front grille differences | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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front grille differences

digifoss

Active Member
Joined
December 8, 2018
Messages
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City, State
Grants, NM
Year, Model & Trim Level
07 Explorer XLT
What determines which 06-10 Explorers get which grille ? I have seen EB's with both. Mine has the one on the right.

grilles.jpg
 



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The left one is EB only. The right one was on the XLT and Limited.
 






The left one is EB only. The right one was on the XLT and Limited.

I kind of figured that out after looking at them some more. I did see an 07' EB on a Texas Craigslist that had the XLT grille is what confused me, but I suppose a damaged grille could probably be replaced with either type.
 






You have the right grille - are you looking to replace it?
 






No, I lilke the grille on mine. I just noticed yesterday that there were two different grille types and was curious is all, I had not noticed it before. I prefer the XLT / Limited myself, purely subjective, but I do suppose that the EB I saw with the XLT / Limited grille must have had the OEM grille replaced for one reason or another, the original grille was damaged, or maybe just owner preference.
 






I’m pretty sure there were 3 or 4 different grills in 2006, if I recall, limited and xlt looked similar but slightly different
 






at first I didnt like the EB grill but I found one in pretty good shape at the junk yard so for $13 I said why not and after I installed it I then came to the conclusion I do like it better because its smaller and has less slats....IMO its way less gaudy plus they are so easy to change you can switch back and forth daily if you wish
 






I always found it amusing that the top and bottom level trim share the same grill - yet the EB has it's own grill. I have the EB grill but I'm pretty meh about which one I prefer.
 






I am going to have to pull out the original sales brochure to confirm but I’m pretty sure the base and limited grills are ever so slightly different
 






I think they are the same - according to the 2008 Explorer brochure:

Grille — Chrome, 4-bar design (listed as standard on XLT and Limited)
Grille — Chrome, 3-bar design with nostrils (listed as standard on the EB)

Each is listed as unavailable on the other.

I didn't quickly find a 2006 or 7 brochure but I can't see why they would change the grill design within a generation.
 






I think they are the same - according to the 2008 Explorer brochure:

Grille — Chrome, 4-bar design (listed as standard on XLT and Limited)
Grille — Chrome, 3-bar design with nostrils (listed as standard on the EB)

Each is listed as unavailable on the other.

I didn't quickly find a 2006 or 7 brochure but I can't see why they would change the grill design within a generation.

only the mustang did that but it was with the rear wing and they did it very slightly every year so the mustang fanatics could talk about differences
 






I realized my error, confirm base and limited the same. The third grill was the Ironman version, essentially a black Eddie Bauer grill.
 






I believe the Sport Trac and EB shared the same looking grill also.
 






I also see one like this occasionally, the bottom one. From an 06' Explorer base. It looks unpainted / unchromed.

3grilles.jpg
 






From my research, that grill and bumper would be Onyx Grey. It came standard on the XLS model which apparently was below the XLT model in 2006.

Bumpers — Onyx grey molded-in-color
Bumpers — Pueblo Gold-painted
Bumpers — Body-color-painted

Grille — Onyx grey, 4-bar design
Grille — Chromed, 4-bar design
Grille — Chromed, 3-bar design with nostrils

They also came standard with 16" styled steel wheels. Seeing the wheels on the one you posted is what really got me curious. Also, they dropped the XLS package for the 2007 model year so I would imagine that they are fairly rare.
In fact, I was going to state that the owner probably painted the grille due to the chrome flaking problem. That's when I noticed the steel wheels and started digging. Glad I did - I would have been wrong.
 






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