Trailer Hitch Bolt Too Big for Weld Nut on 2018 Nissan Frontier

Question:

Thank you for your response regarding my 2018 Nissan Frontier and only 5 of the bolt holes lining up. My truck is like new and has not been off road as to the underside. In addition, I did clean out the area in all 6 holes before attaching hitch. I am still having trouble with the 6th hole lining up to get the bolt started. I do not have the equipment to drill out the hole. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

asked by: Larry H

Helpful Expert Reply:

I definitely recommend installing and torquing down all 6 bolts for the Draw-Tite Trailer Hitch Receiver # 75282 on your 2018 Nissan Frontier. Using only 5 of the 6 bolts will reduce the hitch's capacity to an unknown number since it was tested and rated with all the hardware in place, potentially leading to damage and injury while also voiding the hitch's warranty.

The issue you are experiencing where it looks as if the hole isn't large enough for the bolt is actually not too uncommon. Most likely the weld nut in question on your Frontier just needs a bit of cleaning. Since the underside of your vehicle is constantly exposed to dirt and moisture, open weld nuts are prone to corrosion and gunk over time.

A good method for cleaning them out is to take a spray lubricant like WD-40 and apply it to the bolt hole, letting it sit for a minute, and then rigorously scrubbing the hole with a wire brush like # 814092. You may need to repeat the process a couple times.

I have attached a great article on exactly this subject that you can also check out. If you are still having trouble please let me know and I can look into this further but you should not need to do any drilling.

expert reply by: Chris R

Larry

1/3/2019

Chris R.

1/3/2019

If it's more of a case of the bolt hole/weld nut not lining up all the way with that last hole on the hitch, it's likely that the hitch was just slightly bent during shipping. This is completely normal. Because a hitch needs to flex with the vehicle during travel when it's mounted, they are made from a mild steel that can cause it to flex or bend during shipment or transport. There are a few different methods for correcting the bend if needed but you might first try to simply bolt up the hitch in a different manner. I recommend removing the hitch from your Frontier and attaching it again, this time threading in the troublesome bolt in question first, then going to the others. This may allow for enough movement to get all the bolts threaded enough to then torque them down properly. If you can't do this then I recommend using one of the methods outlined in the attached article to flex the hitch back into the correct position. Please again let me know if you still have issues and we can go from there!