My 2000 X has a rusted trailer receiver and I can,t find a replacement.
i tow a 28' trailer(8000#) and do not trust the receiver. I CAN PEEL LAYERS OF STEEL off it. has anyone had this problem? My local ford dealer says the part is not available.
thanx.

 

Sure, I used to use Putnam or valley hitch quite frequently. We got the best deal on them compared to Reese, Drawtite and the others. Putnam has an XDR line which gives you a class 5 hitch rating with a 2" receiver. It's about $40 more than the class 3/4, but there is no other down side to going to it.

You have to look up a F250/350 superduty in the app guides,
Valley
82500 ( I believe this a multi fit for F150 and F250, but still a custom hitch)
82502 Class V
81760 Class IV

Putnam XDR 25230

 

The Excursion has a special receiver that is installed using shear bolts and the gas tank must be removed to replace. It is an integral part of the rear crash system and not something intended to be replaced by the user.

However I have to believe if your Ex is rear ended...the body shop can replace this item...especially since it is part of the rear BlockerBeam system...

You will likely find no aftermarket receivers listed for an Excursion...and I'm not 100% sure if the F250/350 will fit without some user modifications (i.e. not direct bolt on).

Also if you have ever looked at the F250 receiver...it is much smaller tubing than our Ex's...just an observation...

Call a different dealer or call a body shop...they HAVE TO be able to order one to replaced one that is damaged...

Come to think of it...I'd play the liability card with your dealer and bring up the BlockerBeam design and point out the fact that yours is compromised due to rust damage...

Good luck,
Joe

 

Thanks For The Help. I May Have To Sell The Truck, This Don't Sound Too Good.

 

It CAN be replaced by the user...but I think Ford intentionally made it difficult to replace since it is part of the rear BlockerBeam system...that's all...it isn't impossible...just much more difficult than what folks are used to...

How badly is it rusting?...I know you said you could peel layers...but can you see an end to the peeling?

Can you take it someplace to strip down and recoat on the truck for you?

Where do you live?

Joe.

 

Joe I Live In Nj, You Can See Rust Pushing Its Way Through The Paint And If You Stick Your Finger In The Side Of The Square Tube I Can Pull Off Big Parts Of The Steel. I Looked Up At The Bolts On The Frame And It Looks Like 1 On Each Side Is A Pin And The Other Is A Bolt. I Am Not Sure If It Is Also Welded.
Last Week I Lost The Rear Brakes And Had To Replace The Line As It Rusted Through. The Whole Frame On This Truck Looks Like It Was Not Protected,yet The Body Is In Good Condition And The Interior Is Like New.
I Have A 1997 Chevy Van I Bought New And It Has Nowhere Near The Rust That This Truck Has.

 

What part of NJ? I'm in East PA and have a friend with a shop by Long Beach Island, NJ where I do my work. If you have it available get a wire brush attachement and put it on a grinder wheel. Then you can grind down to where the good steel is without taking away any more than necessary. That should give you a good assessment of what kind of damage you're looking at. Can you take pictures of it? Keep in mind that the steel beams are pretty thick, a layer or two of steel isn't going to make a terribly large amount of difference. If memory serves well, while the Excursion is only good for 11,000 lbs, the hitch itself is rated at 12,500lbs.

Also just out of curiosity, why is the first letter of every word you type capitalized? Do you hit shift at the beginning of each word or is there something that does that automatically?

My Expedition rusted quite a bit on the hitch, pulled a layer or two of steel off with the grinder wheel and brush, nothing serious. Then I just repainted it with a flat black to aid in preventing future rusting.

If it's real bad and you're close to LBI, and you're uncomfortable doing the work yourself or want a second opinion, let me know and I can try and swing by the shop this weekend and meet you there. It'd be a bit iffy though with the holidays and all, kids, and the sort. Either way let me know, I'm sure we can figure something out, the guys there normally are pretty damned good themselves.

 

Hey quartermidget, I too am in NJ and had a good amount of grinding to do on my hitch. I agree with JaySVX, it just needs alittle TLC and some elbow grease, the hitch is pretty thick and a little suface rust shouldn't affect the performance of the hitch. Just wire brush it and spray a good coat of gloss or flat black rustolum.

Where are you in Jersey, I'm in Wharton?

 

Rather than use a grinder, try using a pneumatic needle scaler (about $75 at Harbor Freight). You can clean off all the rust scale and paint down to clean metal on both the outside of the hitch beam and the inside of the receiver tube and then give it a good coat of cold zinc galvanizing coating and then a coat of paint. You'll still have to periodically clean and paint the inside of the receiver but the cold galvanizing will considerably slow the corrosion.

Also, if you keep some kind of insert cap in the receiver, periodically remove it and flush out the dirt and salt that can be trapped by the cap.

I had the same problem on a Suburban that I previously owned and the needle scaler really did the trick.

 

Thanks Jaysvx, I Dont Know Why I Have Capitals In The First Letters.
But The Rust Is Bad It Is Real Flakey, Not Surface Rust.
I Was Hopeing To Hear From Someone Who Has Replaced It Because That Is What I Need Or I Will Have To Sell The Truck To Someone Who Dosent Tow.
Thanks Again, Mark

 

I replaced my 2000 Excursions 10,000 lbs. hitch with the 2002 Excursions 12,500 lbs. hitch. The only thing that looked different to me was the bolts that came with the 2002 version (18mm vs. 14mm). Replacing the hitch can be done but the two torque bolts need to be drilled out. For me this was a very time consuming process. I only dropped the tank about 2" or so and used magnet to retrive and place the bolts. Here's a couple pictures of the process.

14 MM bolt compared to 18 MM bolt

Bumper pulled off

Retrieving drilled out bolt and nut.

Dropping the hitch

Comparing the two

Dropping the tank

New Bolts I didn't use the torque bolts so I could take it off if I wanted to

Bolts inside frame

2002 Hitch


I hope this helps you.

 

It sounds like you may have gotten a hurricane damaged X. If the rust is that bad on the underneath but not evident elswhere that may be the case. I would be nervous of what wiring damage has or may occur. Havng your brake lines rust out while the rest of the truck seems mint is a bad omen, imo.

 

The MSRP on the 2000 hitch is $346.23 while the MSRP on the 2002 hitch is $499.42. However, I am not sure if the price difference is because of the differences in the bolt sizes. You should be able to find it cheaper at the www.powerstrokeshop.com.

I got this from Ben at Powerstrokeshop.com - PSD and Ford Superduty Parts when I was inquiring about the size difference in the bolts. I believe that you are right about the bolts. The following part #'s will help upgrade your hitch. W708082-S426 (qty. 6) W707796-S427 (qty. 4) and 1C7Z17758AA (qty. 2). I didn't want to use the torque bolts so I used a total of 8 of the W708082-S426.

 

78 southwind, thank you for the info and pictures that was great! I am ordering a new receiver and it looks like i will keep the truck.

Thanks to everyone who helped me.
Mark

 

Be patient with this job drilling out the bolts is very time consuming and frustrating. I got to a point where it was very difficult drilling out the last small portion of the bolts, so I decided to put a jack under the shaft (picture #4) that was connected to the hitch and slowly jack the shaft up putting enough strain on the bolts to snap them.

You also might want to check to see if someone has a used hitch available. I found a used one that had never been installed with the 18 MM bolts for $50. So I couldn't pass it up.