Tow hooks provide recovery points, an extremely useful capability for any vehicle that ventures off-road. In order to give them enough strength to withstand the strain of recovery, you must securely mount tow hooks to the metal bumper of the Jeep. This requires removing the plastic front bumper cover and cutting access holes into the cover for the tow hooks.
Remove the factory air dam on the bottom of the JK's front bumper by removing the four plastic screws on the front of the air dam with a Phillips screwdriver, then removing the two screws on the bottom. Set the air dam aside.
Remove the four bumper mounting bolts underneath the Jeep, on the inside of the front bumper, with a 18mm socket. Then remove the four outer bolts from the front of the vehicle. Remove the backing plates that the bolts secured, then remove the front bumper cover. If your JK has fog lights, use needle-nose pliers to disconnect the fog light connections before you pull the bumper cover completely off the Jeep.
Remove the two plastic screws that hold the top plastic cover, using a Phillips screwdriver. Remove the front grille. Locate the front bumper shock absorbers that extend from the front bumper. The factory tow hooks mount to the four holes around the two shock absorbers with hardware included in the kit.
Use a Sawzall to cut out spacers on the top of the bumper cover for the tow hooks. Since front tow hooks come installed on some models of the JK, the front bumper has square depressions where the hooks would normally sit. Remount the front bumper by resecuring the four internal and four external bolts, then reattach the bumper cover.
