Some pictures of a hidden hitch for an impreza. The trailer hitch is held on by the 6 bolts that hold the rear bumper beam on. It helps to lower the exhaust by removing the rear three hangers. When putting the bolts in, keep them all loose at first so you can still move the hitch around to line things up. Also, the bumper will become loose when you take the bolts out. So eyeball the bumper skin and make sure everything is still lined up before tightening things down. I'd also inspect and clean the bolts before reusing them. Four of my original bolts were damaged from corrosion when I took them out the first time. I had to replace the bumper beam and get new bolts before I could install it. Some blue loctite when installing is probably a good idea too. I couldn't find the torque specs for those bolts, so I just brought them up to about 80ft/lbs. Right side. 3 bolts. I think there's a tie down hook here that you need to remove. Also, you'll have to remove the back two nuts holding the vapor canister on so you can move it to the side and access the front bolt with a socket. If the rubber mounts on the canister spin, don't keep cranking on them or you'll break the plastic. Get some pliers or somethign to hold the mount. (in this pic the left canister mount is missing and the right one is the rusty nut) Left side. 3 bolts. You'll have to remove a tie down hook again and also the sheetmetal bracket that holds the exhaust hanger. The exhaust hanger gets relocated to the hitch itself. There should be a hole pre-drilled. I'll take some "before" pics on my wife's car to show what the two sides look like before installing the hitch. I can also take some step by steps pics when I install the hitch on her car next. For the wiring I got a generic 5 to 4 wire converter from the auto parts store. I spliced into the wires in the taillights themselves, after the plug from the body harness. I pulled tail, brake and one turn signal from the passenger side and just ran one wire over to the other side to get the other turn signal. I left the actual converter inside the car and ran a short trailer wire extension out to the hitch. You can go through the drain plug in the bottom of the spare tire well, or just drape it out of the hatch/trunk when you're using it. I just didn't want the coverter hanging in the elements and getting corroded, it's a lot easier to just replace the extension cable if you have to.
Store bought. It's a Hidden Hitch brand. I've repainted it with some spray undercoating since it was rusting a bit. It's the same as this one.
got a link??? I want one for my wagon so I can have a hitch mounted bike carrier!! Roof top ftL considering gas mileage!
There are other places to get the same hitch, I'm not sure if this place has the best price, but this is where I found the pic. http://www.etrailer.com/pc-H~60823.htm?vehicleid=20069154
I bout that one off Kinger and plan to paint tomorrow and install soon. Any ideas on paint? I was thinking engine enamel.
Here's what I did. I stripped all the paint and rust with a wire wheel on a grinder. Cleaned very well with solvent. Put a few coats of primer and one coat of primer sealer. Two even coats of rubberized undercoating. Then two coats of black enamel. But, really, the thing is going to rust. It's exposed to so much salt, there's not much you can do short of maybe sandblasting and powder coating the thing. The undercoating is much more durable than just a coat of paint, although it doesn't fully harden, which is why I put enamel over the top of the undercoating. The more time you spend prepping and cleaning the surface, the better the paint will last.
