Scrappy said:
the whole kit can be removed on the factory installed ones, I had totake them off to put my snowplow mounts on. the brackets bolt to the same bolts on the frame that the bumper does. the other end of the brackets butt up against the backside of the bumper. there were nuts welded to the brackets for the hook bolts that are torx on mine. the bumper mount bolts are impossible to get out on the left side w/o moving the intercooler.
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I needed to remove mine when I installed my Buckstops and didn't need to remove
the intercooler. It is tight though, but if you take out the upper intercooler bolts
you can move it around to get clearance. The weight of the intercooler will be held
by the hooks that go over a crossmember so it's not going anywhere. That way
you don't have to mess with the piping to the intercooler.
Something to consider:
Also an option in installing/removing the tow hooks is to remove the stock bumper. It is not that difficult and one old man can do it. There are alignment
pins (one on each side) that hold the weight as long as the bumper is kept back
in place, one builtin alignment pin and 3 bolts per side. After removing 3 bolts
on one side I stuck a drift ( long tapered punch-like tool) in one hole and then
took care of the other side. Don't forget the screws at the ends of the bumper
in the wheelwell area.
Also, longer bolts with the kit? I'm not sure, check it out.
