Picked up a 2006 CRD recently and the CAC hose has rubbed thru the passenger's side brake hardline where it passes under the hose on the driver's side. So I needed to remove the front of the jeep to get it out....
The PO had rigged some kind of hitch /attachment point to pull the jeep behind an RV (told this at the car lot where jeep was bought). Soooo...it was an absolute PITA getting the front bumper assembly off as this makeshift hitch setup consisted of 2 heavy steel brackets sandwiched between 2 15/16" nuts on the front side on a 9/16 " threaded rod with another 15/16" nut on the backside. The front & back nuts were welded to the the threaded rod so it had to be cut off with the 4.5 in. angle grinder. Also, th PO has either torch or plasma cut the underside of the bumper crossmember to insert some small length of chain (see pic)...
Snapped that pic in the rain this morning so it doesn't show the underside "L" shaped cut that was made to allow the chain to pass thru. Looks like it was torch cut then bent slightly to get the chain thru there then bent back into place like a flap. I'm going to remove the chain pieces from both sides and am planning on installing the factory tow hooks that I just pulled from the salvage yard.
Question is...WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO REPAIR THIS AREA TO BE STRUCTURALLY SOUND ENOUGH TO USE WITH THE TOW HOOKS ?? With having the large hole & the torch cut in the area where the inboard bolt & mounting clip go it's a concern so I need to get it repaired before mounting the tow hooks & putting everything back together. Thanks.