Are 97 and 98 grilles interchangeable?

[SVO LOU]

Guys,
My short-term goal for my Mounty is to get a billet grille for it. I just converted it to a 98 hood latch. I can't find any billet grilles for Mounty's, only X's. My plan is to get a grille from a 98 X and then use that for my billet grille, just in case I can go back.
Will my plan work? Which grille companies do you recommend? I think the hard part is going to be getting a billet grille for a 98 X AND a matching bumper insert for a 97.
Any thoughts?

Lou.

 

[yob_yeknom]

The grilles for the '95 to '01 Explorers all look the same. (except for the '01 Sport)
The only changes are the '95-97 hood latches are in the grille and the '98-'01 are under the hood. The '98-01 also have that wire looking insert in the grille.
The front bumpers are the same from '95-'98.

 

[jimbo74]

a 95 to 01 explorer grill is the same.... but the mountys have different shapes on the ends.....they also have different fenders to accomodate those end pieces.... however, i know the x has a 3 piece outer housing, the mountys probably do too.... you may be able to just swap out the center section with the x center section

 

[yob_yeknom]

Jim, I believe the Mountaineer and Explorer shared the same front end in '97.
If I'm wrong though, that is a brilliant idea. I'm impressed!

 

[Hartman]

The '97 Mountaineer had the same front end, which means the whole front clip is compatible with 95-01 Explorer (95% sure). 98+ Mountaineers have a different headlight design, and those have different grill ends to accomadate for those. An Explorer grill should swap in, then you could get your billet grill.

 

[SVO LOU]

Thanks for the help guys. Maybe I'll just get a 97 X grille and use that as my experiment.
Can you guys recommend a good billet grille manufacturer (with bumper insert) and what I can expect to pay?
Also, I thought the 98 X's were the first that had the round fog lights? Man I have a lot to learn about these things.

Lou.

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

Nope, the round fog lights were introduced in '99. In '98, they only changed the rear design.

 

[98GT-40P]

'98 Mountys were the first to have projector headlights and the extremely durable clear lens. The lights are so much brighter. They also won't yellow over the years due to UV like the older design. If you can upgrade the lights while changing the grill, that would definitely be worthwhile. I didn't buy a Exp Bauer due to the old plastic headlights (and fender flares) also.

The headlights were one of the reasons why I went with a '98 instead of a '97. Also, the C/D pillar is painted in '98 (no fading flat black) and the tq goes up from 275 ft-lb to 288. Hp up from 210 to 215. Sorry Lou for the bad news

 

[SVO LOU]

Thanks for the bad news, 98GT-40P.
I'll definitely keep my eyes open for parts but this truck was a deal I couldn't pass up.

Lou.