Curtis
Explorer Addict
- Joined
- November 15, 2001
- Messages
- 1,685
- Reaction score
- 11
- City, State
- Orlando, FL
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 04 XLT 4x4
I've been wanting tow hooks for a while now to my 04' and the recent thread on the board got me in action.
This procedure should be the same for all 3rd gens.
I purchased a set of hooks from an 03 F-150 on eBay for $20 shipped
That body style went from 97 - 03 so there should be plenty of hooks out there.
These things are huge. Much bigger than I had pictured. They must weigh 5 lbs each.
They were in excellent shape but I sprayed them with some gloss black I had kicking around.
The hardware I got at Lowes for $10
The bolts 1/2" grade 5 and are 2" long
The serrated bolts work great because you cannot get a wrench up into the chassis unless you plan to loosen the bumper and I didn't want to do that.
Total - $30
The first thing you need to do is remove the tow hook covers in your lower bumper.
Look up under the bumper and you'll see the 2 clips that hold in each cover.
Use a small screw driver or something similar to push the pin up through the middle. It might pop out. Once pushed up the rest of the clip can be pushed up through the hole. Once they are out you can remove the cover from behind the bumper. It just pulls out.
Put a nut up through the elongated hole and using the small screw driver again position it over the rear hole in the chassis.
Put your finger up in the elongated hole to hold the nut and thread the bold in a few turns.
Slide the tow hook in from the front and loop it over that bolt. If you put downward pressure on the bolt as you turn it in by hand the nut on top wont move.
Now you can put the other nut up though the elongated hole and position it using a small screwdriver and with your finger up though again you can thread the second bolt.
Us a 3/4 socket to tighten each bolt and you're done. Repeat on the other side. The whole process took me less than 30 minutes including putting away the tools and washing the truck after.
This procedure should be the same for all 3rd gens.
I purchased a set of hooks from an 03 F-150 on eBay for $20 shipped
That body style went from 97 - 03 so there should be plenty of hooks out there.
These things are huge. Much bigger than I had pictured. They must weigh 5 lbs each.
They were in excellent shape but I sprayed them with some gloss black I had kicking around.
The hardware I got at Lowes for $10
The bolts 1/2" grade 5 and are 2" long
The serrated bolts work great because you cannot get a wrench up into the chassis unless you plan to loosen the bumper and I didn't want to do that.
Total - $30
The first thing you need to do is remove the tow hook covers in your lower bumper.
Look up under the bumper and you'll see the 2 clips that hold in each cover.
Use a small screw driver or something similar to push the pin up through the middle. It might pop out. Once pushed up the rest of the clip can be pushed up through the hole. Once they are out you can remove the cover from behind the bumper. It just pulls out.
Put a nut up through the elongated hole and using the small screw driver again position it over the rear hole in the chassis.
Put your finger up in the elongated hole to hold the nut and thread the bold in a few turns.
Slide the tow hook in from the front and loop it over that bolt. If you put downward pressure on the bolt as you turn it in by hand the nut on top wont move.
Now you can put the other nut up though the elongated hole and position it using a small screwdriver and with your finger up though again you can thread the second bolt.
Us a 3/4 socket to tighten each bolt and you're done. Repeat on the other side. The whole process took me less than 30 minutes including putting away the tools and washing the truck after.
