sik_xj

alright so i gotta drop down my hitch for a few hours, but I was wondering how i go about getting to the nuts on top of the unibody? i have never dealt with something like this, and after looking at it i decided to post here asking how to go about it, any help would be appreciated!

freegdr

factory hitch should have nut strips riveted to the uni/frame just take the bolts out

sik_xj

oh so they are riveted to the frame? I think its factory, but I dont know if it or not, I bought it with a hitch on it

freegdr

factory nut strips look like these with one rivet holding it in place

sik_xj

oh alright, that makes sense. was that an option on all years or did they just come with these strips? how hard is it to see these above the hitch?

freegdr

some xjs have them some dont and there inside the uni/fram aint gonna see them there will be a small hole in the hitch between the bolts there will be a rivet on the frame towards the bumper

sik_xj

so if i dont have that piece, im screwed then? lol

Red82

When you look under the rear of your XJ do you see the bolt heads or the bolt itself (threaded part) that are holding the hitch on?

sik_xj

its dark out now but it looks like a nuts holding the bottom of my hitch on, ill double check in the morning

Red82

If that's the case all you should have to do is wrench off those nuts (make sure and hold on to them) and pull your hitch down. That'll most likely be all you've got to do.

sik_xj

I mean how though? if they are bolts going through the unibody frame how do i hold the other side of them?

Red82

If they are in that way they should have these square pieces of metal That hold the bolts still as you crank on the nut. The bolts were fished in through the frame rail at tye bumper to get them in. Just makesure when you're reinstalling the hitch you don't push the bolts up into the frame rail cause then you'd have to fish back out.

sik_xj

so they are countersunk into the frame sort of then?

MoZee

This is what the bolts look like if you dont have the nutstrip. The bolt goes through the plate like a carriage bolt, and the the frame. If this helps any.

Red82

Thanks MoZee. That's exactly what I'm talking about. The bolt goes through that square hole and that keeps it from spinning when you tighten the nuts down.