billet grill

[Rudy A]

i really want to order one of those billet grilles off ebay to change apperance of the truck.

whats the installation process? it seems like the original grill needs to be cut out. hows the new one bolted on and what not?

stainless steal or the polished one?

any help is greatly appreciated.

its a 99 explorer sport 2 door

 

[briwayjones]

Some of them are just attached with zip ties. Some screw on I think. And with most of them I think you have to cut out the center portion of the grille. I don't have one, I'm sure someone that knows more will chime in.

 

[BuffaloXplorer]

Bri is correct - for the most part, the billet grilles with 10 or so bars will require the cutting of your factory grille. The 25 bar ones (crap) are put over your OEM grille with zipties.

Once you cut out the criss-cross section of your stock grille, the other one fits in and is screwed into the remaining shell with what appear to be wood screws (provided).

All in all it's not too hard to do. I used a sawzall. A dremel tool with a side cutting bit would be easier and much cleaner to use.

If you can afford it, go SS. The polished aluminum i got no longer appears shiny, and it's been less than 8 months or so.

 

[Rudy A]

ya i think it was only like a 5 bucks different? so i should get one with less bars? i dont want the zip tie one.... thats just bootleg lol

 

[BuffaloXplorer]

I got mine for < $40 shipped. The 25-bar one was $69 + $9s&h when i last saw it.

Not many people like the 25 bar one b/c from more than a few feet away, it looks like a solid piece of metal. IMO - The 10-bar is a much cleaner looking addition.

I slapped my Ford emblem from the OEM grille right in the middle and it looks real nice.

 

[Rudy A]

ahh your car the whole front piece is chrome.....mine is blue........mine isnt going to look as good but i do need to chaneg the grille. i hate stock

 

[Rudy A]

where did you get it for less then 40?

 

[BuffaloXplorer]

Ummmmm.... HERE

I'll reiterate, it's not the highest quality, but after taking my front end apart yesterday, it still looks damn good (on the all-chrome grille)

Check out www.headlightwarehouse.com if you want to upgrade your grille to chrome.

 

[Rudy A]

how many bars does it have?

 

[BuffaloXplorer]

10 bars - it's a pirated picture from another seller and should not be representing the actual product they're selling.

 

[Rudy A]

ok just odered it - we shall see soon thanks for your help

 

[Afboy143]

i had the 25 bar one on my old truck and it was more of a cheap plastic/metal that was really thin. I really want one of these polished chrome ones but dont wanna cut my OEM grill

 

[Rudy A]

im cutting my grill and i really hope i dont mess it up....lol..............w/e if it coems down to it ill go get a new one and get the chrome one lol

 

[Afboy143]

waht exactly did you have to cut?

 

[BuffaloXplorer]

Right behind the billet would be the oem criss-cross section with the Ford oval:

You have to make cuts where the 3 vertical and one horizontal bar joins the grille shell - 8 total.

Like i said, a dremel tool with a rotozip-type bit would be best and make the nicest cuts, but i did it in haste and used a sawzall to do so. Am i unhappy with the result? No. Could i have done better? Yup! Do i care? NOPE!

Good luck guys.

 

[BuffaloXplorer]

Oh, yeah - and i added a section of the 25-bar grille that i got from another member to the bumper section there. You can barely see it in the post #5 (above).