Tow hook mounting

Where on Earth is the factory tow hook bracket supposed to mount to on the passenger's side? The forward three bolts are obvious - they replace the bumper bracket - but the rear one doesn't seem to line up with anything other than a big hole. On the driver's side it mounts to the steering box bolt, but on the passenger's side, above the sway bar, there's just a hole. It goes all the way through, no threading or anything fun like that, and it's way too big for a bolt.

This is on a '92. Thanks!

It the same on both sides. Have all the reinforcement brackets also ?

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The factory brackets shouldn't have to use a steering box bolt, and I would never use a bracket that shares a bolt with the steering box. If yours does, there's something wrong, or it is not a true factory bracket. I've done a 95 and a 99 and on neither did I need to disturb the box. If you have the right brackets and they're in the right place you should see the holes they line up with. There is a single hole in the frame that has a lateral reinforcement in it. A big bolt should go through that hole. The head of the correct bolt is a shallow torx head, and if you use a regular bolt the sway bar will probably hit it. If you must use a regular bolt it helps to grind the head down to about half height.

I would not mount a bracket that does not use the reinforced frame hole. That's the part that keeps it from tearing the front end off your Jeep. Tim's illustration above shows the diagram from a pre-97 set, and a 97-up factory set itself. As you can see, the only bolt used on the main bracket in addition to the standard bumper bolts is that big one through the reinforced hole. The added braces are largely to keep the brackets themselves from being bent up in use. If you skip the braces it won't tear your Jeep apart but off center pulling will bend the brackets. The special deep hooks shown will clear the air dam on later models. Earlier models use hooks with a shallower base, and you can use earlier hooks on a later setup if you cut the plastic air dam.

Yeah, I was wrong about the steering box bolt. After trying to fit them up, it doesn't seem like I have the reinforced hole that the rear bolt goes through. Very confusing.

Side pulls tend to bend the factory brackets anyway.

Yah, the mounting 4th mounting hole is the big one. As Matt mentioned, that hole is reinforced and designed for that purpose. That same hole exists on the drivers side also. The brackets will work with the front 3 holes, but I would use the 4th to add strength for hard pulls. You need to torque these to spec.

So that giant-ass hole I found that's way way bigger than the bolt is what goes through there? Seems like I'll need a huge-gantic washer or a plate on the other side. You guys don't happen to have a photo of what that hole looks like on your XJs, do you?

Sorry for the asinine questions, but recovery is really important to do safely, and I don't wanna screw around, you know?

TheAlmightySam said:

So that giant-ass hole I found that's way way bigger than the bolt is what goes through there? Seems like I'll need a huge-gantic washer or a plate on the other side. You guys don't happen to have a photo of what that hole looks like on your XJs, do you?

Sorry for the asinine questions, but recovery is really important to do safely, and I don't wanna screw around, you know?

Click to expand...

No, you're right to want to do it right. Now I'm not right next to my unbracketed 95, to look at the frame holes. I'm away from home, and there's a blizzard, so I'm also not going to crawl under my 99 to get the bolt location.

I don't recall that the hole was that much bigger than the bolt that goes through it. Look carefully at the frame (don't even bother to try to see how the brackets should line up yet) and look for a hole that pretty clearly has an extra internal brace from one side to the other. It shouldn't be hard to spot. It's the only reinforced hole there. I've never seen an XJ without it. It's not the big hole with the diagonal slot.

Alright, the more you guys describe it, the more it sounds like that big-ish hole is the winner. The metal is bent in (like with a dimple die) at that point, which must be the lateral reinforcement.

The help is much appreciated!