1999-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee (WJ) MiniMax Gen3 Recovery Package Installation Instructions Version 3.4: June 2017
STOP!. Read this FIRST! Fawkes Manufacturing & Development LLC, D.B.A. Fawkes Fabrications (hereinafter "FMD") cannot and will not be responsible for any consequential or incidental damage to property (including the vehicle our product is installed on) or injury to persons deriving from the use, misuse, or abuse of the product provided to the customer, including any malfunction from negligence or defect. FMD specifically disclaims any damage that arises from the use of our products in any manner not related to off-road recovery. The term Working Load Limits, while certified by a mechanical engineer and subject to numerous safety factors, are a guideline to product suitability only...don't do stupid things with our stuff and no one will get hurt. Customer understands that the installation and use of this product can cause injury or death to themselves or others and holds FMD, its agents and affiliates harmless from any liability arising out of or relating to the use or ownership of any product provided. Once a customer installs the enclosed product, that customer is releasing FMD of any and all responsibilities for the item such as stated above. We strongly recommend following the winching/recovery procedure "best practices" literature available free from Warn Winches, Pirate 4x4.com and the United States Army (FM 21-305) to assure the safety of the customer/operator and any observer during off road recovery operations. Failure to abide by these "best practices" isn't just a recipe for disaster, it subjects you and others to all sorts of dire consequences which we cannot and will not be responsible for. By installing this product, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agreed to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and you represent that you are of legal age (age 18 or older) to enter this Agreement and become bound by its terms.
1) Examine the package contents to ensure you have all the items and hardware needed to install your purchase. You should have: WJ Modular Mounting Brackets Quant. 2 Support plates Left mounting bracket Right mounting bracket Mounting Hardware Quant. 6 Quant. 6 Quant. 6 ½ -13 x 1.5 Grade 8 bolt ½ -13 Grade 8 locking flange nut ½ standard washer Bumper Fascia Reinstallation Hardware Quant. 6 ¼ captured push-pin fastener Recovery Crosstube and Hardware MiniMax Recovery Crosstube Assembly Tube medium-strength threadlocker Quant. 8 ½ -13 x1.5 Grade 8 flange bolt OPTIONAL: Bull Bar Relocation Brackets and Hardware Left bull bar relocation bracket Right bull bar relocation bracket If you are missing any of the items above or if you have questions at any time during the installation of your product PLEASE call us at 414-916-1781 so that we can take care of the problem/question. 2) Gather the tools you will need for installation. You should have: A right angle drill, right angle die grinder, or a standard drill with a right angle adapter. A step drill bit or cone-type grinding burr or stone capable of enlarging holes to 9/16 diameter. A large ballpeen or small sledge hammer. ¼ drill bit or flat bladed screw driver and side cutters. A pair of needle-nose pliers. A ⅜ drive ratchet, short extension, 7 and 10mm sockets. A ½ drive ratchet and medium depth ¾ socket. A ¾ combination open and box-end wrench. A ½ drive torque wrench capable of producing 120 foot pounds of torque. 3) Remove the front grill and bumper fascia from your Jeep WJ. Step 1: Remove the three plastic rivets that attach the fascia to each wheel well liner and discard. Note: These rivets may be drilled out (carefully) using the ¼ bit. Alternately, you may pry them out with a flat blade screwdriver far enough to insert a pair of side-cutters and cut the rivet heads off. Use a rag or other protection under the screwdriver to prevent scratching the edge of the fender. Step 2: With a 10mm socket on the short extension, remove one bolt in each upper wheel well that attaches the fascia to the fender.
Step 3: From inside the hood utilizing a 7mm socket, remove the four screws located along the top of the grille (2004 models skip this step). Step 4: Remove the three push-pin fasteners holding the bottom of the fascia to the drip pan and set aside. 2004 models have an additional five push-pin fasteners in the center of the fascia that must be removed. Note: These fasteners are removed by prying on the center rectangular head with a small flat blade screwdriver or pulling with needle-nose pliers enough to pop the center section out enough to remove the pin. The plastic holders must also be removed and are easily popped free by pulling the fascia edge down. Step 5: Remove the three screws in the front of the grille with a 7mm socket (2004 models skip this step). Step 6: If equipped with fog lights, unplug harness and slide the grill and fascia assembly forward. Carefully set the assembly aside. 4) Enlarge the mounting holes in the uniframe. There are three holes now accessible on the bottom of each uniframe rail (on either side of the radiator support - see Figure 1). Each of these holes must be opened up from ½ to 9/16 diameter with the step drill bit or die grinder. You will need to flatten the pinch seam behind the inside front slot with a hammer. When enlarging this inboard front hole, try to use the center of the slot rather than the round, stamped hole outline as your starting point. Figure 1. Looking at the left side uniframe rail, from the bottom. 5) Install the modular mounting brackets to the uniframe rails. Step 1: Locate the support plates in your installation kit and lay them on the inside of the frame rails so that the holes in the support plate line up with the holes in the uniframe. Step 2: Lift one modular mounting bracket into position under the uniframe. Insert three ½ -13 x 1.5 bolts with washers pre-installed into holes from underneath and hand tighten a ½ flange nut on to the threads of each bolt sticking above the support plate. Repeat the procedure on the other side (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Mounting the modular brackets. 6) Install the MiniMax Recovery Crosstube to the modular mounting brackets. Step 1: (See Figure 3) Remove the eight flange head bolts from the crosstube and, using the included threadlocker, place a few drops of the liquid on the threads of four, ½ -13 x 1 bolts. Making sure that your brackets are square and approximately 28.375 from inside edge to inside edge, and with the help of jack stands or a helper, raise the MiniMax assembly into position and HAND tighten the four bolts with threadlocker into the REAR two bolt holes on each side of the assembly. Step 2: If you are not installing the optional bull bar mount tabs, place a few drops of threadlocker on the threads of the remaining four ½ -13 x 1 flange bolts and hand tighten those four bolts in the front mounting holes of the MiniMax. If you will be installing the optional bull bar mount tabs, HAND tighten the remaining four ½ -13 x 1.75 bolts in the FRONT two bolt holes without installing the bull bar tabs without using threadlocker. Pull forward on the MiniMax to eliminate any play in the mounting brackets. Figure 3: Install the MiniMax Recovery Crosstube Assembly and HAND tighten all bolts. Step 3: Tighten the ½ flange nuts on top of the backing plate by holding the head of the bolts with your ¾ wrench, and turning the nuts on the inside of the uniframe rail with your ¾ socket. Using the pattern shown in Figure 4, torque the ½ flange nuts to 100 ft./lbs. of torque in 50 ft./lb. increments.
