I started a thread at another forum back in Jan 2014 on this .. sadly, the story is still unfinished and I have yet to see anyone take it to completion. I came close and had to revert back to orginal set up due to time and my schedule has prevented me from getting back at it ... that is until now. I will have time Saturday and with a touch of luck, will have an end to the saga.
I'll post a bit of the story below:
MARCH 2015
Seems like this took forever ... but finally making progress, I hope.
Since I picked up this Cherokee and noticed it did not have recovery hooks, I wanted to add them. After taking it out and getting stuck on some snowy trails last Feb, I knew I needed to figure it out and get hooks on here.
Searching every thread and whatever other sources that were available over the past year lead pretty much nowhere.
Getting insight from different images available, I presumed that in order to add hooks, I would need to add the bumper beam from the Trailhawk and hopefully the hooks would line up with the vents on the Latitude. Some folks have mentioned that they believe the hooks will be too high needing me to trim away a portion of the fascia that would not be attractive.
I found the needed items from Jeep and the on-line part sites but it would have cost nearly $800 to buy and install. So I started searching junk yard sites and national craigslist posts. A couple weeks ago, I hit pay dirt. I found a bumper beam and hooks for sale .....bonus, it had the Trailhawk fascia and upper bumper/fender skirts. Yeah, a whole kit. Price could not be beat ...
I contacted the owner and determined shipping was not an option, so I made the commitment and advised on my first free day I would drive out and pick them up.
I left at 630 this morning and got home a short while ago.
I will be out of town for a few days and then my schedule is tight again, but I am hoping my mid April to have these bad boys on my Latitude. I plan to use my original fascia. If the hooks do not align properly, then I may need to go with the TH fascia as a last resort.
APRIL 2015
I started today with great optimism. I had the day off, the weather was good and my mounts came in. :grin:
So I swung by the dealer to grab the final parts I needed and came home to rip my Jeep apart.
The mounts I picked up:
Oh, I didn't want red hooks .. they are black now:
I used
http://www.roadmasterinc.com/pdfinst/521447-5.pdf as my disassembly guide.
and about 3 hours after starting, I was at this point.
Why 3 hours? Two stinkin bolts. One on each side, in the wheel wells connecting the fascia to the fender. No room for a ratchet so I used a socket and turned the bolts ever so slowly with a pair of pliers until loose enough to spin off by hand.
Trailhawk steel bumper installed:
Rear mount installed:
Hooks on a Latitude:
Now for the fun part .. getting the fascia to work. I know I will need to cut the vents (since they do not unbolt like those on the Grand Cherokee --- why not FCA .. you're not being nice to us :frown
I took the vent out and did a test fit of the fascia. I almost like the look with the vent fully removed, but it really exposes too much:
As you can see the hooks go right to the edge of where the grill would be, which means I would need to cut way more than the mesh part of the grill. So this is a stopping point.
I figured I would just finish the fascia install and figure the grill out in the morning, so I try fitting everything into place but it will just not line up. The Trailhawk bumper is not just made of a different material, it is taller than the stock aluminum bumper and as such does not fit into the recess of my Latitude fascia. BUGGER. :crying:
I glance to the side of the garage and stare at the Trailhawk fascia ... I really did not want to put it on. aside from the improved approach angle, I prefer the look of the Latitude fascia. Oh and the upper pieces are True Blue and pretty scratched up so they would need to be painted. Anyways, as long as I was at this point .. trial fit. >
Turns out the Latitude and Trailhawk use the same headlight assembly BUT (and this is huge) they have an outer trim ring that is different and needed to be in place. The shape of the trim ring on the Latitude completely prevents getting the Trailhawk fascia to line up and clip on.
I was running out of options and daylight .. my portable lights were not cutting it, so I had to make a choice .. not my favorite, but had to do it. I took everything off and put it back to stock.
OCTOBER 2015
HAPPY ENDING? Hopefully