The Easy Way To Install Tow Hooks On Your Isuzu
I found myself panicked: Just a week away from my first real trail ride with the Eastern 4-Wheelers and I had no tow hooks. I could only imagine getting stuck in a big mud hole and having to submerge myself to get a strap around the axle. After buying some after-market hooks, I climbed underneath the truck to find a good spot for them. There didn't appear to be a good, solid area for the hooks without creating some kind of extra bracket. I didn't have the time nor the tools. More panic! I went to work the next morning disappointed when...what to my wandering eyes did appear? The Rodeo that I parked next to had a tow hook in the back! I got under the truck to see how it was mounted when I realized that it was bolted to a bracket that I had been looking at on my own truck just the day before. I had wondered what the heck it was for. I checked out the front of the Rodeo and there was a hook there as well, bolted directly to the frame and, YES, I had a set of factory-installed captured nuts in the same area on my frame.....I was saved! The pair of pictures references the locations of the pre-existing holes and bracket on the passenger frame rail.
What You Need and Where To Get It
Isuzu installed these tow hooks on their Rodeos but not Amigos for some reason. Now, the difficult part became trying to find a set. After four calls to Isuzu dealers, the fifth one finally had a clue about what I was talking about and ordered two hooks for me. The same hook is used on the front and the back. The actual "hook" of the piece is twisted at a 45 degree angle so that it doesn't hit part of the frame in the front. You'll see this when you do the installation.
Two tow hooks are available from the dealer. The bent
style hook (right) tucks up against the frame and ends up dragging
less off-road. The straight style hook (left) hangs down further
but does come with an integral clip to keep your tow strap from
slipping out. A heavy rubberband will take care of this problem on
the bent tow hook without compromising ground clearance. Here's
what you need:
- 2 - Isuzu bent tow hooks, part # 94183263
- 4 - 10mm 1.25 pitch 55mm long bolts
- 4 - flat washers
- 4 - lock washers
- 1 - wrench or ratchet
- blue threadlocker
Choose your Fasteners Carefully
Do not scrimp and save a few bucks on 'hardware grade' unmarked bolts. You want these tow hooks to be STRONG, otherwise they might come off, at best, stranding you, and at worst, slaying your would-be rescuer. 10mm Grade 2 bolts have a very conservative proof-rating at in the range of about 5000 lbs each -- and that's in tension, not sheer. SAE Grade 5 bolts are proof-rated at about 8000 lbs, and Grade 8 bolts are rated even higher, but are too brittle for this application. In-line pulls combine the friction between the tow hook and the frame to the total strength of the two bolts -- and that makes a great argument for limiting use of any tow hook to pulls which are reasonably in-line with the frame. If you are not using Isuzu's stock frame threads, use graded nuts to match your graded bolts. Now this may seem like a lot of caveats, but keep in mind that Isuzu factory-designed this setup to be a good fit for vehicle recovery. This setup is intended for light truck applications -- and don't try to yank that 3/4 ton Suburban that's buried axle deep in mud.What To Do
This is so simple that
even I can do it. Just locate the holes on the truck and install
the hooks. Wire brush the holes out first to clean out any old
corrosion, and maybe even tap them out to be sure that the threads
are clean. Then put blue threadlocker on the bolts and tighten
them. The pair of pictures references the locations of the
pre-existing holes and bracket on the passenger frame rail.
Nothing Is Ever Easy
Well, in a perfect world, that's all that this would take. Unfortunately, in this world, especially where I live, we have rust. After years of sloshing through rain, snow and mud without anything protecting the nuts you may find that the threads are no longer as strong as they once were. BE VERY CAREFUL when tightening your bolts. While installing the rear hook I found that, while the bolt seemed to be hard to turn, it never reached that "tightened all the way" spot. I think if I had continued turning I would've stripped the nut and found myself back to square one. When installing the front hook I did my best to get them as tight as possible without going too far, but I know the threads were weak. Tow hooks may be forced to handle high loads, and you don't want them to break off. Use your best judgement -- if you can't torque the fasteners enough to be satisfied, don't just hope they will work. The rear hook isn't as much of a problem as the front. Because the rear uses an open bracket, you could actually use a longer bolt and secure it with a nut. The front, unfortunately, goes right into the frame and there is no way to get in there with another nut. Your only fix would be to drill and tap it to the next biggest thread.The Big Test
So, off I went on my first real trail ride with the club. The trail was Pain Hill in Connecticut. Rated a 4, with mostly rocks and ONE BIG MUDHOLE. Of course, as I predicted, I found myself sitting in the middle of the mud. The guys threw a strap on the front hook and away we went. Much to my relief the hook did its job and I was pulled out easily. Of course, no one told me about the lovely smell that's encountered when mud encounters a hot muffler, but that's another story........ Please mail the Isuzu ORC Staff if you have any questions or comments about this page. |
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