squatdaddy

Hello all,
I am an extreme newbie and will intro myself soon along with my jeep but a quick question first... I have a 1997 Grand Cherokee Limited and just bought a brush guard for it... the issue is the install is not straight forward... I called the guys from Black Horse (the makers of the guard) and they told me that it definitely is not a DIY project and it should of never been sold to the public.... grrrr... I put it on a lift at my mechanic buddy's garage and I can't see where the brackets would even connect... looks to me some fabrication and welding would need to be in order... and then the upper brackets go through the grill some how... has anyone ever had any luck with putting on on their similar year jeep?
Thanks,
Rick

dlundblad

most of the brush guards such as those bolt to the brackets for the tow hooks. And for that matter, your ZJ may no even have brackets. It may just have holes for bolts. If you were to take the front cladding off, you would see the holes.

If I was you, I would attempt to return that thing...

squatdaddy

Dave,
I went to OK 4wd today (http://www.ok4wd.com/) and they told me that there is essentially only one company that makes the guards and supplies them to the different manufacturers, be it WAAG, Big Bear, or the others... so I am guessing they are all the same... I have seen others installed so I am determined it can be done, so are you saying that I should return it because it is a POS or because of what their customer service told me.... I would do the bumper / guard combo but it is a little more than I can afford at the moment...$345 vs. $995... this thing isn't going to see a whole lot of dirt as opposed to road driving so I won't have as much use for something that beefy to justify an extra $600...
Thanks for the reply...
Rick

Skreed

dlundblad is right most brush guards connect at the front of the frame rail behind the bumper. There should be a series of hole to line up with the lower brackets of your guard. Also the malefactor should be a little more help than that....did it not come with some sort of instructions? You may have to take your front bumper off to access the mounting holes.

97Straight6

I put one of those on before and they are a PAIN to install.

It took me longer to put on then it did the son of a Bi%$C# to steal it!

squatdaddy

Where do I start??? Does the bumper need to come off?? How does the top brackets work?

Thanks!

dlundblad

Yes, the front cladding will need to be removed prior to installation. The tricky part is that you will need to run the 2 frame peices of the guard that bolt to the Jeep though the cladding slots and make sure they are all lined up before you bolt the thing in.