After my blog about my troubles with getting my hitch attached to my vehicle I got a message from one of my friends, who I used to work for at a former job. He used to be a machinist, and so when he offered his help I knew I was in good hands. I arrived early Sunday morning and he started evaluating the situation.

The plan of attack was to retap the bolt holes to expose the threads so that the bolts would catch again. We first had to hit the hardware store to get the right size tap, and then set to work getting rid of the gunk. It took a lot of time, and care, for my friend to avoid re-threading the hole with new threads, which would have made even more trouble. Eventually though we met with success.

I’m happy to report that I am now the proud owner of a car with a Class III trailer hitch, and associated bike rack (I’ll review that later). Once the bolt holes were cleaned out it was a simple matter of torquing the bolts down and re-hanging the muffler. I am so incredibly thankful for my friend and his ability to take a tough situation and make it work. Plus, I learned a lot today about how to use a tap and die tool!