Drilling Holes in 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee

[n4njj]

Group:

I recently upgraded to a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Unlike a lot of people, I want to punch holes in the roof. My vehicle has a moon roof, and does not have any dome lights or anything of the sort. I know this complicates things, especially the moon roof. Has anyone actually drilled holes to install the antenna? I see a lot of info on the different types of mounts, but I prefer to go this direction. Any tips would be helpful.

Again, it's a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Summit edition.

 

[jack103]

Hire a pro.

 

[mass-man]

+1 to hire a pro! Shouldn't be more than $50 or so per hole and NMO mount and cable pull to dash or wherever! For that you don't have to worry...but provide the mounts! Horrible markup if you don't!
Now this price is for the same work down here in Big D!!! YMMV!!!!

 

[Project25_MASTR]

It's not difficult if you have the right tools.

First you have to drop the headliner (go ahead and move the sunroof back) a few inches so you can peak around and see what's there. Once you find a spot that's out of the way of the sunroof and cross bracing, you drill from the top with a NMO hole saw. After you punch through, clean the area around the hole with a damp rag and then route your coax in from the hole down into the car (if you have side curtain air bags you need to route around so the coax doesn't impede deployment). Assemble and tighten the mount (requires a wrench and needle nose pliers) and you're done.

You can also make the hole with a 3/4" Greenlee punch (actual, not conduit) but it requires drilling a pilot hole.

Did two on my 2004 Trailblazer, one (currently) one my 1999 XJ, 1 one my 2013 Sierra (as soon as I got it home), one on a 2009 GMC 1 ton extended cab, one on a 2011 GMC Sierra, and one on a 2013 F150.

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[SteveC0625]

No need to drop the headliner on a WK2 with full moon roof. See posts #3 and #5: https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/drilling-holes-in-2012-jeep-grand-cherokee.524351/ Just remove the very rear trim piece.

Lots of detail info and assembly/disassembly instructions can be found at: WK2Jeeps.com - 2011-2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Edit to add: http://wk2jeeps.com/interior/2011_wk_interior_trim_removal_001E.pdf

 

[cmdrwill]

Steve, same question for a 2012 Liberty Sport headliner.

 

[VE3RADIO]

Watch for airbags.

 

[mmckenna]

While not the same vehicle, I did an install on a 2009 Ford Escape with a sun roof.
Easiest way to do it was to loosen the rear part of the head liner and drop it down enough to visualize what's up there. It was pretty easy to measure out the sun roof travel. Being able to look up under the roof made it easy to ID where any cross braces were.
Once I had that, I just used some masking tape to plot out the location on the roof.

I drilled down from the top with the headliner still down a bit. Running the coax wasn't an issue behind the rear seat as there wasn't any air bags back there. Once down the "C" pillar (behind the rear door) it should be pretty easy to follow a path up to the dashboard.

 

[SteveC0625]

Steve, same question for a 2012 Liberty Sport headliner.

Dunno for sure. I've got a WK2 like the OP's sitting in my driveway so I've accumulated a lot of info on it. I have not looked at other models, but there may be similar resources out there for the finding.

 

[Markb]

I would recommend a Greenlee chassis punch. Makes very clean holes with no hot metal:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/131821022474

Just be sure you have the right size punch for the antenna mount.


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[mmckenna]

I would recommend a Greenlee chassis punch. Makes very clean holes with no hot metal:

Greenlee No 730 3 4 inch Round Radio Chassis Punch Excellent | eBay

Just be sure you have the right size punch for the antenna mount.


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The chassis punch is a good option, however you still need to drill the pilot hole which will result in some hot metal raining down upon the soft bits.
As for "right sized punch", this is a very good point. There is 3/4" (.750) and there is "trade size 3/4" which is for 3/4" conduit fittings, and gives a hole size about 7/8". Very important to pay attention to the difference.

Hole saw or punch, either one will work if it makes a round 3/4" hole.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

The chassis punch is a good option, however you still need to drill the pilot hole which will result in some hot metal raining down upon the soft bits.

As for "right sized punch", this is a very good point. There is 3/4" (.750) and there is "trade size 3/4" which is for 3/4" conduit fittings, and gives a hole size about 7/8". Very important to pay attention to the difference.



Hole saw or punch, either one will work if it makes a round 3/4" hole.

Have to have full access (enough to screw in the bottom of the punch) to use the punch as well.


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