Rugged Ridge Hood Catch Stainless Steel Pair Jeep Wrangler JK 2007-2018

The factory hood catches on the JK Wrangler are pretty boring and being that they are made out of plastic, they can become brittle and break over time. Today we're going to be installing these stainless steel Rugged Ridge Hood Catches, which will look better and be way more durable than the factory hood catches. These Rugged Ridge Hood Catches are made of polished 304 stainless steel, which will make them significantly more durable than the factory catches. They're going to give our Jeep a nice custom look and they're super easy to install, so today we're going to install them on our 2016 Jeep Wrangler.

Tools you'll need for this installation: 3/8 ratchet, 1/4" ratchet, 13 mm socket, 10 mm socket, and an 11 mm socket. The first thing we're going to do is obviously open up the hood. Then we're going to remove this portion of the catch on top of the hood. Remove the two nuts with a 10 mm socket. Then remove the catch. Now we can remove the bottom portion of the hood catch that mounts to the fender. There's a 13 mm nut that's kind of hard to get to. I'm going to be using a 3/8 extension, a universal socket, and a 13 socket. Remove the nut, then you can pull off the catch.

Here's a side by side comparison of the factory catch and the Rugged Ridge Catch. All around the Rugged Ridge Catch is a better product. It's made of stainless steel rather than plastic. The rubber's bigger. It looks better. All around it's better and now we can install it. These catches are side specific. Take note of the dowel pins on the bottom of the catch and also the prongs up here. Make sure they're all in the same place, then you can install your new catch. Install the nut now, this part can be pretty tricky. Make sure you don't drop it. Get the nut started, then tighten it with your 13 mm socket. If you're having trouble using a universal socket with your 13 mm, you can go down to a 1/4" drive with a 13. That should help you get the nut on as well.

Now we're going to install the upper portion of the catch. This piece is not side specific. Tighten down both nuts with a 11 mm socket. Yes, that is so much better. Our Rugged Ridge Stainless Steel Hood Catches are installed. They look so much better than the factory catches, and they're way more durable. Installation's not too bad, should only take about a half hour, and before you know it you'll be heading off road.