XJ/GM Tow Hookds
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By, Jason Dunaway
Rockcrawler.com
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Jason Dunaway decided that everyday tow-hooks weren't good enough for his Cherokee. He wanted GMC/Chevy truck tow hooks! Check it out.

After bashing the air-dam on my 1994 Jeep Cherokee while getting yanked out of the sand, I decided it was time for some front tow hooks. I contacted Leon Rosser Jeep about the factory tow hook brackets ($46 plus S&H), and they soon arrived.



Note: I am a novice wrench, and didn't want to get into the details of the bracket install too much. It took me about 4 hours, with 5 trips to Pep Boys for new bolts. The Kit didnt come complete with all the bolts, plus I replaced most of the pesky torx-head bolts with metric 10.9 class hex-heads. Make sure to spray any bolts you have to remove with some type of penetrating oil for several days in a row before the install.

Tow HooksThis is a picture of the new brackets (top) and the old brackets (bottom). Notice how much longer the new ones are.

I followed the directions, which are pretty straight forward. I only encountered one major hang up. There is a bolt that has to be bolted underneath the steering box, and there isnt any room! I had to grind the hole out about 1/4 of an inch towards the rear of the vehicle, and then it barely fit.






Tow HookI followed the directions, which are pretty straight forward. I only encountered one major hang up. There is a bolt that has to be bolted underneath the steering box, and there isnt any room! I had to grind the hole out about 1/4 of an inch towards the rear of the vehicle, and then it barely fit.

Here is where the bolt underneath the steering box goes. you just have to grind the hole out to make it fit! (sorry the photo is very fuzzy!)

Tow HooksHere's where the fun part is.....I used Chevy C/K tow hooks!! Thats right, the big manly ones from the late model Chevy & GMC trucks!!
First, these hooks have a 3 inch hole to hole pattern, and the Jeep factory brackets are about 1 1/2" hole to hole. I dont have a drill press, but I found a machine shop to do it for me. Then I had to cut the holes in the air dam for the hooks, and Voila!!



Tow Hooks
Here's the final product!

Tow HooksTow Hooks
They angle down slightly, even though they are mounted parallel to the ground. I mounted them upside down, so that they wouldn't be too close to the bumper, and so that the open part of the hook would face inboard (to keep the strap from slipping off during side pulls).




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