Winch Plate YJ

Installed this on my 97 Jeep Wrangler TJ. Bolted right up without issue. Fit and finish is clean, and it fit my winch no problems at all. The directions a weak, and even with photos they require you to make a few assumptions. The most confusing part is that there are two thick washers that come with the kit, these are placed on the sway bar mounting bolt as a shim to level out the plate. However it is not explained very clearly in the directions, but it is necessary for them to be there or the place will be canted backwards. However, for me it was self explanatory, but for someone else it may be a bit frustrating and/or impede the installation.

Perfect fit 1997 jeep wrangler

Fix steel worked for my YJ perfectly, have gotten myself into a pickle a few times and this bracket never fails. Always a great product from these guys.

Let me start by saying this is specific to a 1989 Jeep YJ Wrangler, stock bumper, installing a HF Apex 12K winch. The plate seems very sturdy. It came with 4, Grade 5, silver 12-13 bolts (1 1/2"). Since I hoped to secure it with tow hooks I purchased 4 black flange head, Grade 8 bolts from Tractor Supply. The hooks were black Smittybilt tow hooks. I was pleased to find the hooks came with four black bolts, two 12-13, Grade 8, and two 1/2-20 Grade 5 black bolts. I was going to be using the two 12-3 bolts. First thing was to remove the plastic "Jeep" cover between the grill and rear edge of the bumper. Just two screws on either side of cover (vertical outside surface of the frame. Then the top 2 bumper T-55 bolts were removed. The lower T-55 bumper bolts were loosened. At some point in the past the front bumper had gotten torqued out of perfect shape. It looked like someone had wrapped a chain around the driver's side end of the bumper at some point. Removing the plastic "Jeep" cover revealed the threaded holes on the top of both sides of the frame, behind the bumper. The provided 12/13 bolts fit the threaded T-55 bumper bolt holes. But I could not for the life of me get the 12-13 bolts to thread through the frame holes. None of my SAE or Metric thread gauges would thread into the frame holes. The internet search insisted for the most part that the bolts/nuts were in fact 12-13. I even emailed Rough Country and asked what size bolt hole that frame hole was. I must have gotten just a "front desk" person who replied they didn't have that specification and I should contact a Jeep dealer. That was a silly response since the plate/bolts were supposedly made for my Jeep. Finally my brain decided to run a 12-13 thread chaser through the frame bolt holes. Very slowly, back and forth, without oil (not wanting to throw off the torque spec) I chased the frame hole threads. And voila. Although the threads looked relatively clean and by and large rust free, there was just enough rust to keep the supplied 12-13 bolts from threading into the bolt holes. After chasing both, they worked just fine with the 12-13 bolts supplied with both the Rough Country plate and the Smittybilt hooks. Now the hardware would fit. I attached the HF Apex fairlead first. Then I mounted the winch to the plate (off the bumper). Although the Rough Country plate had oblong winch mounting holes, I couldn't move the winch as forward as I wanted to (just an 1/8th") because of the fairlead nuts inside the plate. The Apex winch was as far forward, on the plate, as the nuts allowed. Test fitting the plate/winch onto the bumper I found the front plate/winch bolt heads were ever so slightly pressing against the top corner of the bumper. Just a smidgeon. The rear plate/winch bolt heads were easily cleared in the void further back behind the bumper. But those front bolt heads made lining up the hooks/plate/bumper/frame holes a challenge. All the planets needed to be in alignment to line up the those holes. Patience and minute adjustments finally worked and I was able to get all the bolts to thread without cross threading them. Then just torqued them to the specified 75 ft/lbs. Then it was just a matter of wiring up the winch to the battery (I did use the disconnect provided with the Apex). The only snafu here was that it wasn't until this point that I realized the 6' long negative cable hadn't been in the Apex box. A trip to HF. Kudos to them. They opened another Apex box and gave me that negative cable without blinking an eye. Lastly, although the winch was now successfully installed and wired, There was still a space between the grill and Rough Country winch plate. The plate only covered maybe 2/3's of the void left after removing the plastic "Jeep" cover. That exposed a void and a metal crossmember in front of the grill. When I had "test" fitted the winch I scribed a line, across the plastic "Jeep" cover, using the mounting plate as a straight edge. On the sides of the plastic cover I scribed a 45 degree line so both original side holes were still usable. I used a jigsaw with a metal blade and cut up the sides of the cover and across the scribed line between the frames. I sanded down the edges. So the original "Jeep" cover now covered that portion between the grill and the winch plate. Looked much better. Maybe it's my tendency to be OCD. But I find it mildly annoying that most of the time when I researching purchases the hardware specs aren't listed. Just a photo, if that. That sort of interferes with my being prepared when something arrives. In case I have to make a run to the hardware store and have everything ready and waiting for the install. And reading reviews where someone isn't specific about vehicle info. It didn't fit? It didn't what vehicle? How did it not fit? That information could be helpful to someone else down the road. But I digress. Sorry. Bottom line? This Rough Country winch plate (#1189) did in fact fit both my 1989 Jeep YJ Wrangler stock bumper and the HF Apex 12K winch.

Installed on my Jeep TJ. Works well with the OEM front bumper. Seems to be made of heavy duty metal, it’s quite heavy! Only complaint is that the bolt holes can be tough to align. Cheap option to run a winch on a factory bumper. Would recommend.

YJ owner. I opened the package and was surprised by how stout this mount is!!! 1/4 inch steel instead of the light weight material the others use. Definitely heavy duty!! I have already checked and is a perfect fit!!

Fit perfect on my 2003 Jeep Wrangler TJ. No drilling, cutting or welding needed👍👍 I highly recommend this winch plate👍

Fit perfectly on my 1995 YJ came with correct hardware and a badlands 12,000 fit right on it

Fell into place without any issues whatsoever. Quality looks and feels decent. The kit also comes with the required hardware

Fitted 1st time to the stock bar. A little more instructions would have been helpful, like fitting the winch first before fitting the bar. Quality is perfect, as was fitment.

Hält was es verspricht keine Probleme bei der TÜV Abnahme

Su material yresistencia

fitted my winch exactly