New here but did a lot of reading on replacing my hitch receiver. Thank you to those who have shared their experiences. The factory one rusted out and bent while I was moving my camper around the storage yard. Got really lucky.

The truck is a 2005 Excursion V10. When reading I saw that the only difference between the years was the bolt size. Earlier had m14 and later had M18. I got an excellent condition hitch off a low mileage 2000 excursion. Receiver looks like it was never used. It's free so it's for me. I know, I know....used??!?!?! Why not new??? But for the free price I couldn't pass it up.

Problem I had was once removing the unit from my 2005, I realized the 2000 unit also has smaller holes, so the M18 bolts did not fit. So I was left with the dilemma of drilling the hole out or just use m14 hardware. Dealer wants an arm and a leg for the bolts and nuts. The nuts come in pairs on a plate at 19$ a piece and the bolts are 15$ a piece.

I found a place online called Belmetric. They had m14x63mm bolts, m14 nuts and m14 fender washers. All grade 10.9. The nuts are flared locking nuts. It's 102$ for all the hardware shipped 2 day FedEx.

Has anyone else ordered from here? Where else can you source this hardware?

Joe

PS- The hitch im installing has a sticker on it that boasts the tounge weight of 1k and max tow weight of 10k.

 

You can safely drill out the holes to the larger bolt size and be just fine.

 

Thanks for the fast response! Any suggestions on what kinda bits to use? I have some black carbide but not sure if they are large enough.

 

Drill out the receiver to match the hole size in the frame, then just go down to your local Lowes / Home Depot/ Tractor Supply and get some grade 8 bolts , nuts and washers (grade 8 hardware is usually gold in color, but not always).

Doesn’t need to be that complicated.
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Couldn't find any grade 8 bolts long enough. I need at least 2.5" or 63mm. That's why I ordered them. Longest ones I found were 2". Grade 8 is ok? I thought I read grade 10.9 was used from the factory.

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I'd just make the hole a little larger with an air grinder or stepped bit and repaint. Good to go

 

10.9 is a metric rating whereas grade 8 is an SAE rating. The two are virtually identical in strength. Think of 10.9 as a 13mm socket and grade 8 as a 1/2-inch socket, pretty much the same, not exactly the same, but pretty much.

So yes, grade 8 hardware is just fine as a replacement for 10.9 hardware.

Post edit: Heres a link to a couple of business explaining the bolt grading if you don't wanna believe some random internet stranger.
https://www.fastenermart.com/understanding-fastener-grades-and-classes.html

https://www.aatprod.com/understanding-the-difference-between-inch-metric-strength-grades-for-fasteners/
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