Factory OEM trailer hitch class II

[robert574]

Has anyone installed an oem (factory Lincoln) class II trailer hitch on an MKX or a 2019-2022 Nautilus? I'm only talking about the oem hitch and not aftermarket. I can see one on ebay and it looks like the hitch has crimp nuts in its frame so the bolts only go in from the outside with no need for the bolt wires they use to snake the bolts through the car frame.

I'm asking this because I had the oem hitch on my 2018 MKX and I'm purchasing a used 2020 Nautilus and they both use the same hitch. I have a chance to take the hitch off my old car (which is about 45 minutes away) and swap it to the Nautilus later. The dealer has confirmed they are the same but no info on installation.

In that case, it looks like the arms on the hitch would slide inside the car frame and you put the bolts through the car frame and into the hitch maybe.

Anyone?

 

[gfdublin]

I know nothing of this but I do recall reading or seeing that some modification, removal, or replacement, of rear body/appearance items in the rear bumper area were required. I don't know if that is true or not. There are very knowledgeable people on this board. I'm sure you'll get some help.

 

[robert574]

Yes, you are correct. There is a long silver panel that goes around the exhaust tips at each end and has an opening for the factory hitch to stick out. The factory hitch sits much higher than an aftermarket hitch that comes out underneath. This is the hitch on the 2018 MKX (the only pic I have). Note the exhast tip at the far right. I don't have a picture with the entire bumper or panel. You have to remove the long black strip across the bottom and leave it off. I really like this hitch. I towed a backhoe on a trailer with it once with the 3.7L V6. I think that would keep the turbo spinning on a Nautilus.

Edit: Spoke to service and accessories, they haven't done one in a while, but the hitch does slide into the car unibody from the back (not like aftermarket that go on the outside) and they said the rear bumper has to come off.

I guess I need to know the procedure to remove the rear bumper. My old 2018 MKX was damaged in an accident and now is parked in a yard. They are letting me remove and swap parts to the 2020 Nautilus and Lincoln Service and Parts say they are interchangeable. I just need to make sure I know what to do and have the tools. I can remove the rear bumper on the Nautilus before I leave so I'll have that experience at least and put the hitch and parts in the Nautilus and finish it back home.

Also, my 18" spoke wheels came off a 2018 Premier (nice wheels) and I think I will swap them with the 20" Nautilus wheels and tires. The MKX only has 15K miles on it, the tires aren't worn much.



Found a picture of the factory class 3 hitch

 

[robert574]

The saga continues.... The dealer doesn't have any info on the hitch replacement, but they do on removing the bumper. The other thing is that I would only need to drop the black plastic part of the bumper just below the red strips (not sure if those are lights), and the hitch would slide in. I had better luck on ebay looking at bumpers for sale and pictures. There are 2 versions of that lower piece and one has the holes for auto parking sensors. It looks like there are 2 screws and bracket at the ends from the top of the seam (red arrows) and a lot of snap tabs across. I don't have the parking sensors on the 2018 MKX (donor) and I'm still on a search for a newer Nautilus. Parts will interchange to a 2023, but Weathertech says my floor mats only fit up to 2022 (sigh, I love those mats).

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[MattMacMan]

Its more than just a lower valance swap on the bumper. You will also need a wiring harness that has connectors for a second kick sensor for the liftgate. Vehicles equipped with the tow package from the factory will have 2 liftgate kick sensors, one on either side of the hitch between the receiver and exhaust. And programming will need done for the trailer settings in the APIM and IPC.

 

[robert574]

Thanks, that's a good point, forgot about the kick sensors. So there's 2 with the hitch. That means I have to swap the black half of the bumper between the two cars. sigh. and reprogram it (dealer I guess). I'm still looking for the next car and very few have the hitch. I'm holding one on CarMax without a hitch and the dealer's looking for one. I'l like to have a 2023 Nautilus (last year for the class 3 hitch and 2.7L 6 cyl). I would have bought a new one otherwise. You messed up, Ford.

I can't find a picture with sensors (inside view of lower bumper panel). Which holes in this one are for kick sensors? (I think it's the correct panel)




Here's another complete bumper with wiring off ebay. I still can't figure where the kick sensors are located exactly. I'm getting the feeling this is going to be a much bigger project than I thought.

 

[MattMacMan]

Thanks, good point, forgot about the kick sensors. I could remove either the entire bumper or the black lower panel and slide the hitch out of the MKX, then remove the silver cover from the Nautilus and swap only that with the MKX and put the original black cover or bumper back on the MKX so all the sensors are original and bring the rest home. I think the dealership cut an opening in my MKX black panel when they installed the hitch and didn't replace it. I could do the same with the one on the Nautilus. That's all stuff I need to be aware of before I go. I always did the kick only from the left side and never tried it from the right. I would be ok with just the left if that's how it is. Left and right hmmm....

