Somehow I bent the tongue of this receiver pulling a large tow-behind mower with my UTV. It's supposed to look like the second picture. I can't remove the clevis pin to detach it, but maybe I can cut it off. I guess I need to clamp the tongue in something very sturdy and hit it with a hammer? Or find 6-foot long vice grips and bend it back? Any realistic ideas, or should I just cut the thing off and replace the hitch? Thanks, friends.

by tybstar

36 Comments

  1. 50sraygun

    vigorously apply different levels of Hot and Hit until it looks correct. every metal problem can ultimately be solved by some combination of Hot and Hit

  2. I’d start with an 8lb sledge hammer. Anything more than that and maybe a torch is worth just buying another.

  3. MacWhinypants

    A neighbor once told me:

    “Heat it up, beat it up”

  4. Beneficial_Trip3773

    Just because you can does not always mean you should. You are weak in the metal, and it’s not that expensive too.Simply replace it.

  5. Hopeful-Flounder-203

    Buy new. Heating and bending will fatigue the metal on an EXTREMELY important part.

  6. AlienDelarge

    You could try a big crescent wrench(like 18-24″) or a big pipe wrench. Clamp it on and put your weight into it. I’d be a little cautious continuing to use the part or the same setup without some idea as to why it bent and what would happen if it broke. 

  7. thewyred

    Presumably the attached trailer can bend it back the other way to remove it… looks like maybe you drove over a dip, so try going over a steep bump? Alternatively, how does the other end of the hitch remove from the vehicle?

    That said, bending or heating will affect weaken the metal so this is definitely something to replace.

  8. Wintonwoodlands

    A hammer 🔨 if you must but what’s the point

  9. Kind_Paper6367

    36″-48″ pipe wrench. Handle pointing straight up, then pull back.

  10. WotanSpecialist

    As a journeyman metalworker I’m going to have to disagree with the people worrying about metal fatigue. I have torched and straightened parts hundreds of times on earth moving equipment without weakness issues. In order to actually achieve meaningful fatigue the piece would have to be bent back and forth a lot of times. Beyond that, you’re using it to mow your lawn, you’re not putting anyone in danger. Heat it up, clamp a piece of something (preferably metal) in between the good part of the hitch prior to the bend, and beat it with a hammer.

  11. Amputee69

    Jackstand under the pin holding the ball, then a sledge hammer to the end. Don’t try to drive it down all at one time. Just a few decent hits, and it will go back in place. Best to have the jack stand on concrete.

  12. Middle_Stop_2750

    Get it really hot and hit it with a very heavy hammer until straight. It’s what I would do.

  13. LuckyAstronomer5052

    Me: angle grinder to cut the head off the pin. Toss it and buy new. Unbending it will be near impossible based on that picture. Maybe if you take the hitch off the truck and can get enough leverage you can get it far enough to remove the pin but that’s thick steel – not gonna be easy.

  14. I’d turn in upside down, resting the tongue against something as “anvil” and hit it with a 4 pound sledge hammer, it will take a few hundred strikes though

  15. combonickel55

    Leverage and heat, but not too much of either.

  16. FredThePlumber

    I would buy a new one. It’s cheap insurance to make sure it doesn’t break when towing.

  17. Droogs617

    I would say compromised and would deem it not road worthy. But if you’re pulling a little cart around the lawn…probably not worth straightening. Otherwise heat and hammer. Heating it will probably weaken the metal too.

  18. floofydeathmachine

    Might I suggest not using your shins? That almost never ends well.

  19. Wooden_Chipmunk4322

    My sexlexia made me think this was a completely different topic

  20. With a lot of heat and a lot of pressure. Recommend removing and putting on a vice or anvil with some heat and pounding back into shape. Or just get a new one.

  21. silentsinner-

    A friend of mine fixed his by chaining the hitch to a metal drain in his street and jacking up on the hitch.

  22. LazyMoniker

    Holy hell people it’s a hitch on a UTV, it’s already way overbuilt for whatever it’s going to be pulling.

    How big of a pipe wrench or crescent wrench ya got? 24-36” one should make it happen, maybe with a cheater pipe.

    Try not to hurt yourself though.

  23. If you have to ask…thats thick metal you wont be hammering that straight. Hydraulic press or serious heat will be required.

    Just replace it.

  24. smftexas86

    You can probably easily straighten it out with a small sledge or something, but be honest. Would you trust it after?

    I’d get a new one

  25. Heat and beat. Any friends with a forge and anvil?

  26. OutrageousAd8741

    Heat it up with a blow torch and a few wacks with a 6lb beater outta do it. People will say “you’ll weaken the metal” true but not enough to break your hitch. That looks like 3/8s to half inch thick, take it from a union ironworker that has heated and beat many many beams, joists, tools, plates, parts of machines etc, straight.

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