Thanks for all add'l info.
I don't have door sticker I am trying to get it. There is ton of info on that, not in the VIN, like if it had pinstripes and if so what colors.
Yes I want arrangement where winch stays in cargo box but I have a way of attaching it front/rear. Or to start, at least rear, I want to get an AOR bumper with D-rings and I'm unclear whether I mount the winch to this item (below) or if it attaches to a 2" (class 3) hitch.
I actually don't have a towing need right now. What I was thinking was to have a good frame hitch both front and back (and attach winch to that... somehow). But then I was thinking, if the D-rings are sturdy enough to pull on, that means the bumper itself is sturdy and, sturdily mounted, for instance, sturdier bumper mounts. Anyway that would mean if I have a way to mount the winch to the bumper without involving a hitch, then I probably wouldn't do the hitch, but, I could almost for sure do it later because the bumper and hitch are really two different things. Unless it was logical to do them at the same time, but everything costs, so really I could skip the hitch as long as I have a way to safely bumper-mount the winch but I want eventually, I think, to put an AOR front bumper and then I would want to be able to put the winch there as well.
And I thought of a front hitch (for the winch attachment), but I think that's quite a bit harder than a rear hitch, so if I could get away with not doing any hitches that would be great.
If I did ever do towing then I'd probably want the hitches both front/back, I understand the front hitch can be real handy in positioning a trailer.
It sounds like if there are any weak points of the 97 maybe it's the radius arms. Am I correct in saying it is SLA type?
I don't have the torque/hp curve in front of me, but the earlier 4.0L is real torquey. True the later 4.0L has a bit more hp, but not really significantly different torque.
Just judging from the rpms they give respectively for hp and torque (I'd assume these are maximums of course) those are 3000 for torque and 4200 for hp so it seems like that's basically your best power range.
They have to equal at 5250 rpm to to me that would imply after 4200 you are losing both hp and torque.
Here is the winch attachment, how it works exactly I don't know, or if it works for what I want to do.
Champion Speed Mount 2in. Hitch Adapter, Model# C90002 | Northern Tool