https://www.etrailer.com/tv-Hitch-install-1995-Buick-Lesabre.aspx
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Today on this 1995 Buick LeSabre, we are going to install part number 24625 from Draw-tite. Our first step involved is actually taking out this inboard bolt right here for the energy absorber and loosening this bracket. The hitch is going to sit on top of the energy absorber and the bracket is going to sit on top of that, so that means we are going to have to take this bolt out. It gets replaced and this one here we are going to take loose, put some spacers behind it, and then put it back together. So the bracket will match the width of the hitch itself. We are going to have to do that on both sides. :30
We are looking at the drivers side then we are going to have to go over to the passenger side and do the same thing but at least it does not have an exhaust bracket there. We just have to take out the bolts on that side. We are just going to let this go, hold it out of our way. We will go back over to the passenger side. At this point we can go ahead and put the hitch up into position. What we are going to do is see what all we have to modify to put the hitch up into place. That means some rivets and the heat shield since the hitch arms have to flat on the frame itself. 1:03
And what we are going to do is use a marker and just put a line in for our arm where the hitch is going to sit. If there are any rivets between the hitch and the frame what we will do is drill them out or grind them down flat. All right, and we will do the same practice with the marker, go ahead and mark holes to drill out with using the hitch as a template. You can see where our marker lines are on the heat shield and the two rivets are right in the middle of it, so basically you will either have to grind these down flat. The heat shield can stay there, but these rivets are a little bit too thick. In our case we are going to drill them out and the heat shield will stay sandwiched between the hitch and the frame. So before we do that we are going to drill out make some pilot holes for our u bolts to attach the hitch to the frame. 1:42
All right we will go ahead and start taking out the rivets Okay before we start drilling this last one out, let us go ahead and drill these out to the proper size for our u bolts that way we do not have the heat shield flopping around while we are drilling. Then we will take out our last rivet Let us go ahead and in our u bolts. It is going to go in one existing hole, then put it through to the other side. Do the same thing back over on the passenger side. 2:21
All right, what we will do next is go ahead and put our hitch back up into position. You can see here the hitch is going to sit on top of the heat shield and then flat on the frame itself. Now we will go ahead and put our hanger in position here, so we are just going to take our bolt back out, the temporary we used just to hold the hitch up. We will go ahead and install a new bolt and some washers to take up this gap right here. Put about three washers in there, run the bolt through, and we will do that to the same bolt on the inboard side. Alright, now that we have got everything started, let us go ahead and snug all the bolts down then we will torque them down as specified in the instructions. All right and there you have it for part number 24625 from Draw-tite. etrailer.com
I decided to run some parts in brass so I could shoot good video without all the coolant running! The grip is a tricky little part. The largest drill is 1/4″ and the smallest is 2.8mm. That is the smallest size drill OSG makes with coolant through. I wasn’t sure it would be possible to do the whole thing without flipping the part to machine the other end, but I managed to get a way with cutting the final contour on the tip and parting off with the same tool. Not really how it’s supposed to be used, but it works! There is still a manual debur operation of the opening at the tip, but I set that up on the Bridgeport and it goes pretty fast.