Instaling a hitch

How hard is it to un-install a class 1 hitch and install a class 3 hitch on a 95 XJ sport. The hitches are fine but the bolts are rusted.
Anyone have done this before???

The actual changeover in itself is fairly painless. As you noted thought, rust. That will be your biggest obstacle. Fortunatey, the way the frame rail is laid out, it provides plenty of spaces to shoot some PB Blaster up into the frame and onto the nutserts/bolt plates or whatever the origional fastner is. Every day, for a week, spray the heck out of those areas.

Then, get an impact wrench. The reason I say this is because the impact wrench will break the bolt loose with less likelyhood of snapping the bolt head when you first try to unloosen them. Once they are loose, go back to a socket wrench. Tighten, then loosen, tighten, then loosen. You'll be less likey to break the bolts off, especially if there is a nutsert in the frame (on mine, there is one on each side). The others aren't as much a problem if they break off because you can just push them to the side and let them rattle in the frame rail. Not necessairly desirable, but workable.

After you get the old off, it will be just the matter of following the new hitch manufacturers instructions.

Ok, I had a Reese class III hitch on for a while and the way it is designed my departure angle was horrible! So after a year I decided to remove it and get a hidden hitch or something that would be a little tighter to the bumper....well the bolts had rusted to the nutserts and the nutserts were spinning INSIDE the frame rail!!! I don't know why but they were....
Anyways i tried just about anything to get those bolts off.
Finally my freind said he has a freind with a cutting torch. WAHLAH! In no time the bolts were cut and I was on my way to find a new hitch!

Lessen learned: Wait till you get alot of information on hitches and think about the applications before you put one on....because they can be a pain!

I agree with schwarz. Get the Hidden Hitch. I have always used them because they are well built, durable and they tuck up close to the frame and bumper to avoid departure angle problems.

If it's the original factory class 1 hitch, it uses the same nut strips as the class III, and it might not be as hard to get off as it looks. It also attaches at the rear of the body, and to the bumper. You'll probably have to torch the bolts off the bumper, but the others should come off without too much pain. If it does use the nutstrip, you can torque pretty hard on the bolts, and they'll either come off or shear, and you will still be able to get the nut strip out. If at all possible you should reuse the factory nut strip, because it's much easier to reinstall the hitch with this than with individual parts or nutserts. If you get all the bolts cleanly out of the nut strip, you won't even have to remove the rear bumper when you put on the new hitch. It's probably worthwhile even to drill out sheared bolts and retap the holes in an old one.

The new Reese hitches are almost completely behind the bumber. My old one hung under the bumper but the new one I got after being rear ended is tucked up so only the receiver is under the bumber. It is almost invisible from the rear and a much better design.