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Front tow hook

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Old 03-14-09, 02:42 PM
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Front tow hook

I have the rennenmetal.com tow hooks. The rear went on OK. For the front, do you need to remove anything? My AC seems to be in the way?
Old 03-14-09, 03:44 PM
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I think there was a mention to the a/c the instructions but I no longer have them
Old 03-14-09, 05:59 PM
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The FEED hook I bought bolted right up. I'm not familiar with the ones you have and I'm kinda having trouble finding them at the site you mentioned. Got any pics or a direct link to the hook you're trying to install?
Old 03-14-09, 06:32 PM
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from what I can tell its similar to the feed.

http://rennenmetal.com/proddetail.asp?prod=2120



found this too:
11-18-08, 03:16 PM #17
afterburn27
Oh yeah, one note on the RennenMetal hooks:

They are not a direct bolt on if you are still running AC. You will have to modify the AC condenser bracket to install the front tow hook. It isn't a huge deal, but be warned that it will take longer than 2 minutes to install.

If you don't have AC anymore then it bolts right up.
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Old 03-16-09, 09:47 AM
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Took a better look today - do you cut away the black plastic duct that covers part of the radiator opening on the sides and do you remove the ac bolt, put the hook under it and then bolt it back. Or is ther some other way.
thanks
Old 03-16-09, 04:52 PM
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Don't cut the black plastic thing just remove it
Old 03-16-09, 06:01 PM
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Appologies to BillM, but if anyone has installed pictures that would be appreciated. I think I'm missing something for the rear. Stock tie-down is missing.
Old 03-16-09, 08:10 PM
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I think I have the instructions for the rear. PM me if needed and I'll look for them. I just sent the Rennen people an email also seeing if they have it in electronic form.
Old 03-16-09, 08:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Sgtblue
Appologies to BillM, but if anyone has installed pictures that would be appreciated. I think I'm missing something for the rear. Stock tie-down is missing.

Sgt....this should help you out....

https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-generation-specific-1993-2002-16/secure-fd-trailer-760214/#post8243089
Old 03-16-09, 08:31 PM
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I'll throw this in for the rear:

1. Get the driver side rear factory tie down plate.
2. Get under the car and remove the three bolts
3. Slide up and bolt in the factor tie down plate (a pain to reach the top bolt).
4. Bolt the rennenmetal eye, washers and backing plate.



Old 03-16-09, 08:33 PM
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Yes, you 'll need the stock tie down to install the rear. Here's a couple pics of my FEED front hook installed. I hope I was able to get a 1/2way decent angle, and pardon the dirty car.
It's wintertime and I've been DD'ing the FD. Also, the tape's under the hook to protect my new paint..


EDIT: Looks like Bill's got you covered for the rear. Good luck!
Attached Thumbnails Front tow hook-p3160156.jpg   Front tow hook-towhook1.jpg  
Old 03-16-09, 08:49 PM
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Why is there aftermarket tow hooks !?
Old 03-16-09, 09:11 PM
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The tow guy at buttonwillow bent the **** out of my JIC strut tower bar before I got my hooks.

My RX-7 had absolutely no where to hook up to when I bought it.
Old 03-16-09, 09:35 PM
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Thanks guys. That part number helps. I'll call Ray tomorrow.
Old 03-16-09, 09:43 PM
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so for the front hook do you just unbolt and move/remove the black duct. Do you unbolt the ac bracket and then put the tow hook under it??
Old 03-16-09, 10:27 PM
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Originally Posted by MuRCieLaGo
Why is there aftermarket tow hooks !?
SCCA and NASA require tow hooks with 2 inch openings. To pull your broken down car off the track out of danger
Old 03-17-09, 10:06 AM
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Received an email from Rennen today:

"I am updating the instructions and adding a new rear eye to my mix for those who do not have the factory rear eye. It seems like some dealers removed the stock tie down eye during dealer prep. I have a new eye that combines the FD rear tie down and the 2" eye in one piece. A client is beta testing that for me now.

David Lee - RennenMetal"
Old 03-17-09, 04:09 PM
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Originally Posted by gracer7-rx7
Received an email from Rennen today:

"I am updating the instructions and adding a new rear eye to my mix for those who do not have the factory rear eye. It seems like some dealers removed the stock tie down eye during dealer prep. I have a new eye that combines the FD rear tie down and the 2" eye in one piece. A client is beta testing that for me now.

