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Installing tow hooks.

xj1999sport

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Palmdale CA
I got tow hooks for the front and rear of my xj and its saying i need to remove both the front and rear bumper to install them which sounds completely unnecessary so i thought i'd ask you guys. Do i really have to remove my bumpers just to put tow hooks on??
 
What kind of tow hooks did you get? The XJ unit body requires reinforcement before you can mount a tow hook anywhere.

The factory front tow hook package has a bumper bracket welded to the tow hook bracket. You have to remove the bumper, replace the bumper bracket with the tow hook bracket, install the cross member reinforcement(which replaces the 2 nut clips for the bumper mount with a bracket), then reinstall the bumper on the new brackets.
Most of the aftermarket brackets require at least as much work. (some of them require you to remove the steering box bolts)

In the rear, the factory bracket bolts through the frame rail to a nut strip. The nut strip has to be installed through a hole that can only be accessed by removing the rear bumper.

If you have a hook bracket that can be installed without removing the bumper, chances are it doesn't have the bracing to safely use the hook to really pull on the Jeep.
 
I put a grill guard on mine not too long ago, and I'm pretty sure two hooks would mount in the same fasion. Basically, the guard mounts to brackets that slipped between the bumper mounts and the subframe rails, which of course required removing the bumper mount bolts.

You can get away with removing just one at a time, but I think it's easier to just pull the whole thing off, then square it up when you put it back on.
 
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