We all know just how small and secure the glove boxes are
in the TJ's. A three year old with a plastic hammer could probably
break in. It only took getting one of my TJ's broken into before
I decided to upgrade to some serious protection. Now since I can't
leave a large dog in the vehicle 24/7 I decided to go to Tuffy for some
security.
I ordered a black box since I was going to paint it to
match the interior of the Rubi. Well at the end of 2002 the
dealership still had no idea as to when the paint would be available, so
I didn't paint it. At least it will be obvious to anyone looking in
the windows that they are not going to get anything out of this glove
box.
The glove box came nicely packaged with all the
parts. I promptly lost the screws for it, but that was easily remedied
by a trip to Lowe's. That is what you get for cleaning up the garage
in the middle of a project. This unit is heavy compared to the stock
plastic, but doesn't have anymore room to hold things.
Additional
Parts:
(2) 1" self tapping flange head screws
Tools
Needed:
#2 Phillips screwdriver - The instructions say #1
1/4" socket
Angle Drill with 1/4" drill bit
Installation:
1. Remove the old glove box, be careful that you don't manage to
dump all the contents on the floor.
2. Now you will see a total of 10 screws, 8 holding the plastic dash
to the steel dash frame
3. 2 more holding the latch into the dash. You will need to remove
all of these. Now as you can see there are 2 empty screw holes
in the dash. I went out and bought another 2 screws to go into
these holes also. Tuffy doesn't mention this in their instructions,
and a phone call got me the answer of "Sure you can put screws
in those holes, it will make the unit stronger."
4. Put the frame for the Tuffy box up against the dash and install the
screws. You will need a 1/4" socket to install the bottom
screws because of the box being in the way. The 4 screws that
I lost earlier go in the bottom (2) and in the latch assembly (2).
I tried to get a drill and a dremel into these locations to make a
hole, but I couldn't. This is where you need an angle drill.
5. After you get it all installed you will need to adjust the latch.
Make certain that the locking arm swings up through both bars on the
glove box lid. You can adjust this by prying on the arm, or
like I did by putting the star washer under the arm, vice under the
nut. Now close the glove box and see if it will latch closed.
If it latches and is too loose you will need to bend the lock catch
back a little, if it is to tight then pry it forwards a little.
6. You may notice that my glove box does not have the same texture
as the other Tuffy boxes. This is because it was in another
Jeep and was painted to match that color interior, when I removed
it I repainted it black because I was to lazy to try and strip all
the paint off of it. I now regret that, so when I have time
I will strip the paint off of this one.
