I'm interested in getting tow hooks for my STX. Its not a 4 wheel drive but I love the way the tow hooks look. What would I need to get it to work and how much am I looking at? Thanks for reading.

 

FX4 or 4x4 front valance from your local dealer, about 65.00 and the two hooks. I have seen them on ebay for about 20.00. I was going to do this too till I found the bull bars.

 

Thanks for the help. I appreciate it.

 

Yeah the front valance that has the cutouts then the hooks and you should be set.

 

I'm doing this also. Got my hooks ordered. Wondering how hard it is to take off the valance.? I did a search with no luck. Thanks- Greg

 

your best bet would be to just crawl under there and take a look to see whats involved

 

why remove the valance? I just used a tow hook to trim my valance. Had to cut out holes when I installed my bull bar. Hacksaw was very easy to use, and you'd never know I did it

 

i was gonna say the same thing. cut it! alot cheaper

 

Thanks gents. That was my plan, to use my current valance, but figured it would be easier to use a rotary tool on with it on my work bench.

 

i ve took alook to remove the front valance, wen installing my train horn, and let me just say it doesnt look hard to remove, but some of the bolts are hard to get too.
theres about 10 bolts attached to ur bumper that hold the valance up,

 

I did this on a friends truck....

1. take off your lower valence by removing the screws that hold it up in place. (there are also clips on the valance but just gently pull after screws are out and it will pop off)

2. use a drill to make an initial hole in the valence then use a saw etc to complete the cutout...jig saw also works great.

3. Tow Hooks install in the bumper beam into the pre-cut holes and just bolt down

4. re-install the front valence making sure the cutouts fit properly and expand cuts if necessary.

Youll need a screwdriver and a good ratchet set. Time should be around 30 min-1.5 hours depending on your skill level (dont be afraid to break something, you won't)
Cost I would put around 30 bucks for the tow hooks.

 

I am sure the cuts with the hacksaws look smooth, but it the valance is still bolted on it might be hard to work with. I have had great luck using a dremel tool on similar jobs and just thought I would suggest that as a choice also

 

Thanks. Dremel was my plan. 05BlackFX4 great info. How did you figure out how much to cut, or did you just kind of wing it. Also, from what you said there are screws and not bolts...that will save a lot of time. Thanks again- Greg

 

correct they are screws not bolts...about 1/4" in size each with washers attached to them....with a good ratchet, takes about 2 min to get them off then just work one side to the other pulling down to make the plastic clips give way that hold it in place to line it up for the screws.

I would suggest a Dremel as well...its fairly easy to do. For the amount to cutout just look at your bumper, you will see a distint line of where the cutout is made when done by Ford.

For cutting I would remove the valence and cut from the backside as it is easier to see what needs to be removed...just cut out the "bubble" portion when it is upside down. Cutting from the back will make it look clean in the front which is what you see when you walk up to the truck.

Good luck

 

Yes, i did the same, some tow hooks are diffrent. I wanna say the 04 and 05 are beefier than the 06 and up. The reason is becouse i did this to pops 05 and my 06 and the two sets were diffrent .They will bolt up either way, but just a fyi. I too was going to cut the valances, but they were cheap enough to buy and justify and make it look stock, becouse trust me, when die hard ford people see a 2wd truck with tow hooks- people come in for a very ,very close look and ask - dam , it came from the factory like that?