Review on 🔧 Rugged Ridge 11116.21 Hood Catch Kit, Silver - Compatible with 2018-Current Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator Models by Cody Henry

**2012 Wrangler** Wow, these things are a lot meatier than I thought they would be. They make me feel like I'm driving a real tank now. They look great and I love that you can customize them. They are amazing from looks alone, but I bought them because I heard some horror stories from some local jeep drivers about broken hood latches and decided to take the initiative on this one. Installation Notes: The top (the part on the hood) is very simple, and if you can't understand it, sell your jeep. The bottom ones are a different story. I'll tell you what I did and hopefully it will help you. On the driver's side I was able to use a stock ratchet with an extension to get a single bolt underneath. Just tie a horn and a few other things around and you should be able to get in there with no problems. The passenger side is filled with goodies to get around and do it all for fun. I decided to take the grill off and I'm glad I did. If you haven't already done so, don't worry, it's easy. There are 6 plastic clips on top of the grille that need to be removed. Just use a flat head and pry off the middle part and then pry off the bottom part. Then grasp the grille by the pillars closest to the headlights as deeply as possible and pull it sharply away from the car. This should force the metal clips out and it only remains to unpin the turn signals. Now that the grille is off you can stick a standard wrench in and start removing the passenger side screw. From there, all you have to do is install new hardware and put everything back together. Be sure to remove the small piece of rubber from the original clips located between the hood and fender area. This will prevent the hood from being overtightened and causing a paint-on-paint friction problem that can lead to rust. The new latches have room for this little piece of rubber. Before installing, be sure to fully unscrew the adjustment screw from the latch. I only had about 2 turns on one side and the other was threaded about 4 times as far. Line them up on each side of the latch so the threads don't snap at you. Once you find the sweet spot, simply hit the nuts with a wrench and tighten. Just be careful not to go crazy and break the bolt. After that, step back and admire your new military gear that will outlive your jeep.