Removing trailer hitch that's rusted in the receiver

[@BigManAlaska]

Always spray the hole with PB blaster and transmission fluid. The transmission fluid stops the rust completely and PB blaster of course is a great lube. I never leave a hitch in the receiver until it's being used.

[@Ruben901]

I left mine for about 7 years and not once has it been seized. Plus, it has a good paint job so no rust issues

[@michaelv77]

I did it today by first pushing the hitch a little _IN_ first to brake the rust using a sledgehammer, then using a dull all metal chisel and a sledgehammer to push it out. I used liquid wrench spray periodically. Give it some time to soak in. Very proud of myself.:).

[@zakingstreaming7072]

2 years later, your brain and your comment saved someone's day. Took me a minute and i didn't even had a sledgehammer. Thank you very much for being smarter than I am.

[@michaelv77]

@@zakingstreaming7072 , you are welcome, and thank you for the feedback.

[@gregorykleiman2137]

I just did one too without heat and just a sledgehammer and Auto Transmission Fluid and WD 40. Took about 7 times 15 minutes to do over a couple of weeks. If you can give it time and get it to move any amount eventually it will come out. Patience and persistence is all thats needed. I scratched a mark on it so I could see movement. Hitting it in and out and side to side once you can get any movement it's days are numbered. It will move more and more even if it is only 1 mm at first it will come out eventually without the torch. Soak and hit method. Used whatever you have.

[@petemoss9693]

Hi Gordon - I had a same problem as you did but I wanted to save the old hitch - I did not want to use the torch because of the gas tank so with the help of WD 40 and a small sledge hammer it came out . . . two days later ( ha ) after getting it out I smeared anti sneeze inside the receiver - to prevent it from rusting .inside .

[@GordonRobertsonDIY]

Glad to hear yours was not as bad as mine was.

[@getdusty1]

My rusted on trailer hitch was freed ... FINALLY ... after six applications of WD-40. After failing to bang it out with a hammer, I drove it to our daughters house in the country, wrapped a large chain around her large tree at the base making sure it was completely in line with the hitch, attaching it to the hitch and it slid right out.

[@CrazyKeven3000]

Mine's stuck right in there and I considered doing this to get it out... I just don't have a tree. And don't really think i should take it to a park and use one of those trees :S

[@eliteexposure5594]

😅🤣😂 that always works!

[@normalisntcomingback.Jesusis]

@Binsk could be a fun camping activity if not alot of folks around

[@jjjsss3869]

Great camera work on the cutting torch

[@wolfpackflt670]

I just got mine out, WD-40, a sludge hammer, and 1 hour later.

[@b3a5tplumper78]

Hahahah nice

[@MJ-km2ju]

but how do you swing the hammer out? Bumper is in the way.

[@freethenorth7583]

Sledgehammer

[@mattmcrae1458]

Patient fella. Saw something for the first time. Thanks.

[@GordonRobertsonDIY]

Thanks for watching sir.

[@lokirip2372]

I used heat, I used pb blaster, I used a sledge, I hooked it up to a tree. Nothing worked til pulled up my jeep winch and put pulling tension on the truck hitch. While under tension, I soaked it in wd40 and hit it side to side and up and down with the sledge. Keeping tension and smacking it eventually it popped out.

[@swmovan]

I've got the 1¼" size hitch rusted in, on the back of my van. I have sprayed a bunch of PB Blaster on it, smacked it with a small sledge & won't move a bit. I thought I might tie a chain around a tree, pull it tight, spray more PB Blaster on it, & hit it a few more times with the sledge.

[@timjohnson6864]

@@swmovan the most recent method i used was remove the hitch put it in a hydraulic press and let it do the work

[@swmovan]

@@timjohnson6864 After spraying, & pounding on it several times, & letting it sit for several days, it had a little side to side movement. That gave me some hope. Then, I hooked it up to the back of my car, hitch to hitch, with a come-a-long. Cranked it fairly tight, spraying PB into it, & smacking it with a 5lb sledge. After several whacks, on each side, it came out.

[@timjohnson6864]

@@swmovan yea mine wasn't moving until the press and she popped loudly

[@herbertbell9438]

This might be possible with a reciprocating saw as well. Cleaning out the hole could also be done with one just by letting the teeth rake back and forth over the surfaces inside the hole. It should grind the rust off pretty good.

