Jo the Explorer
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- Joined
- June 2, 2008
- Messages
- 122
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- City, State
- Graysville, Alabama
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 08 Mustang GT Conv. 96XLT
My billit grille arrived yesterday and my dad and I decided we would give it a go putting it on. Sorry for no pictures, I will update this with pictures later, I thought my digital was dead but come to find out it wasn't. So I'll take it back apart and update with pics. Until then look at this thread for pics.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=205316
I ordered this grille from Stylintrucks.com
http://www.stylintrucks.com/parts.a...+Location=Main+Grille&canned_results_trigger=
Tools used:
Metabo with waffer disc. Used to roughly cut out the grille.
Hack saw blade. Used to trim the excess flush to the grille shell.
Drill with burring tool. Used to sand the excess smooth. Also 100 grit sandpaper works well.
Philips and Flat head screw driver.
The directions that come with the grille are pretty straight forward, there are a couple of things not mentioned and we also found ways of making it easier.
1. Romove the factory grille shell by first removing the screws retaining the turn signals and park lights. These are located under the flap of plastic over the lights, then remove the bulbs from the lights. There are 6 screws and 4 bolts holding the grille shell to the truck. We removed the plastic that is on top of the grille for easier access. There are two screws on the top of each of the of the lights and two on top of the plastic piece above the grille. The four bolts are above the plastic piece. You can now detach the clips holding the outside ends and the bottom of the grille. We found these rather tricky, but if you use a flat head screw driver to bend the little metal piece that holds the clip in place it is much easier.
2. With the grille shell removed, tape of the outside of the shell to protect the finish.
3. We used the Metabo to roughly cut the cross bar sections of the grill shell. Then we followed with the hack saw blade to get as close to the shell as possible. We sanded the stubs with the drill and the burring and tool, and followed it with the sand paper to smooth up the edges.
4. Pre-fit the grille in the grille shell making sure the grille is centered in the opening and the face of the bars are even with the outside rim of the opening. We did this by placing both the grille and shell on a flat, level surface, which makes the grill flush with the shell. We then marked the holes on the grille with a sharpee. The upper tabs of the grille did require slight bending to become flush with the shell.
5. After the marks are made, remove the grille from the shell and drill holes with a 3/16" drill. Or simply hold a spare screw with pliers and heat the tip of the screw with a flame. Press the heated screw in the marked area until it starts to melt through the other side of the shell. It made for a much tighter fit when we screwed the grill in place.
6. Sand the area inside the grille with a Scotch Brite pad and paint satin black. We was out of Satin black paint so we used Flat black enamel instead, works just as well.
7. Re-install the grille in the shell and secure with the black screws and clips provided.
8. Attach the hood latch extension to the safety latch by putting the ex. behind or infront of the safety latch. We placed it in front of the latch. And secure it with the black screw through the factory hole in the safety latch. Its a tight fit, using a power drill and a little strength it holds very snug.
9. Re-install the grill shell in the truck by reversing Step 1. When hooking the lower tabs of the grille shell back to the clips, we found taking the clips out and putting them on the tabs, then installing them back in place was a lot easier.
Here's the finished product, please excuse the bugs and dirt haven't washed in a couple of weeks.
I will be adding on to this when the lower air dam grille arrives. And I will update this with progress pics over the weekend.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=205316
I ordered this grille from Stylintrucks.com
http://www.stylintrucks.com/parts.a...+Location=Main+Grille&canned_results_trigger=
Tools used:
Metabo with waffer disc. Used to roughly cut out the grille.
Hack saw blade. Used to trim the excess flush to the grille shell.
Drill with burring tool. Used to sand the excess smooth. Also 100 grit sandpaper works well.
Philips and Flat head screw driver.
The directions that come with the grille are pretty straight forward, there are a couple of things not mentioned and we also found ways of making it easier.
1. Romove the factory grille shell by first removing the screws retaining the turn signals and park lights. These are located under the flap of plastic over the lights, then remove the bulbs from the lights. There are 6 screws and 4 bolts holding the grille shell to the truck. We removed the plastic that is on top of the grille for easier access. There are two screws on the top of each of the of the lights and two on top of the plastic piece above the grille. The four bolts are above the plastic piece. You can now detach the clips holding the outside ends and the bottom of the grille. We found these rather tricky, but if you use a flat head screw driver to bend the little metal piece that holds the clip in place it is much easier.
2. With the grille shell removed, tape of the outside of the shell to protect the finish.
3. We used the Metabo to roughly cut the cross bar sections of the grill shell. Then we followed with the hack saw blade to get as close to the shell as possible. We sanded the stubs with the drill and the burring and tool, and followed it with the sand paper to smooth up the edges.
4. Pre-fit the grille in the grille shell making sure the grille is centered in the opening and the face of the bars are even with the outside rim of the opening. We did this by placing both the grille and shell on a flat, level surface, which makes the grill flush with the shell. We then marked the holes on the grille with a sharpee. The upper tabs of the grille did require slight bending to become flush with the shell.
5. After the marks are made, remove the grille from the shell and drill holes with a 3/16" drill. Or simply hold a spare screw with pliers and heat the tip of the screw with a flame. Press the heated screw in the marked area until it starts to melt through the other side of the shell. It made for a much tighter fit when we screwed the grill in place.
6. Sand the area inside the grille with a Scotch Brite pad and paint satin black. We was out of Satin black paint so we used Flat black enamel instead, works just as well.
7. Re-install the grille in the shell and secure with the black screws and clips provided.
8. Attach the hood latch extension to the safety latch by putting the ex. behind or infront of the safety latch. We placed it in front of the latch. And secure it with the black screw through the factory hole in the safety latch. Its a tight fit, using a power drill and a little strength it holds very snug.
9. Re-install the grill shell in the truck by reversing Step 1. When hooking the lower tabs of the grille shell back to the clips, we found taking the clips out and putting them on the tabs, then installing them back in place was a lot easier.
Here's the finished product, please excuse the bugs and dirt haven't washed in a couple of weeks.
I will be adding on to this when the lower air dam grille arrives. And I will update this with progress pics over the weekend.
If you PM me after you update this thread with pics I'll set you up with some Elite Explorer time for your work.