I can't find a picture with sensors (inside view of lower bumper panel). Which holes in this one are for kick sensors? (I think it's the correct panel)

View attachment 23835

Without the hitch the sensor is in the middle. So it wouldnt work at all with 1. Plus youll want the harness which has 2 connectors so leaving one open to the elements isnt the brightest idea. Plus youll have redundancy if one kick sensor fails. Id recommend taking both.

 

[robert574]

I edited the message above. How would the car act if a single kick sensor panel was replaced with a dual senor one? Would it still run ok? Where would the error show up?

Also, do the taillights have to come out to remove the bumper I don't see any screws on the top edge of this one.

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[robert574]

I would like to find a 2022 or 2023 low mileage Nautilus (reserve,white,beige). I'm looking everywhere, dealers, carmax and carvan. It's a slow go. I don't know why this couldn't be easier. I wanted the 6 cyl 2.7L engine and Ford dropped it in '24 and the class 3 tow package.

 

[MattMacMan]

I would like to find a 2022 or 2023 low mileage Nautilus (reserve,white,beige). I'm looking everywhere, dealers, carmax and carvan. It's a slow go. I don't know why this couldn't be easier. I wanted the 6 cyl 2.7L engine and Ford dropped it in '24 and the class 3 tow package.

Yeah when I heard the 24MY wasnt going to have the 2.7L I just ordered my 23 BL. Couldnt be happier.

 

[Jacyte]

Yeah when I heard the 24MY wasnt going to have the 2.7L I just ordered my 23 BL. Couldnt be happier.

I ALMOST went for a 23 or a lower trim aviator for the same reason. After some thought though I decided to give it a go since I really don't like the 8F57 trans and its 7 speed gimped evolution. The eCVT was the only reason I decided to go with the nautilus and I'm pretty glad I did. The aviator would be awesome but at the price I needed to be within i would have given up a lot that I wanted.. The GT would have been used most likely and is a plugin hybrid.

 

[MattMacMan]

I ALMOST went for a 23 or a lower trim aviator for the same reason. After some thought though I decided to give it a go since I really don't like the 8F57 trans and its 7 speed gimped evolution. The eCVT was the only reason I decided to go with the nautilus and I'm pretty glad I did. The aviator would be awesome but at the price I needed to be within i would have given up a lot that I wanted.. The GT would have been used most likely and is a plugin hybrid.

The 8F57 Trans has been rock solid to me. alot of people complain about the 6F35 in the Fusion/MKZ too. It all comes down to maintenance. I change the trans fluids in all of our vehicles every 25,000 miles and never had an issue with any of them. Working at a Ford dealership in the service department has shown me time and time and time again what happens when you don't change the fluids. I personally just drain and fill the fluid. Don't flush it. Flushing puts unnatural pressures on gaskets filters and valves. Things can get damaged that way. Not changing fluids, well that speaks for itself. When the fluid is so bad it becomes a grease, its definitely no longer doing its job. Fresh fluid every 25,000 (and it only replaces about 65% of whats in there every time but thats ok), does a world of wonders with no damage. If you want to fully change it, youll have to drain and fill, drive 500 miles, drain and fill then do it one more time to mix it enough to dilute it. Prohibitively expensive and doesnt gain you any less wear and tear.

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[Jacyte]

The 8F57 Trans has been rock solid to me. alot of people complain about the 6F35 in the Fusion/MKZ too. It all comes down to maintenance. I change the trans fluids in all of our vehicles every 25,000 miles and never had an issue with any of them. Working at a Ford dealership in the service department has shown me time and time and time again what happens when you don't change the fluids. I personally just drain and fill the fluid. Don't flush it. Flushing puts unnatural pressures on gaskets filters and valves. Things can get damaged that way. Not changing fluids, well that speaks for itself. When the fluid is so bad it becomes a grease, its definitely no longer doing its job. Fresh fluid every 25,000 (and it only replaces about 65% of whats in there every time but thats ok), does a world of wonders with no damage. If you want to fully change it, youll have to drain and fill, drive 500 miles, drain and fill then do it one more time to mix it enough to dilute it. Prohibitively expensive and doesnt gain you any less wear and tear.

I wouldn't expect the 8F57 to fail completely. It was just very poorly programmed by Ford. it also has extreme torque limits in 1st and 2nd gears. Not sure if its just a weak design or Ford was worried about warranty claims. The 6F35 is a much lighter duty transmission, the 6F55 was the heavier model used in the Sport models and it was pretty good but a bit harsh shifting. 25k mile fluid changes is pretty extreme and if it was necessary I definitely wouldn't want to own that vehicle. Its good insurance for a long lasting transmission but seems like waaay too much hassle for me. I don't even keep my vehicles long enough for 1 transmission fluid change in the recommended intervals.