[@MJ-km2ju]

go through about 10 blades in the process?

[@GregoryKLauraySrCPA]

Exactly what I thought as well

[@erwinerwin1245]

I bought a bike rack that plugs into my trailer hitch receiver. However I cannot get the trailer hitch with the ball out of the receiver as due to rust. I used to always take it out every time I used my trailer once or twice a year. Then about 3 years ago I said, heck, just leave it in there, as it will be easier to use the trailer then getting the trailer hitch and shoving it into the receiver and pushing in the pin. I used WD40 for 3 days in a row and some other rust remover and then I decided to hook a wench on to a tree and then hook it up to the ball and winch out the hitch. However it would not budge and I too thought that I could damage the whole hitch were it is screwed into the body so I gave that up even though I did winch it pretty hard. Maybe I can take it to an auto garage and they can do it. Loved your video and now I know I am not the only person with this problem.. Had one soaked it with grease, would that have stopped the rust over a few years? Not sure.

[@Dastardly_X]

Nice work 🌟

[@bigbob1786]

nice touch work, don't know if the receiver was worth it?

[@GordonRobertsonDIY]

Thanks Bob, for me it's worth it, a torch is 2nd nature for me, just routine around here and thought it might be helpful to people with less torch experience to record and upload., in most cases it might be more practical to replace the whole thing.

[@regsparkes6507]

I have this problem for myself this weekend, and it's all my own stupid fault. I'm always telling folks to remove the draw bar when not using the hitch, and of course,..'the preacher did not pay attention to his own sermon this time'. so now I reap the problems with this. We live is a salt and sand winter road environment too,...remember keep the receiver clean, is the best way to avoid this problem.

[@meals24u]

Great video. Learned something. Thanks

[@GordonRobertsonDIY]

Thanks for watching.

[@oldtimer4567]

I would've soaked it down with some KROIL penetrating oil & gave it some time to soak in. Then I'd hook a chain to it & hook the other end of the chain to a big tree & gave it a few slight jerks. However, That method depends on how durable & strong the receiver hitch still look looks.

[@GordonRobertsonDIY]

I let it go too long for anything like that, besides, it made a good video for torch work. Thanks for watching.

[@leehansen4750]

Anti sieze grease will stop the rust too!

[@AdirondackNY]

you really get that camera in there

[@GordonRobertsonDIY]

Thanks for watching.

[@dalet1491]

To not have to do that again simply remove the receiver when not in use !! Some areas don't allow you to keep the receiver in when not hooked up so you need to be able to remove it fast & easy.

[@schmidtydog]

I do that with mine and it still builds up rust inside the receiver and then you have to pound the hitch in.

[@WTFIsThisGuyDoing233]

@@schmidtydog Salt belt problems. There's nothing you can do really except completely coat it in grease.

[@jerryjeromehawkins1712]

THANK YOU MY FRIEND!!!!! 👍🏾🇺🇸

[@GordonRobertsonDIY]

Thanks for watching Jerry.

[@SR-gt350]

👍 👌, buy iron out and soak a rag put in the receiver allow to sit overnight. Then spray with mixture of 1/4 acetone and 3/4 autotrans fluid.

[@alexk6745]

I wonder if I connect a trailer get to the forest, then remove the finger and drive a bit in the forest with no finger. I believe trailer should do the trick as it will do pull in all directions so that it will com off. One more thing came to mind the road should be slightly uphill so that once it got torn the trailer won't hit the car. Any thoughts?

[@taylor2105]

I thought I'd this same plan. If you ever do it, please film the result for us all

[@alexk6745]

@@taylor2105 I have not done it this way. I used big hammer. I tried soacking WD40, then vinegar. Seems nothing worked, may be it improved a bit but still. Then after 3-4 days I bought a big hummer and attached to a big tree using belts. Reversed (be careful I broke a belt) to make a tension. Then used hummer and was hitting from left and right. I was knocking for 1-2h to get first 1-2mm. then it started moving out better. I think in 2-3h I did it. I still think the idea with trailer seems better, If I had old rusty trailer for this I would try this option first. When I removed it completely I understood why it was difficult to remove the rust was so thick. I think all my attempts with vinegar did not help at all probably because I did them after I tried WD40 coz everything was oily. I tend to believe WD40 was wrong way to go. I had to use vinegar first.

