Where to hook up tow truck cable on Front of my EX???

[old mechanic]

I know that sooner later I will have to have my EX towed up onto a flatbed when it breaks down or i'm off the side of the road stuck in a snow bank somewhere! Where should the hook be placed on the FRONT of my 1992 EX to tow it up on to a flatbed or from off the side of the road???
Unless I have to I am not interested in doing the front tow hook MOD!!!
BTW: I did a search but just keep comming up with towing something from the rear of my EX!!!

 

[Alec]

I know this isn't what you want to hear, but IMO you should get a front tow hook. This is the best and safest way for people and the truck, and will come in handy if you ever need to be helped by another motorist.

This is from experience of pulling vehicles without front hooks. Hooking the frame or parts of the suspension works, but isn't nearly as safe or reliable.

 

[Jason_25]

Yeah why risk pulling from an expensive part of your vehicle when you could have towhooks that you KNOW will hold.

If you really don't want to do the towhooks, on the first gens there is a frame crossmember close to the front that the anti-sway bar bolts to that is fairly stout.

 

[chris c]

when my a4ld let go [and then caught fire] i was kinda outta luck. i just took the tow hook on my strap on hooked it into the frame. there are a few holes there. towed it about 2 miles with my 2500 series gmc [so i am sure going on a flat bed will be eaiser]. all it did was bend the plastic chin spoiler a little. with near 180k miles on the truck at that time it wasn't mcuh of a concern to me. it bent back anyway...

there are plently of places to attach to if you don't have a tow hook.

but if you know your going to need on, they are cheap and easy enough to install...

 

[old mechanic]

Thanks! I just wanted to know a few places to tow from for now! I guess the same ole spots to tow from with a 4WD are the same as a 2 WD! I have alwready made a drawing of the beefed up tow hook mod (with front reciever hitch) that I want to do! I should have said that its TOO COLD to do the mod now! LOL!!! Not that I do not want to do the mod! I always have to over do things and my planned tow mod will be over kill but thats just me! After searching and reading here for 20-30 hours I have 3 planned mods that I know I will have to do in the spring.
1- Tow hook mod. 2- Front slotted rotors with CF pads. 3- Manual hubs! Maybe more later!
If I can afford it, I will buy the slotted rotors while their on sale now!
Santa Clause!!! Do you hear me??? LOL!!!

 

[chris c]

Originally posted by old mechanic
After searching and reading here for 20-30 hours I have 3 planned mods that I know I will have to do in the spring.
1- Tow hook mod. 2- Front slotted rotors with CF pads. 3- Manual hubs! Maybe more later!
If I can afford it, I will buy the slotted rotors while their on sale now!
Santa Clause!!! Do you hear me??? LOL!!!

i have done the manuals...

i too want the slotted rotors.

i also want to do a 2" suspension lift.

it's just that my truck has 206k miles on it now... don't know how much longer it's going to be around cause i am not going to do another tranny rebuild on it...

 

[A Wise Guy]

Tow hook mod, great idea. As for getting your X up on a flatbed that is the operators problem, not yours. Many tow truck operators will pull the vehicle up onto the flatbed using the suspension. If it is not stuck in mud or anything else and free rolling this should not cause any damage. Very few operators will then secure the vehicle the propper way. Two chains in the rear with hooks in the frame, not on the rear end or any other suspension part. Two chains in the front, again with hooks in the frame not on the suspension. That is why those small elongated holes are in your frame. They are not there as a conveinent place to run your neon light power cables. Once your vehicle has four chains on it now it is time to secure them. The only way legal is with chain binders. Same rules are followed as flatbed semi drivers. Last I knew it was one binder per ton. As for the winch it can be left hooked up to the vehicles suspension but slack should be put into the cable so damage is not done to the front suspension. Furthermore, as we all know, I hope, never trust the winch to hold your load in place. Bridles, cables, and pawls have all been known to give way with no notice.

 

[old mechanic]

Originally posted by A Wise Guy
Tow hook mod, great idea. As for getting your X up on a flatbed that is the operators problem, not yours. Many tow truck operators will pull the vehicle up onto the flatbed using the suspension. If it is not stuck in mud or anything else and free rolling this should not cause any damage. Very few operators will then secure the vehicle the propper way. Two chains in the rear with hooks in the frame, not on the rear end or any other suspension part. Two chains in the front, again with hooks in the frame not on the suspension. That is why those small elongated holes are in your frame. They are not there as a conveinent place to run your neon light power cables. Once your vehicle has four chains on it now it is time to secure them. The only way legal is with chain binders. Same rules are followed as flatbed semi drivers. Last I knew it was one binder per ton. As for the winch it can be left hooked up to the vehicles suspension but slack should be put into the cable so damage is not done to the front suspension. Furthermore, as we all know, I hope, never trust the winch to hold your load in place. Bridles, cables, and pawls have all been known to give way with no notice.

LOL! It becomes MY problem when he screws something up trying to get my X off the road and on to his flatbed!!! Now its 3-5 years in court and $3500 in lawyers fees trying to prove that the tow truck operator screwed up my X!!! Then if I get lucky and they rule in your favor me, they give me the book value of the X!!! $1800??? So yes If i'm being towed I would like to know where the best place to tow my X from so that I can tell him that is where I want my X hooked up!!! It sure may solve me a lot of problems later!

 

[mhn3773]

if ur worried about that then put tow hooks on the car..freak things happen my dad used to be a tow truck driver sometimes they are blamed for damage they do sometimes not so its not there faul they wont pay anything u ask

the easier u make the truck to tow the less chance of any damage or operator error sometimes theres just no way to safely pull the car out of where it may be stuck so u get what u get i think on a 4x4 tow hooks should be the first investment u make every 4x4 i have comes with a tow hook on it..just one.but it works =) trust me lol

 

[A Wise Guy]

Originally posted by old mechanic
LOL! It becomes MY problem when he screws something up trying to get my X off the road and on to his flatbed!!! Now its 3-5 years in court and $3500 in lawyers fees trying to prove that the tow truck operator screwed up my X!!! Then if I get lucky and they rule in your favor me, they give me the book value of the X!!! $1800??? So yes If i'm being towed I would like to know where the best place to tow my X from so that I can tell him that is where I want my X hooked up!!! It sure may solve me a lot of problems later!

If you are that paranoid, rent a car dolly and tow it yourself. I know in the five years that I managed a towing company I personally never screwed up a car. Some of my drivers had and we paid for the damages. It is just good business. The worst one is the cast aluminum oil pans that are on some of the older Saabs. Wheel lifts love to eat them if the cars suspension is worn out and it lets the car bounce too easily. So yes, ****ty upkeep on a car and we paid for an oil pan. As for customers who ever tried to tell me where and how to hook up their vehicle to my truck I would tell them that the tow would cost $100,000 and hand them my gloves so their hands don't get dirty. I wouldn't want them to mess up their new truck.

 

[mhn3773]

amen to that wise guy i think its good to know where to hook up ur truck but u should just watch the guy if he starts to do it and u KNOW itl break someone then say something....but that is how they eat so most of them know how to tow a car