need a hook

[quack]

ok ive taken off the front bumper to have a look, well there isnt really anything else.

ive taken a few photos of the places that im hoping will be ok

the first one is a bit doggy tho and not sure if itll be ok.





this would be the better on i would think. its were the bracket for the bummper is bolted to the chassis, i would need to make a small cut in the bracket to make the hook go on flat





will these be ok? if so the i can have one at both sides of the front.

i think bolting it to were the bummper is atached will be better cos the other spot is bolting on to a circle.

[geeves]

First pic definatly no go. Belive it or not that is a crumple zone.
second pic might be ok but as its different to the bighorn it would be better for a Mu owner to reply before taking the plunge. Is it accsessable with the bumper on?

[quack]

yes its accessable with the bummper on just need to cut a littl bit of the plasic bit of the bummper.

my main conern was the fact that it wont be mounted straight on, its on an angle if you know what i mean(you can see it in the pic)

will bable to make it a bit more straigter than that tho.

what do you think, becuase the steel bracket for the bumper mount is there too the overall thickness it will be bolted to will be good???

[geeves]

Hook will be stronger if you can get it straight but you frequently end up pulling at odd angles anyway. One thing though Talk to your Wof mechanic before drilling holes in the body mount bracket. sometimes they get a bit funny about things like that. Reality is that 2 12mm holes aint going to weaken the bracket but its better to discuss this sort of thing beforehand rather than after he knocks back your Wof

[caffa]

may not be a problem in the land of the long white cloud but here in OZ, the only other thing you need to be careful of is drilling in to the chassis. Here, you cannot legally drill or weld a chassis without a mod plate and the job being done by a certified entity...

[geeves]

Pretty much the same here except anyone can drill but an authourised inspecting engineer has to ok it at a cost of $400 Any welding has to be by a qualified welder.
I got caught by this one not by the drilling of 2 holes for the hook but by the welding of a plate across the c section bumper mounts on the bighorn makeing it a box section. Wof man was worried about the fact that the chassis was welded even though the welder is ticketed and known to the wof man. Certifyer said it needed certifying because of the welding and because it had strenghtaned a crumple zone (only way that was ever going to crumple was if it it hit a double thickness brick wall at great speed) Even he didnt care about the holes.
If you end up on the certification path get as many things as possible done before getting the cert as it is a single serving all you can eat fee.

[HiMuZuLux]

You won't get away with that hook on an angle... you're going to end up with more problems... My advice would be to have an engineer make a heavy (8mm) bracket that is mounted to one of the bumper side-mounts (both bolts) and maybe also goes back to the chassis... bolt mount it to avoid any problems with mr WOF man... If it costs $250 and it saves you leaving the truck in a big hole filled with mud for the night then its probably worth it.

I can't really help you with how I did it since I also ripped half the front end out and put a solid axle in as well

My 2c

Steve

[geeves]

For a mild video of what goes wrong if you dont do hooks properly try
video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8706033126307253200
There are far more graphic hook failure videos and pictures around but this gives a good idea of how a fairly slow recovery can go wrong

[quack]

'a fairly slow recovery' you say? is that the normal kinda jolt you would use? when ive been stuck so far we have hardly needed to jolt lol.

[geeves]

I had to watch the video again to make sure and still say thats little more than a static tow.
When the stuck wagon comes out easy thats frequenatly all thats needed and is about the force I would use on a first attempt. Second attempt would be about double that speed. Third attempt if very litle recovery has actualy happened is where things might break and where you have to resist the temptation to give it all you can. I deliberatly use low second or low reverse to limit the speed to well under 10kph but if the stuck car doesnt move you still jump up to a meter sideways when the stretch comes on. A 9 meter snatch strop will stretch about 1 meter at this load. If your good at maths you can work out what force you need to stop 2 tonne at 10kph in 1 meter and you have the forces that we are playing with and why we get so edgy about towhooks being done right. A person dies or is badly injured in NZ about every 2 years due to poor tow hook fitting.

[blumu]

Hey Quack,

Have you had a hook fitted yet? I've got the same problem, 91 MU with no hook on the front.

The rear one looks a bit suspect too, plus it sits directly behind the bumper... which is rediculous

[quack]

with the back i drilled out the holes in the factory mount and added a rated hook and bolts, and thinking of adding another one in the center of the bumpers by bolting a brack with a hook on it i.e www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Car-parts-accessories/Toyota/Other/auction-99256683.htm?p=4

with the front i have placed it sort of like the last photo up the page, havnt needed to try them out yet...
think i might addd another hook on the other side of the front but bolt it directly to the chassis with a bit of cut and weld.

[blumu]

Any pics of your front hook? (and the rear one?)

[quack]

um its raining here at the moment and spose to be for the next few days, will try and get them up asap

[blumu]

Cheers,

I'll probably take the easy way out and just copy you

[quack]

sorry about the wait.

heres the back, drilled out and had a rated hook added from repco for like $25 or something.



heres the front (same kinda hook)





i dont know of copying me would be a good idea just yet, wait to see wot other members think

[geeves]

back hook ok but I would cut a plate out of 5mm steel to the same size as as the gap inside the bracket and bolt through this as well sandwiching the bracket to spread the load.

front Anything you can do to get hook horizontal is worth doing. At that angle all the load goes on the front bolt not both of them. You may have to cut a little out of the bumper to do this. Can you send a pic of the other side as well please

[quack]

cant add a plate to the back, there is sort of like a V bracket in it.

will try with the pics tomoro, cant go any straighter tho:(

[geeves]

Rear is probably ok. Still put the largest washers you can in there though. My rear hooks were attached to a towbar that was bolted to that bracket on both sides for many years until a Mitsi Diamonte committed kamikaze on the towbar. The towbar bent 1.5 cm in the center but the brackets held. The new towbar with towhooks still attaches to these brackets but also to the bumper fixings. The next Mitsi that needs help stopping wont be bending it

[jer0]

Those rear mounts aren't that strong, mine was bent to the left when I
got it. Have a look at that, it shows what the mu mounts are like
www.offroadexpress.co.nz/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=5470