Question about swapping the OEM hitch onto a new car.

[Bayerische E53]

Hi Everyone,

I've currently got the OEM hitch on my X5. I just bought a new X5 and will be swapping the hitch over. My question is whether I can reuse the hardware or whether I should buy new hardware. I'm concerned the bolts will lose their strength if they are re-torqued (i.e. I'm not sure if the hardware is torque-to-yield).

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much.

[Phr3d]

can't answer torque-to-yield, etc., but given your plans, are you sure you want to pursue the swap in the first place?

vote new, me.

[e39_touring]

I installed the OEM hitch on our X5, and I don't recall any bolts being TTY. You can go ahead and reuse them.

[Bayerische E53]

Originally Posted by Phr3d

can't answer torque-to-yield, etc., but given your plans, are you sure you want to pursue the swap in the first place?

vote new, me.

Yes, I am sure I want to pursue the swap in the first place. I bought the hitch I currently have new from the dealer and personally installed it last September. In other words, the hitch is effectively new and I know it has never been compromised; making a new one redundant, unnecessary, and a waste of money.

Originally Posted by e39_touring

I installed the OEM hitch on our X5, and I don't recall any bolts being TTY. You can go ahead and reuse them.

I also don't recall any bolts being TTY. However, I want to make sure because I'm not willing to take a risk when safety is involved.

If anyone knows for sure, please chime in.

Thanks very much.

[Bayerische E53]

Still haven't been able to come up with anything.


Bump?

[Bayerische E53]

I finally got an answer and figured I'd post it so that it's out there if/when someone else has the same question (e.g. buys a used hitch from a forum member and wants to install it on his/her vehicle).

I spoke to ECS, who sells the hitch. ECS says the bolts are reusable. They also say that BMW does not sell the hitch hardware separately, leading one to believe the bolts are not one-time-use items. I, too, had seen in the EKG that the hitch components (apart from the electrical module) are not sold separately and accordingly made the same presumption. Simple enough.

Yet I was still skeptical.

I then spoke to my body shop. My body shop has installed, removed, and reinstalled multiple hitches over the years and they have never seen any hitch-related hardware that is torque-to-yield. Further, and most relevant to my question, they've never seen any reused hitch hardware fail. This is more along the lines of the type of answer I was looking for (short of a direct confirmation from the people at Westfalia who, by the way, are impossible to reach).

So there you have it. YOU CAN REUSE THE HARDWARE. I'll be removing and reinstalling the hitch and reusing the same hardware.

Hope this helps someone else out in the future.