[@taylor2105]

@@alexk6745 I finally got my seized hitch out too. I destroyed the hitch to remove it. Cut it off, then used a sawzall to cut the inside square apart, and a chisel to break it free in pieces. There is still rust chunks stuck in the Reciever, but I made it work again

[@alexk6745]

@@taylor2105 wow, I start to think I was lucky.

[@SupahBigg577]

You definitely wanna make sure you grease that hitch receiver and ball mount.

[@darleneslusser3750]

We got new hitch, it's really hard to get the bike rack in and out. We did grease it. Any ideas

[@GordonRobertsonDIY]

Sometimes they got too much paint on it also the cut edge that goes in the receiver might have burrs on it that need to be filed.

[@jeffchristianson-ziebell]

Holy crap- I think I’ll just buy a new hitch receiver lol

[@abdullahal-shimri3091]

I keep my hitch receiver covered with a rubber cap. I only attach the hitch when required - which is 2-3 times a year.

[@charlesrobinson5709]

Great 👍 job

[@mikehrdlicka8635]

I remember cutting those out when I worked for car dealer

[@johnheckler8184]

What does all that heat do to what ever tempering the receiver has?

[@GordonRobertsonDIY]

nothing. I've been torching and welding over 40 years. I'm still using that hitch just as I left it when I did this job. I just don't leave it in the receiver anymore when not in use. Thanks for watching.

[@regsparkes6507]

He's correct ( of course ) the hitch's draw bar is not a tempered piece of steel.

[@qi_kayon]

You sir are legend

[@joebriggs9599]

Where are you from with all that rust?

[@GordonRobertsonDIY]

In Illinois near St. Louis, Missouri.

[@JuanLara-tj8em]

Always use anti seize on the hitch

[@MJ-km2ju]

yeah well smarty pants that doesn't do anyone good that didn't know that was a thing.

[@clai123tube]

After all the trouble of cleaning out the rust, aren't you going to paint it?

[@Adamz678]

Why? You'd have to remove it, sand blast it, strip clean it, and even then it'll rust just as bad. For functionality, this won't happen again if you use grease in the receiver channel.

[@dtq73880]

I'd have used a sling blade. Some call it a kaiser blade.

[@ScottEmmert1980]

to cut the weeds around it?

[@taylor2105]

It ain't got no gas in it

[@vincentlockie2510]

Next time, hook a chain to the ball and then wrap a chain around a really strong fuckin tree somewhere on your property then tighten chain and have a friend smack it around with a sledge while u try and drive forward.

[@car24dude]

Just get it hot, hook it to another truck or a big tree and pull it out.

[@MJ-km2ju]

heat expands metal doesn't it? How would that help?

[@bmoney3502]

Use pb blaster to break those bolts

[@Hooverdarnit]

This was too painful to watch.

[@Hiperf]

I need to do this also but my luck I would cut into the reciever.

[@GordonRobertsonDIY]

That's one of the reasons I did it that way on video is to show how to use a torch that way. Thanks for watching.

[@Hiperf]

@@GordonRobertsonDIY Mine is so rusted, about 6 years ago the pin itself stopped moving. Sledge hammer wouldn't even bunge the pin. I think mine will be a battle.

[@terriwalker6705]

Has anyone tried an air hammer?

[@taylor2105]

No need when you can reach with a sledge hammer

[@samsno3667]

Why don't you try first with a sledge hammer 3, 4, 5 lb... it may loosen it up. Putting a torch there is extreme.

[@abdullahal-shimri3091]

You need a new truck grandpa.

[@confucius2616]

Pro tip, just buy a new truck

[@windegosanfelipe7612]

Ur the man

[@dw1284]

Why not just cut the ball off? Didn't make sense to waste all that time ti get it loose, then torch off whole thing.

[@kaosbc]

ahh flashbacks

[@kaseycasece1340]

YOUNG MAN , WHEN U PUT PIN BACK END PUT SMALL LOCK , PEOPLE WILL STEAL YOUT HITCH IN NEW YORK MIN.

[@regsparkes6507]

Then the darned lock seizes up too, best thing,...put the drawbar in your trunk, until you need to tow, and keep the receiver clean and clear.