Trouble Getting Bolts To Thread In - Curt C11265 Hitch On A 2009 Toyota Corolla XRS

Question:

Hi, I received my Curt C11265 hitch for my 2009 Toyota Corolla XRS. To prepare for mounting, I did some light brushing in and around the mounting holes in the cars frame, and applied some penetrating oil. The holes were actually pretty clean to start with, with very little rust in or around the holes. It really seems that the bolts are too big for the mounting holes does this sound like a familiar problem for the 2009 Corolla? I was searching for information with an employee at Menards and he found and article that suggested the 2009 needed smaller 7/16 inch, fine thread bolts. When I try to one of the bolts, it feels like theres a small amount of bite but the bolt pops right out before getting a full turn, or even half a turn. I checked both holes on the drivers side. A close look _seems_ to indicate that the threads on the bolt are just a little too wide to fit into the threads in the frame mounting nuts. I pushed a little bit, but it didnt feel right so I decided to ask what you think. If you can help, Id greatly appreciate it! Trying to make sure I dont wreck anything. Thank you.

asked by: Gary K

Expert Reply:

To tell you the truth Gary, this sounds like a very familiar problem. Especially for a slightly older car like a 2009 Corolla it is quite common the weldnuts under the vehicle to get rusty and corroded. I will add that it is highly uncommon, I would even say unheard of, for a hitch to require different bolts than what is included with the hitch hardware kit. Also, we have no record of a Corolla needing a different size bolt other than the included M12-1.25 x 30mm bolts, so we have to assume that the hardware you received is correct.

A few years back I actually installed this same Curt # C11265 hitch on my Moms 2010 Corolla and the weld nuts were extremely rusty. At first it seemed like the bolts would not thread in at all. Even after a few minutes of scraping and cleaning, the bolts would only go about 1/2 a turn at most. We ended up getting a can of PB blaster, along with a wire brush we inserted into my electric drill. I sprayed the holes with the blaster and used the wire brush (in reverse) to pull the rust out of the threaded hole. After rinse and repeating this process for about an hour we finally got each bolt to thread in all the way and we were able to torque them down.

The method above is my suggestion for trying to get the weld nuts clean. In some cases with older cars, they can become corroded to the point where the threads are not usable. In these cases the only option is to use a M12 x 1.5 thread tap to re-tap the holes. This size tap is included with our tap and die set # PT43FR.

expert reply by: Jesse M

Gary K.

2/19/2024

In case you're reading replies, Jesse (et al) -- I just wanted to mention that I got things to work now, using a couple of wire brushes on my drill from the plumbing department at Menards, along with PB Blaster and a little grease (elbow and lithium). It got cold and snowy here for a few days, so I got delayed a bit. Thanks for your help!

Jesse M.

2/20/2024

@GaryK Thanks for sharing! I am glad to hear it worked out. Hopefully it didn't cause you too much of a headache

Gary K.

2/13/2024

Thanks so much for your quick and salient reply, Jesse! I will give it another go. I was really hesitant to damage the weld nuts, and they didn't _look_ too rusty, but with your advice in mind, I'll take a fresh look. If I can't get them in, I'll order PT43FR. (P.S. And sorry for dumb typos in my original post from my phone!)