WARN 34701 Semi-Hidden Fixed Winch Mount, Fits: Ford Expedition and F-Series (1997-2004)

*Helpful install hints at the bottom.Installed on a 2001 F-150 Supercrew 4x4 with factory tow hooks.Been in a couple situations in the last 6 months where I could've used a winch to get myself out of some precarious off-road situations and I didn't want to spend the money for a whole bumper and I found this on Amazon and decided to give it a try.1) All hardware included is grade 5 - not a big deal since the fasteners included are sized to provide adequate clamping force if installed properly.2) My winch uses a standard mounting pattern, and it bolted right now.3) Tucks the winch up nicely in between the factory tow hooks; I was worried it would hang down really far, but it actually surprised me by how well it all fits up behind the bumper.4) Does not interfere with the factory installed power steering and aux. transmission coolers.5) On my truck at least, the clutch handle and control box are easily accessible through the factory cutout.6) The lower air dam DOES fit nicely underneath the winch mount and can be reused.Helpful install hints:Remove the lower air dam if possible on your vehicle.The included instructions for the 99+ don't tell you that the lower air dam can be removed. There are 8 small bolts that require a 5/16" socket to be removed and the lower air dam can be taken off. I highly recommend taking it off so that you can make the cuts to the rest of the lower plastic bumper as the instructions say.Cutting instructions / dimensions are only for Warn fairleads.The instructions tell give you measurements based on a Warn fairlead. My fairlead does not have the same dimensions and if I had followed the instructions, the cuts would've been way off. So if you're using a brand other than Warn, check the dimensions on your fairlead before you start cutting.Make a template.I traced the outline of the Warn mount on a piece of cardboard and used a razor knife to cut out the bolts holes in the cardboard. "Mounted" the cardboard template in the location the actual mount goes and transferred the template to the bumper. This made it much easier to make the cuts with a non-Warn fairlead.Have a helper or floor jack handy.My winch plus this carrier was about 100 lbs. and the factory tow hooks don't use threaded holes. There is a backing plate that moves around once both bolts are removed. This makes it difficult to hold the winch and mount up to the frame rails and get the bolts started. Having a helper, floor jack, or even a transmission jack makes this part of the job a lot easier.

This winch mount is awesome, it's great that it's vehicle specific and at a reasonable price, most other mounts require a completely new bumper but this you keep your stock bumper and just requires a little bit of cutting of the plastic, instructions weren't great but I was able to get everything mounted and wired up in about 2.5hrs and it looks great you can barely even tell the truck has a winch

Bought this for a 2001 F-150 4X4 Lariat. Mounted a Boar 4X4 Off Road 9500 Lbs winch on it. Simply modified the winch's wider mounting legs by grinding off a small amount of the backside of each mounting leg so that the winch would line up on the pre-drilled holes in the mount. After that, all lined up well and installed very simply onto the Ford F-150.

I put this on my 98 F150 Lariat last week. I went to Amazon.com and bought the Warn Semi-Hidden kit for $200 and went with a Smittybuilt 8000lbs winch for $290. First off I would like to point out that all the pics shown of the Semi-Hidden kit are always one step left of center, this way it looks to be centered on your truck. If you look at his head on you'll notice that its about 3 inches offset to the right and theres no way to correct it. Trust me my OCD tried to They have you use your OEM bolts that hold onto your tow hooks, I went and bought some slightly longer bolts so that they penetrated the top of the nuts inside the frame rails. The instructions are pretty clear once you stare at it long enough to make sense BUT!!!!!!! ALL the measurements are centered on your bumper.... this I didn't catch till after I cut the lower valance and tried to mount the kit, only to find that there is about a 1.5 to 2 inch gap on the left side and 1.5 inches that need to be cut away to make it fit.

Used it with a “Orcish” 13,000# winch. Had to grind the base of the winch a little so it would fit but that wasn’t the mounting plate’s fault. Had my winch mounted in 45 minutes with basic hand tools.

It arrived today and is missing the hardware im disappointed spent $200 and I can't even install it today

Good rig for winch I installed 12,000 lb capacity winch so far great only thing is them hey bolt look like low graded wonder what grade are they , I went ahead and weld mine to chasis just in case any funny guy trying to remove it .

Works well on my 97 f150 with my winch. Holds it securely and doesn't make the front end any lower. I was able to install it myself in about an hour.