Factory Tow Hook Installation (kinda long)

I just installed a used set of factory tow hooks & brackets on my '95 Sport. Everything went pretty smoothly with one exception.

The left lower lateral support bracket (the triangular one the tow hook bolts to), has three holes, two of which the tow hook bolts go through. The remaining hole at the tip of the bracket, is supposed to bolt to the frame, and I had no problem attaching that point to the right side of the vehicle.

On the left side, the steering gearbox is right above the hole in the frame with almost no clearance, and I can't see how you get a regular size bolt in there to hold the bracket (I got a little squeaker of a bolt in there, but it doesn't look very strong).

So, does that hole need to be elongated to gain more clearance from the steering box, do you grind away part of the bolt head, or is there some other way (have never seen a factory installation, what did they do)?

It appears that the majority of the load is picked up by the large bolt at the back of the bracket going through the frame (I used 9/16" dia., the largest that would fit through), as well as the three front bolts that went through the factory bumper bracket. How critical is the mounting point for the bracket location I'm having trouble with?

Thanks!

I just went out and looked at the factory bracketry on my '87 because it's been a long time since I installed it. I have about 3/8" of vertical clearance between the steering box and the frame rail. I installed the bolt through the bracket from the bottom up, which allowed me to slide the nut in the open space and then make the connection. There should be enough room for you to do the same thing, unless something has previously occurred to disturb the relationship between these parts.

Thanks for the input, tlman. I looked up into the hole, and an edge casting from the steering box is partially blocking access for the nut. Shouldn't be a problem to grind that little nub off.

Thanks again.