Removing front tow hooks for paint

bradman0087 · January 18, 2020

Whats the trick to remove the front tow hooks on 2015 GMC Sierra Crew Cab? going to paint them red..

Donstar · January 18, 2020

1 hour ago, bradman0087 said:

Whats the trick to remove the front tow hooks on 2015 GMC Sierra Crew Cab? going to paint them red..

I understand they are a pita to remove. I'd be inclined to paint the exposed portion without removing them from the truck!

CovetedStyle · January 18, 2020

You either need a cut off wheel To cut one of the bolts or to remove the bumper to get the driver side tow hook off because of the way they put one of the bolts through.

Rock1500 · January 19, 2020

4 hours ago, CovetedStyle said:

You either need a cut off wheel To cut one of the bolts or to remove the bumper to get the driver side tow hook off because of the way they put one of the bolts through.

wtf ... why make it this complicated.

dieselfan1 · January 19, 2020

15 minutes ago, Rock1500 said:

wtf ... why make it this complicated.

Why make it easy?

JimCost2014 · January 19, 2020

On 1/18/2020 at 10:48 AM, bradman0087 said:

Whats the trick to remove the front tow hooks on 2015 GMC Sierra Crew Cab? going to paint them red..

Buy a set from GM, only around $100.00 and the quality is very good.

I have a set (one) on my 18 and it does not even have a chip in it.

Removal will require cutting the drivers side bolt, passenger side is pretty strait forward. If you buy a set from GM, they come with all new hardware.

Edited January 20, 2020 by JimCost2014

jshrubs · January 20, 2020

Not a big deal to cut the one bolt that is blocked. I spent way too much time trying to find an alternative way to remove them before just cutting it. I bought a spare bolt and now I can take the tow hooks off in a matter of minutes. Either a cutoff wheel or a reciprocating saw will do the trick.

JimCost2014 · January 21, 2020

On 1/20/2020 at 10:45 AM, jshrubs said:

Not a big deal to cut the one bolt that is blocked. I spent way too much time trying to find an alternative way to remove them before just cutting it. I bought a spare bolt and now I can take the tow hooks off in a matter of minutes. Either a cutoff wheel or a reciprocating saw will do the trick.

Cordless Makita Sawzall did the trick for me.

If you do not mind, how much to powder coat them, and what type of finish will it be?

Edited January 22, 2020 by JimCost2014

jshrubs · January 22, 2020

3 hours ago, JimCost2014 said:

Cordless Makita Sawzall did the trick for me.

If you do mind, how much to powder coat them, and what type of finish will it be?

I painted mine with engine enamel. Colour and finish turned out great but after a few months its not holding up that great. Interested in what folks are paying for powder coating.

CovetedStyle · January 22, 2020

3 hours ago, jshrubs said:

I painted mine with engine enamel. Colour and finish turned out great but after a few months its not holding up that great. Interested in what folks are paying for powder coating.

Yeah engine enamel has almost no UV protection so a couple month seeing sunshine and weather is going to break it down super fast. As far as powder coating to tow hooks it’s probably going to be whatever the shop minimum is unless you’re getting them in some strange color that they have to special order. Around where I am that’s between $75-$100 depending on where you go.

wforrest08 · January 22, 2020

Check Ebay for powder coated ones. Before I bought my GM red ones I was considering going white. At that time there was a guy selling different colored ones for I believe 60ish a set.

On the 014/015s anyway you can remove them without cutting the bolt or removing the bumper. There is a thread on here somewhere with the youtube video on how to do it. Basically you loosen the bumper bracket that’s in the way and use a pry bar to move it enuff to get the bolt out. Then when you put it back together reverse the bolt or replace it with a shorter one like stated above.

thread with video

Edited January 22, 2020 by wforrest08

Ozer · January 22, 2020

I have never needed the tow hooks and most probably wont ever need it so i plan on geting rid of them and putting in LED cubes in there vs a light bar in the grill.

I seen that done and looks clean.

Rock1500 · January 23, 2020

I have never needed the tow hooks and most probably wont ever need it so i plan on geting rid of them and putting in LED cubes in there vs a light bar in the grill.
I seen that done and looks clean.

What would you use to connect it down there?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Ozer · January 23, 2020

9 hours ago, Rock1500 said:

What would you use to connect it down there?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

You would have to get down there and see what you can DIY as a mount.

ABinner · March 8, 2021

Just removed mine from a 2021 with additional cowling further obstructing the drivers side bolt, had to bend up the bumper bracket to allow the bolt to be removed. Was just going to paint, but after all this trouble might as well powder coat