 

[MattMacMan]

I wouldn't expect the 8F57 to fail completely. It was just very poorly programmed by Ford. it also has extreme torque limits in 1st and 2nd gears. Not sure if its just a weak design or Ford was worried about warranty claims. The 6F35 is a much lighter duty transmission, the 6F55 was the heavier model used in the Sport models and it was pretty good but a bit harsh shifting. 25k mile fluid changes is pretty extreme and if it was necessary I definitely wouldn't want to own that vehicle. Its good insurance for a long lasting transmission but seems like waaay too much hassle for me. I don't even keep my vehicles long enough for 1 transmission fluid change in the recommended intervals.

Anything over 50,000 is not enough fluid changes IMHO. Fluid is so much cheaper than a new transmission let alone labor for installing it. Im perfectly ok changing the fluid earlier. Its cheap insurance, plus I get it done while Im at work so its of no effort on my part, and no inconvenience.

 

[robert574]

Yeah when I heard the 24MY wasnt going to have the 2.7L I just ordered my 23 BL. Couldnt be happier.

Well, I just bought a 2022 Nautilus, 2.7L, with tow package and 56K mi. The interior and exterior are near perfect. Got it from an Infinity dealer a couple of hours away.
The only issue was that there was moisture in both the front head lights. I never had that happen in my MKX and I ended up having to replace my headlights in my Toyota because of it. My Lincoln parts guy said the light assemblies were $1600 apiece. The dealer said they would make it right with me even if they had to replace them and gave me a signed agreement.
I just got back with it (looks good in the driveway) and my brother called saying that he thinks the assemblies are vented and it only happened because they sprayed them down with cold water on a humid day. To me that would be any time it rained outside.

Does anyone know about how sealed the headlight assemblies are supposed to be? It just doesn't sound right that they should breathe or have moisture in them. Again, I never saw this in my MKX.

Edit: It's the next morning and they are clear (here in FL). I read where they are supposed to be vented. I think this also happened right after they did some detailing to the car while I was there. There is some light dust on the back of the headlight assemblies so they didn't spray water right on them from the rear.

 

[MattMacMan]

Well, I just bought a 2022 Nautilus, 2.7L, with tow package and 56K mi. The interior and exterior are near perfect. Got it from an Infinity dealer a couple of hours away.
The only issue was that there was moisture in both the front head lights. I never had that happen in my MKX and I ended up having to replace my headlights in my Toyota because of it. My Lincoln parts guy said the light assemblies were $1600 apiece. The dealer said they would make it right with me even if they had to replace them and gave me a signed agreement.
I just got back with it (looks good in the driveway) and my brother called saying that he thinks the assemblies are vented and it only happened because they sprayed them down with cold water on a humid day. To me that would be any time it rained outside.

Does anyone know about how sealed the headlight assemblies are supposed to be? It just doesn't sound right that they should breathe or have moisture in them. Again, I never saw this in my MKX.

Edit: It's the next morning and they are clear (here in FL). I read where they are supposed to be vented. I think this also happened right after they did some detailing to the car while I was there. There is some light dust on the back of the headlight assemblies so they didn't spray water right on them from the rear.

View attachment 23912
View attachment 23913

Yeah so actual visible droplets of water on the inside is not good. but extremely fine droplets like shown in these pictures is actually ok. Should wait 24 hours to see if it goes away.

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[robert574]

So far so good, I just looked, it's raining right now and they are both still clear. It's a 2022 and the inside and outside are perfect, not a scratch. I like it.

I had looked for a car for couple of weeks with no luck and then got an email from Sam's discount saying they could help find a car. They showed a wider area of cars and that's how I found this one and also got me a $1250 discount off the price. I wish I knew about them quicker. I found the car the next day using them.

 

[MattMacMan]

So far so good, I just looked, it's raining right now and they are both still clear. It's a 2022 and the inside and outside are perfect, not a scratch. I like it.

I had looked for a car for couple of weeks with no luck and then got an email from Sam's discount saying they could help find a car. They showed a wider area of cars and that's how I found this one and also got me a $1250 discount off the price. I wish I knew about them quicker. I found the car the next day using them.

thats good to hear! But yes for future reference, full blown water droplets or visible water pooling up is a no go. Replace the headlight assembly. A super fine mist or fog is normal after a high humidity situation like a carwash while the headlight assemblies equalize moisture through the ventilation system.