David Lee - RennenMetal"
Good news! I had to make an adapter for my Rennenmetal tow hook since I did not have the rear tiedown eye. I can not remember if I removed years ago for weight savings or it was missing to begin with.
Old 12-13-09, 12:20 AM
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Originally Posted by BillM
so for the front hook do you just unbolt and move/remove the black duct. Do you unbolt the ac bracket and then put the tow hook under it??
BillM:

Did you ever get your front tow hook from rennenmetal installed ?

If so, any pics ?

How did you "modify" your front A/C bracket ?

What did you have to do to clear the stock foglight and A/C condenser ? How do you remove the black plastic ?

Please take a look at the attached photo.

I have circled the area where I think it mounts, could you please confirm.

TIA,
:-) neil
Attached Thumbnails Front tow hook-rennenmeta-rx7-front-tow-hook.jpg  
Old 12-13-09, 12:22 AM
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Originally Posted by Natey
Yes, you 'll need the stock tie down to install the rear. Here's a couple pics of my FEED front hook installed. I hope I was able to get a 1/2way decent angle, and pardon the dirty car.
It's wintertime and I've been DD'ing the FD. Also, the tape's under the hook to protect my new paint..


EDIT: Looks like Bill's got you covered for the rear. Good luck!
Natey,

any tips for install ? Did you remove the A/C condenser bracket ?

How did you even get in there ? From the bottom ?

:-) neil
Old 12-13-09, 09:39 AM
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I never did put the front one on. Just went to the track with the rear only.
Old 12-22-09, 04:51 PM
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I did manage to get the rennenmetal front tow hook installed on a Touring with the stock A/C condenser.

However I did have to lose the right-side fog-light.
I'm thinking about making two new fog-light brackets so the move is symmetrical.
Until then, I'll just have one fog-light.

Some notes:

You need to drop the lower plastic panel to access the two A/C condenser mounting brackets on the right-side.

By removing those two brackets, you are able to carefully move the A/C condenser just enough to install the tow-hook with the supplied hardware.

However, you must grind away the corner edges of the A/C condenser so the tow-hook can lay flat against the A/C condenser bracket.

You must also ENLARGE the slotted hole, since even with the edges ground-off, the provided slotted hole seems designed without the A/C condenser bracket in mind.

Regardless, it's installed, fits well, clears the stock A/C condenser, and I only had to lose one fog-light.

:-) neil
Attached Thumbnails Front tow hook-fd-touring-tow-hook-1.jpg   Front tow hook-fd-touring-tow-hook-2-ac.jpg  
Old 11-14-10, 08:07 PM
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I recently purchased the tow hooks from Rennenmetal.com. The rear install was plug and play. As did Neil, for the front tow hook I dropped the undertray and disconnected the upper/lower AC condensor brackets but I could not get the front tow hook to line up because the bottom of the tow hook eye was pressing against the bumper cover. I figured that the front tow hook was designed for a front end that had a larger opening, such as the 99spec, and concur with Neil that it must have been designed for use without an AC condensor. I called David Lee at Rennenmetal.com and discussed this with him. After a few email exchanges with photos and measurements, David then tilted the tow hook eye upward and made a prototype with a 2cm lift on the eye portion to give me the clearance needed on the bumper cover. As you can see from the picture, it fit perfectly. I then sent it back to David and he since modified his jig and made a batch of 50 front tow hooks. I installed my new black powdercoated front tow hook this afternoon in half an hour following Neil's directions except I did not need to enlarge the slotted hole as it bolted in cleanly. Many thanks to David for taking the time to work with me on this. My wife, on the otherhand, hates when Neil comes over to the house because I end up buying something new! However, many thanks go to Neil for what he has helped/taught me do and for our future projects.
Old 11-14-10, 08:10 PM
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...and the photo.
Attached Thumbnails Front tow hook-rennenmetal-prototype-mod.jpg  
Old 11-19-12, 09:58 PM
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Sorry for bringing back an old thread. I really need a front tow hook that goes through the oil cooler side. I purchase the Rennmetal tow hooks, but my front mount is way too big.

any suggestions?


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