake!) Step 2: Remove the rubber muffler harness off the body of the car (push toward the drivers side) Step 3: Remove the heat shield bolts from above the muffler (two bolts are shown…..the third is on the other side of the muffler, even with the left bolt.) Lower the heat shield, don’t take it completely off. Step 4: Remove the plastic pin that holds the plastic shield to the car. (Use your needle nose pliers) Step 5: Insert the threaded backing strap into the large hole, align the thread so they align with the hole directly behind the large hole. Step 6: Here’s the trickiest part and may be beneficial if someone helps you with this. You need to bring the hatch under the car careful that you don’t mess up the muffler…..Or the paint….or the heat shield. Make sure that the muffler mounts and rubber harness stay between the hitch and the car, and hand tighten the bolts into those threaded sockets from the backing strap you installed earlier. Once they’re located, inspect the area and ensure that you will be able to locate the muffler where it belongs and that its mount doesn’t end up below the hitch. Once you ensure that, tighten the 19mm bolts using your trusty socket. Once finished, they should look something like this. Step 7: Take the horseshoe shaped bolt and thread it through the link hanging from the center of the car. The bolt will drop through two holes in the center of the hitch, tighten the nuts with the deep 9/16” socket. (Sorry for the fuzzy picture) Step 8: Reattach the heat shield (don’t worry it will bend into place with the hitch there) reattach the plastic pin on the drivers side, and reattach the rubber bracket that holds the muffler to the car. Once you’re done your hitch should look like this: Or this: The whole thing took me about an hour and a half, made a couple of mistakes, but overall I would rate it a 1.5 out of 5 for difficulty. I hope this helps some of you guys. Good Luck!

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11-17-2009, 01:17 PM	#2 (permalink)
BigBird271 Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Scott AFB Posts: 48 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Nice DIY! I did this on my Si about two years ago works great for pulling light loads, carrying bikes and protecting your bumper from idiots that can't parallel park. Any one interested in towing should go to U-Haul and get there lighting controler it draws the power for the lights from the battery not your tail lights so you won't blow your fuses at inconvient times. A 7 pin round socket with a cover also looks better than a wiring harness hanging off the back of your car.

11-18-2009, 08:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
Rev. Nathan Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: West Hills, California Posts: 159 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Yo the manual says the Civic should not be doing any towing of any sort (then again, it says your rear row passengers shouldn't weight more than 300 pounds). Does it lug at all or feel like it's unsafe for your frame or motor?

11-18-2009, 11:50 PM	#4 (permalink)
codypet Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: MCO/Orlando Posts: 107 Rick iTrader: 1 / 100%	Well I havn't pulled a trailer with the civic, but I have put the bike rack on it and didn't feel a pull. This weekend I'm going mountain biking so we'll see how it feels fully loaded. I only have 2 cars and the other is a Caravan with a carbed 2.6L 4 cyl engine with less power than this civic and it had no problem pulling a trailer. At most though I've only had the trailer and a riding lawn mower on it. I doubt I'll be doing that with the Civic though.

11-19-2009, 08:49 AM	#5 (permalink)
Frankie Figs Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Spring Hill, FL Age: 25 Posts: 174 You can call me Mr. Figs iTrader: 1 / 100%	Would this install be the same for an Si? For some reason Im thinking that black plastic cover is different but it has been a while since I was under my car and actually payed attention to anything lol

11-19-2009, 09:44 AM	#6 (permalink)
Fishytron Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Detroit Age: 25 Posts: 726 iTrader: 0 / 0%	great info thks

02-25-2010, 11:51 PM	#9 (permalink)
dirtbike_man15 Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Kelowna, BC Posts: 5 iTrader: 0 / 0%	I did this with my car. My hitch was slightly different and had two bolts for each frame rail and the bolt for the tow loop was slightly different as well. All in all, wish I had found this before I did my install. would have saved me a lot of head ache. Good DIY post!!!

04-19-2010, 07:19 PM	#10 (permalink)
xcracer Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Wakefield MA Posts: 3 Fred iTrader: 0 / 0%	FYI, I just installed on on my SI Coupe. Thanks for posting the installation instructions! Very helpful. Took me about 2 hours, but most of that time was spent looking for the right sockets, etc., as my tools are woefully disorganized. The install itself went pretty much to plan, but man, the rubber exhaust hanger is a PITA to get off and on!