After you try the easy ways you are left with this.

 

Dealt with the same problem last month and after several attempts, I finally managed to get mine out without cutting anything or further damage to the vehicle. Hooking up to a tree DID NOT work in my case, even though done as close to properly as possible. What I did:


Soaked it nightly with WD-40 Blue Torch. I made sure to squirt it in at all corners, as well as stick the little flex nozzle back as far as possible. I also squirted some where the pin would go to get it between.


I then beat it like a red-headed step child , using a 2# hand sledge and striking the nut beneath the hitch. This pulled it almost straight out and only took about 5 minutes of effort following the soaking. As previously mentioned, I then cleaned it out, and discovered the receiver is just generally tight on my hitch. Using a healthy dollop of anti-seize, I put a new one in place, and I'll hope that I never need to do that again.


If I were to do it again, the only thing I would consider doing differently would be hooking it up to a heavy-duty ratchet strap and tightening the strap before striking the nut. I think that extra rearward pressure would make all the difference.

 

Have you ever used a torch on someone that had penetrant on it or are you just being a keyboard ninja?

It takes it about five seconds to flare off once the flame hits it. Should you proceed with caution? Sure. Is it unsafe? No.

A ball mount coming lose after being tugged, on the other hand, can come out with enough force to go through the back window of a truck, take a man's head completely off, go out the windshield, and embed itself 6" in a pine tree. So it's important to keep some perspective.

 

I wonder if the hitch receiver is bent. If the ball only moves side to side and not up and down, then the receiver is bent. Maybe someone put a jack under the receiver and bent it. If so, the sides of the receiver need to be hit with a big hammer to reshape the
receiver.

 

Ninja ? No, obviously pirate

And no, in all my years of torching things I have never used it on someone.

 

I had the same issue, finally got tired of scraping and repainting the thing every spring, not to mention the rusted out hole! Replaced mine with a Curt hitch this last spring. PITA job, but I'm glad I did it!

 

Yes, even 5mph can be dangerous for this. Keep in mind that you are not talking about a calm event like driving into a brick wall as even with that you have a significant amount of cushioning be absorbed by the bumper system. You are stopping all of that speed in an instant. At 1/20 of a second stopping you are looking at 4.5g of acceleration. For a short period of time so it won't throw you through the windshield but is enough to give you a bloody nose.


Now apply that 4.5g to over 4 tons of truck. Is every component and the attachment made to handle 36,000 lbs? If not you have just made a very fast missile. As was mentioned people do get killed doing just this thing.


Regarding heating with a propane or butane torch this is usually a fairly mild event. The oil just boils off or is wicked inside. It does take a while for the metal to heat up. But there is a risk of a fire so have an extinguisher handy.

 

I didn't even know curt made a hitch for the ex. I do think it's a shame that ford's design is so prone to rust through on the main horizontal tube.

Edit, only $230. Not too bad. Looks like a better design for resisting corrosion than the oem version. I've wire brushed and repainted mine but it still gets rust bubbles... Will eventually rust through like many others I've seen here.
http://www.amazon.com/CURT-14011-Class-Trailer-Hitch/dp/B00L3M0RSO

 

I must've missed where it was recommended to back up and hit the end of a chain-Cable-tow strap at 5+ miles per hour? Just hook it to something solid and tighten the preferably heavy chain and give a tug and at most a very light bump from slack.
I have witnessed one of my crazier friends repeatedly back up and hit the end of a 25 foot 1/2in chain as hard as he could to pull out his brothers truck, both hooked to the receiver hitches.... He succeeded in pulling him out eventually but I wouldn't recommend trying that!

 

Mine also got the reciprocating saw treatment. I cut the tube off close to the receiver, then stuck my long blade inside and cut through the tube. Then I used chisels and prybars to fold it up on itself until I could pull it out. Came out pretty easy that way. Mine was not only rusted in there, but the idiot PO had tried to weld it in, luckily he was not a good welder, and he only tried to weld around the outside of the tube and didn't get any real penetration. If he had welded in the pin holes, or gotten a good weld on it, I would have had a much tougher time of it, haha.

 

Wen you do hook it up to a tree or something, put an old rug over the strap between the tree and the hitch. Will dampen the hitch if it starts flying somewhat.

 

i was not able to get to work on it today but will for sure do a lil bit mon or tues if i really feal like going out to buy the small hand torch and propane bottle and see if one of my neighbors have a sledge hammer laying around. If not then ill have to wait till this coming friday when i can get to a cut off torch and that sledge hammer. Thanks for all the help guys ill be testing a few of the different heating up and soaking avenues.

Another question, and i may have skimmed over it if already said but, has anyone ever tried the heating up with a torch and using (wax?) i think is what iv been told somwhere for these types of metal rusted to metal situations? It works by heating up and pushing the wax between the space or cracks and with all the heat gets sucked between the two metals and acts as a lubricant.

 

Don't bother with a hand torch. That won't do anything to heat something at large as a ball mount. Wax might work but it wouldn't be my first choice. I am skeptical that it would penetrate half as far as a penetrant oil, either home made or store bought.

 

I agree with Ranger, wax is a good lubricant but you need a good DEEP penetrant oil to get all the way into the receiver socket.
Is the stuck drawbar (ball mount) a solid or hollow bar? If it's a solid bar you will need some serious heat to get it hot along it's full length. And again, don't heat the truck mounted receiver, just the draw bar (ball mount).
Once you get the draw bar out after all of the heating and beating throw it away.

 

Just watch out for the fuel tank that is right behind the hitch.