Budget winch install that works well. Thats my goal. After hours of internet research I order the universal winch mount plate from Summit Racing ( $40 ). Now the winch. This took a while as I wanted to have plenty of pulling power for my weight yet dependable. After talking to a few jeep clubs ( they get stuck alot )  they know a thing or two on the subject, I knew what design/style winch. Harbor Freights 9000 ($285) winch was the best match to fit price/design/pwr. My X90  has a 3" body lift & custom tube bumper with skid plates. Still the install custom work is the same on mine as a Sidekick/Tracker/X90. These picks will show first 1/2 of project. Note: keeping the winch tucked out of harms way & high enough to stay dry were paramount in its choice of location. I bought two 6" long 3'/3" and welded them onto frame. Cut body cross member out to clear height of 9000. Bought 1.25' x 23" long strap steel and replace cross member 2" higher. This is also needed to attach hood latch support. Centered Summits winch plate & welded into place. Note: drilling/bolting could replace welding in this install but i welded then drill & bolt to be safe. ( thats just me). I will post the finished project next week. Hope this helps some with there install plans as I couldn't find anything & just went with my own ideas.

Man, that's hard to read, and your 6" long 3'/3" really doesn't help any.

Let me know how that winch works out - I'm curious about them - I'd love a cheap winch, but some of the Harbor Freight stuff is quite good, and some is absolute crap.  I've been considering that or possibly a MileMarker or Warn VR series.

Mine will also go on a custom bumper, but mounted "feet forward".

I like that bumper.  The reading was not hard, but I am still having trouble with the interpretation.  Zoom out on the photo, I would like to see that X90 on a solid axle (with a new bumper).

Seeing the pictures cleared up your mistyping, 2x 6" long 3"x3" angle


That winch is nice and tight.

Let's see a full shot of your X90, they really are my favorite when lifted!

TalonxracerI think you are almost right.
(2) 6" long 3"X3" angle iron.

Yes, that right (sorry) angle iron 12" long, cut in half. Thats 2 X 6". The angles are 3" each.  That gives room to drill the overlap of material.  Angle/winch plate. As for the MileMarker. From what i could find out the Harbor & MileMarker are made at the same place. I mean factory & country. I could be wrong . . . but ?  Any way the reviews are good as well as the price. (keep you posted). As for pic's. I haven't cut the skid plate & welded a needed tube so i can bolt in the rollers. Lastly Im locating nylon cable as the winch is heavy & removing the steel cable is hopfully going to drop some of it's weight. Here are a few pic's for the few X90 fans out there.

I could be wrong but I don't think the synthetic winch lines are nylon, and I've also been told to never use a roller fairlead with synthetic line - always use a billet aluminum hawse fairlead.

Nylon is the material used for "snatch" or recovery straps - the type that stretch when loaded, polyester is what's used for tow straps and winch extensions, so my guess is a nylon winch line will stretch, which is not quite what you need.  The commercial products are dyneema and plasma

Front end weight is also a concern of mine and I have been considering, as you are, a synthetic winch line as an option to reduce the additional weight..

They have a poly roller that can be used with synthetic line in place of the steel rollers, it is what I would opt for rather than the aluminum hawse even though the aluminum looks better imho.

Got the plate on. Just a few pic's now thats it's concealed.

Hell yeah that looks awesome.   You ready to do mine now?

Not as fun as it looks. 

Did you think about rotating the fairlead so it matches the angle on your bumper?

I'm not sure I'll have room to do the same thing you did to hide the winch in there.  I think my AC and fan takes up to much space. 

I have a 3" body lift and that gives me room to lift the a/c condensor. As for the a/c fan, i removed it & plan to install two smaller fans that i will grab at local wrecking yard. Already seen a few. As for the fairlead, i tried to mount it inline with winch so as not to put exsessive load on the rollers. Wanted to mount it right below upper bumper tube and angle with plate but told otherwise by Jeepie guys who winch alot. Maybe they steered me wrong. That wouldn't surprise me.

Now you need to put a running light behind those S cut-outs so you can display it on the ground at night.

I think I'll ask Warn about putting an angle on the fair lead.  It might lead to issues with the cable being pinched between two rollers since it will want to slide twords the top.

But how often do you need to use your winch anyway?