Figure 4. Mounting bolt torque sequence. Step 4: If you are not installing bull bar relocation brackets, torque all four flange bolts to 100 ft./lbs. of torque in 50 ft./lb. increments. If you are installing bull bar relocation brackets, leave the front bolts hand-tight, and only torque the rear bolts. 7) Trim the bumper fascia (1999-2003 only). Using a utility knife, die grinder cutoff wheel, or Dremel-type rotary tool, remove the six vertical sections of the lower radiator opening in the bumper fascia as shown in Figure 5. Use the utility knife to clean up any melted plastic, and the sand paper to smooth any rough edges. Figure 5. Remove the sections between the red lines (1999-2003 models only). 8) Reinstall the front grill and bumper fascia. Step 1: Slide the grill and fascia assembly over the shackle tabs, taking care to catch the two alignment pins just to the outside rear of the headlights. If equipped with fog lights, plug the harness in on both sides. Step 2: Reinstall the three screws in the front of the grille with a 7mm socket (2004 models skip this step). Step 3: Reinstall the three push-pin fasteners holding the bottom of the fascia to the drip pan. 2004 models have an additional five push-pin fasteners in the center of the fascia that must be installed. Step 4: From inside the hood utilizing a 7mm socket, reinstall the four screws located along the top of the grille (2004 models skip this step). Step 5: With a 10mm socket on the short extension, reinstall the bolt in each upper wheel well that attaches the fascia to the fender.
Step 6: Reattach the fascia to each wheel well liner using the six new ¼ captured push-pin fasteners provided in place of the rivets you removed. 9) OPTIONAL: Install the bull bar relocation brackets. Step 1: Remove the four front bolts that were not torqued prior to the bumper fascia installation. The bull bar brackets will be placed so that the tabs are angled outboard, and upwards away from the ground. Step 2: Using the included threadlocker, place a few drops of the liquid on the threads of the four ½ -13 x 1.75 Grade 8 flange head bolts you just removed. With the tabs aligned, install the bolts into the front most holes on each bracket HAND tight (see Figure 6). Figure 6: Bull bar relocation bracket installation. Step 3: Install the bull bar by threading the mounting bolts provided by the manufacturer through the oblong hole in the mounting brackets from the rear. Torque the bolts to the manufacturer s specifications. Step 4: Position the bull bar where you would prefer (there is some play built into our mounting brackets to allow for customer preference), and then torque all bolts threaded through the bracket and into the MiniMax Recovery Crosstube assembly to 100 ft./lbs. of torque in 50 ft./lb. increments. NOTES: If you have difficulty installing the pin of your shackle, do not grind or ream the anchor pin mounting hole! Any visible imperfections that affect shackle installation are part of the powdercoating process. Use a small file or sandpaper wrapped dowel to remove the coating flaw only after you have lightly sanded a coated anchor pin. Your kit has been powdercoated for long-lasting corrosion protection. In order to maintain its finish, it is recommended that it is cleaned regularly with soap and water. Any chips, scrapes, and scratches that you notice should be touched up as soon as possible (Rustoleum PaintPlus 2X Ultracover Semigloss Black is a close match to the powdercoat). Hardware should be regularly inspected and sprayed down with a rust preventative after installation.
"If You Can Break It, We'll Replace It" UNLimited Lifetime Warranty Fawkes Manufacturing & Development LLC, D.B.A. Fawkes Fabrication (hereinafter "FMD") warrants the enclosed product against structural defects in material and workmanship under any and all conditions - use, misuse, and abuse included. We expect you to work our products hard, and we'll back you up no matter what as long as the product exists and we are still in business... if you can bend it, break it, or otherwise destroy the undestroyable, we'll replace it at our expense (you pay for shipping) to keep you happy. What isn't covered: Surface finishes (e.g. powdercoating), cosmetic blemishes (we will occasionally miss a bead of weld spatter), any cosmetic staining due to the failure of the same, and any damage to your vehicle through the use of our product. See our "Limits of Liability" for more logical stuff our lawyers and insurance company make us say. What voids this warranty: Improper installation (even Grade 8 bolts shear strength will decrease when over-torqued) and modification (while we understand the Jeeper need to customize, cutting and welding on our stuff is on you). For warranty service, please contact us at: Fawkes Fabrication N4695 Highland Drive Sullivan, WI 53178 www.fawkesfab.com Mobile: 414-916-1781