So i will take a few pictures tomorrow morning, but I did a paint drawing to give you guys an idea of what it is going. The drawing is much more extreme than the actual issue, but you get the idea. The right side frame rail for the last 3-4 inches of the frame is bent down slightly, most likely due to the fact that some one bent the hitch down somehow.

I am looking to mount up a new frame mounted hitch and I need the frame to be straight there so the hitch fits well. How do you think I should go about straightening that few inches of the frame..the top and sides look great as well as the other side.

Thanks!

 

If it is SEVERLY bent your going to have to throw some heat at it and bend it back. Was the hitch welded or bolted on?

I will wait for your pics for a full assessment. However, if you have to heat it, do so slowly and thoroughly (not one spot at a time). Once it is bent back do not cool it off. Rapid cooling will leave you with a brittle spot in your frame that will inevitably crack.

 

Yeah my first thought was get some heat on it and bend it, just wasn't sure if that was a good option. I'll snap a picture first thing in the morning when its light out.

 

Typically not. A lot of guys get carried away and run straight for the torch. Most times it can be bent back cold.

 

Heat is generally not good for your frame - I would just beat it back into place with a BFH. I had to do that on my old Datsun pickup way back in the day - we bent it quite a bit worse than your pic shows pulling it out of the mud with no bumper attached. I just got up underneath it and beat on it and beat on it until it was close and then bolted on a bumper. Never had another problem.

From your drawing, another thing you might try is to use a very large crescent wrench to bend it back.

This is not a big deal IMO. That part of the frame is not critical, don't sweat it if it's not perfect.

 

I once used a bottle jack on a stack of scrap lumber to do the trick, but I like jas88's BFH idea better. It's always more enjoyable to beat the crap out of something!

 

I also would not heat it. Getting any metal that hot will affect its properties, and at the very least will be easier to bend in the future. I wonder how they did that, I use my frame mounted hitch in the truck pulls, and I have yet to bend my frame....

 

Here is a picture of the frame in the back.

 

Thats not bad at all! A large hammer and something to beat against will solve that.

 

I guess i wasn't sure hitting it with a hammer would actually bend the frame. But i guess a 2x4 against the frame and hitting it with a 6lb sledge will work. I actually remember it being more severe, but after going out and taking the picture its much better than I remembered.

 

Honestly I wouldnt worry about that little bit at all. I think it looks worse than it actually is because the top of the C is bent up also. I would securely attach the new hitch and forget about it.