i just installed offroading lights in the holes to to the outside of my milkjugs, i have tow hooks to put in also and was wondering where people put them. i didnt want to use the same holes as the milkjugs because that would be too close to the lights. Do you guys drill your own holes for the tow hooks closer to the center of the bumper? pics please. thanks
The front tow hooks are held by the bolts on top of the bumper that hold it to the frame. The tow hook bolts will be about an inch longer than what the factory used and they thread down into the frame, which is what actually holds the tow hook bolts. Don't ever bolt tow hooks just to the bumper, they always need to be bolted to the frame.
If the bolts that come with your tow hooks aren't the right thread and you need to buy longer bolts to mount the tow hooks, make sure to only use Grade 8 bolts there. Grade 5 will work too but Grade 8 are stronger and recommended. Don't use anything else but Grade 5 or 8.
Forget the milk jugs! Those use screw holes in the bumper's sheet metal, you cannot mount tow hooks to the bumper itself as its sheet metal is simply not even close to being strong enough for tow hooks. As I thought was carefully described above, you have to mount the tow hooks via bolts that thread down through the bumper into the frame below. They are large 1/2" diameter bolts. Please read post #4 above.
Yeah, what Jerry's saying...use the top bolts that actually hold the bumper on. If they're too short, go buy new ones an inch longer in a grade 8 (it'll cost you less than $5 for them all probably). If you drill holes and attach them to your bumper, you're going to learn just how easy it is to bend and/or or rip your bumper off.
From the first picture, you don't have any milk jugs on. I believe "Milk jugs" are the plastic end caps, which you don't appear to have. Are you referring to the front bumper things? I'm not sure if they are also referred to as milk jugs also or not.
Those 2 torx bolts on top, next to the fog light in that second picture, is where the tow hook would go. I don't think there is a need to remove that front bumper jug. Well, not concerning the tow hook.
maybe it's just me...but it looks like your fog/driving lights (fog lights are yellow, dammit...) are too close to the hooks. :whistling: Having 'enabled' many other jeeps to get out of mudholes...I know if you get strapped from an angle across that light-it's going to get ripped right off the mount by the strap.
Move the lights out further to the ends of the bumper if you can...and save yourself from an 'oh sh$t' when you see one flying through the air when you have to get pulled (or YOU pull someone backwards)....
you don't always get pulled from directly in front of you!
:doh:
i got my towhooks from harborfreight, they came with bolts. how do i know if the bolts are grade 8? should they be if they are the ones that came with them/are meant for them?
i dont see any hashmarks on the head of the bolt, should i trust it being strong enough bc its made for the tow hook/upto 10,000 lbs, or should i go get grade 8 ones?
If there aren't any hash marks on the bolt and it fit the threads in your frame properly, it's not a Grade 5 or Grade 8. Only metric bolts like might have come from China where Harbor Freight gets their stuff don't have hash marks on the bolt heads and a metric bolt wouldn't have fit the threads in the frame properly.
You ABSOLUTELY cannot use bolts that aren't Grade 5 or Grade 8 (the better choice) to mount tow hooks, standard bolts are nowhere near strong enough for that purpose.
@ NHrubicon, thanks for that help i'm going to move the lights out more, i thought they looked too close, and @Jerry Bransford and FamilyGuyJeep, thanks i'm going to go out and get some grade 8 hex bolts for the tow hooks.
Take one of the torx bolts out of the bumper that is holding it to the frame and go match it up at your local hardware store. It's either 1/2"x13 or 1/2"x16, I forget. The new bolt needs to be 1" longer than what is holding the bumper on now.
Since this thread has a pretty good following of recovery related information, i'll save starting another thread:
I just ordered an under-bumper tow hitch/receiver bar that is going to necessitate removing my rear tow hooks. The hitch bar really isn't intended for recovery (and i don't plan on needing to be recovered anytime soon...), but you never know when you're going to have to help a neighbor out of a snowbank. I'll eventually replace the stock bumper and tow bar with a bumper that has integrated tow hitch and D-Rings. In the mean time though, I was planning on just strapping someone to the front hooks and pulling them out in reverse.
I'm a bit concerned that if i have to lock the front axle to pull someone out (in reverse), i'll end up putting too much force on the steering linkages and breaking something. Should i be worried about that?
It's not recommended to pull anyone in reverse...you don't have the same gearing as you do pulling them hooked to your rear reciever so you are pointed 'away'. You can damage rear axle, steering, etc. by pulling in reverse. So unless you really can't turn around, be very careful!
Thanks for the info; that's what i was worried about. If i have to pull someone before i get the one piece bumper/hitch/shackles in, i'll just try to get the strap affixed to the tow bar as close to the frame mounts as possible.
Those tow hooks are the OE Mopar hooks. They are not rated for as high of a load as many aftermarket hooks are however. I seem to recall the Mopar hooks are rated at around 8,000-8,500 lbs. or close to that, while most aftermarket hooks are something like 11,000-11,500 or thereabouts.
Yes they would work with your '97. And while they physically sit on the bumper, they are not actually bolted to the bumper itself. Their bolts, and indeed the bumper's mounting bolts too, actually only pass through the bumper to the frame underneath. So the mounting bolts (be sure to only use Grade 5 or Grade 8 bolts) are really bolted to the frame underneath, not to the bumper which is only made out of sheet metal and not strong enough to be used for retrieval purposes.
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