Problem with Honda Pilot Trailer hitch installation.

[gh1950]

You know that guy they always accuse of being able to break an anvil? Some times I feel like "that guy".

I have a 2008 Honda Pilot that has respectable towing capacity, if only it had a hitch.

Honda, very thoughtfully, preps the automobile for installation of a hitch, including wiring. I of course managed to crap up a dead simple chore.

The Pilot is a traditional body on frame. I comes from the factory with three threaded holes in each rail. The threads are supplied by nuts welded to the inside of the box rail, how they did that I have no idea.

The idea is that you bolt up your hitch to the rails, plug in the lights, and down the road you go. Should take less than an hour. Biggest prep work is moving the muffler from its hanger and you don't really have to do that.

The holes/nuts were full of rust, and apparently the welds are not all that strong. Using one of the supplied bolts as a tap, (one half turn in, one full turn out),, numnuts (me) managed to break free one nut on each side. The hole is not big enough to pull the nut out, so now there are two nuts rattling around inside the frame. I quit before I really f'ed up something, and brought my problems before the bar of ODT.

What to do. what to do?

If I get two bolts on each side, is that safe? I'm not going to tow anything heavy, utility trailer and small boat, but I'm concerned about the next guy. Obviously the nuts are not welded very well the the frame. The hitch bolts to the cross bar at the back of the frame and I suspect in an emergency would bear most of the load. Being the slackard that I am, this is the most appealing option, but probably the least best.

If I get two bolts on each side, can I just weld the back end (closest to the front of the car) of the hitch to the frame, without screwing the frame up. I have a small welder, but overhead welds with no lift are way out of my league. I don't care if I never take the hitch off. At the end of the day the hitch is held up by 6 nuts barely tack welded to the frame.

Another wild idea I had was to weld 3 nuts to a piece of metal, and weld that to the frame, essentially putting a 1/4" washer between the the hitch and the frame, which should be inconsequential. Again, I don't know the ramifications of welding the frame.

Suggestions?

This is my "forever" car, so I would like to Bubba it up as little as possible.

 

[Hayata]

Have an '05 Pilot. Son #1 found a hitch at a junkyard, pulled it, and installed it no fuss, no muss.

Hope you can figure yours out.

 

[Treehawk]

take it to a muffler shop and have them weld it on.

 

[rockyfatcat]

Better Safe than sorry. Whats the worst that could happen? (Trailer flipping sideways down the highway sideways In rush hour traffic?). As you’ve already buggered up the welded in nuts. (If you had used a real tap, you probably wouldn't have them rolling around inside the frame).

At this point I would say take it to a pro (UHAUL?) with welding capabilities and fess up to what you did and ask for their professional opinion. As a pro they are legally liable if they let you drive away with a defective product.

They can either fix your defect and remake the original welded in secure points, or permanently weld the hitch in place. (More likely)

 

[SKEETER25]

Strength of the hitch to frame is the shear strength of the supplied bolts. If there is no way to get another nut into the frame (think a wire wrapped around a nut), then the most reasonable next step would be to weld the hitch to frame.

 

[Jambo]

Your pilot isn't body on frame, it's unibody. What passes for a frame isn't as thick as a traditional truck frame; it will be hard to weld the towing bar to the frame due to the difference. Now, with that stated, if you get two bolts PER SIDE and the two in the middle that hold the tow hitch to the internal bumper, and you don't tow very heavy trailers, you should be OK.

Before trying to put any more bolts in I would spray WD-40 in the holes and brush them out with a wire brush. You could use a .45 ACP brush, since the holes are 12mm. Not quite full size, but likely big enough. Get the rust out before shoving that bolt in there.

Now, if you want to do it RIGHT, then take the rear bumper cover off and you can probably reach the weld nuts with a long wrench. Install the hitch, reinstall the bumper cover, and you're good to go.

 

[Dan Muk]

If you have enough rust on that hardware for them to “bust out” I’d have the rear subframe and spring mounts inspected immediately! Not trying to alarm you but the rear of the first Gen pilot has a engineering flaw that does not allow moisture to evacuate and if it was ever a northern or coastal vehicle subjected to salt you may be in for a not so pleasant surprise… How do I know this you ask… I had the rear spring mounts tear off my first Gen pilot while driving and that was not a fun situation!
Note: my vehicle aside from this was utterly FANTASTIC and had over 300k on it with its first 10 years of life spent in Wisconsin. This design flaw is only subject to first Gen as far as I know so if your vehicle is second Gen 2008 manufactured it should not apply.

 

[Lifttec]

Get grip nut inserts that fit it would use your original hole and they lock in place. With the other 4 factory these would be plenty strong as they are used in industrial applications all the time.

 

[rockyfatcat]

Get grip nut inserts that fit it would use your original hole and they lock in place. With the other 4 factory these would be plenty strong as they are used in industrial applications all the time.

Grip nuts work and are not exactly designed for high torque/high stress applications. The only other thing I would do if you go this route, is to pick your grip-nut based upon the original bolt size and drill/expand the hole to accommodate the grip nut big enough to Install the original bolt.

I would never want to step the attach bolt ‘down in size‘ to fit a grip nut that fits an existing hole.

 

[bigt61]

What about drilling a hole or cutting a small enough rectangle slot in the side next to where the nuts are going into the frame

Just large enough to use a magnet and stick another nut in there with some washers

Then a corresponding bolt and tighten down like hell

Weld plates over the access holes for strength