02-24-2015, 11:20 AM | #155 |
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Ok so I decided to go out and try the no tools method I could get the top part lose enough but I could not get my fingers to loosen the Bottom clips. The middle and right side clip is where I couldn't get my finger below to lift up.
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02-24-2015, 11:23 AM | #156 |
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Did you try to do the bottom first? I found that doing the top first put more pressure on the bottom ones which makes it more difficult to remove. I would do the bottom and sides first. As you said, the top ones are fairly easy to access. Also, try some sort of L shaped tool for the bottom tabs.
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02-24-2015, 11:44 AM | #157 | |
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Quote:
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03-29-2015, 01:06 AM | #159 |
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03-29-2015, 10:02 AM | #160 |
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03-29-2015, 10:18 AM | #161 |
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03-29-2015, 11:08 PM | #164 |
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Great! Post pics!
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04-01-2015, 02:41 PM | #166 |
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For those who are able to reach the tabs, when you say to press the tab, which direction are you pressing? For example, the top tabs, are you pushing up or pulling down?
I'm able to reach the tabs, but nothing will loosen. However, I just realized I might be going the wrong direction. |
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04-01-2015, 02:46 PM | #167 | |
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I found loosening the top ones were easiest and the bottom ones hardest. I would start with the bottom ones, then the sides, then the top.
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04-02-2015, 08:33 AM | #168 |
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Seems my fingers just can't get enough leverage to loosen the clips. I'm probably gonna have to do the remove bumper technique.
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04-02-2015, 08:41 AM | #169 |
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Dont be afraid to pull a bit while pressing the tabs. Dont worry, the grille is pretty strong and the bumper is flexible.
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04-02-2015, 09:24 PM | #170 |
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Well I tried it one more time, but still couldn't pull it out. Ended up doing the loosen bumper method. It wasn't too bad, took about 15 minutes.
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04-05-2015, 02:13 PM | #171 |
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I think you should try to pull the grille while pressing the middle of the tab since the bumper has holes for those tabs, not just pushing up or down. It's quite hard, I tried many times to get those off. Good luck!
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04-07-2015, 01:58 PM | #172 |
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Thanks for the DIY instructions! I don't know how most of you were able to remove the existing grills so easily, it took me about an hour and 20 minutes to get all the tabs on the first grill. The second grill took 5 minutes after that since you can just reach through the gap from the first grill to unclip. After that, popping in the new grills was a breeze and looks great.
I wasn't able to stick my fingers through the slats and twist around enough to release the tabs so I had to go with the bumper technique. Removing the bumper fastenings was easy enough but it was really difficult to bend the bumper enough to get anything more than a small flashlight behind the grill, let alone an arm. I still have marks on my right forearm from doing this almost three days ago . As others have said, the most important thing is to use one hand and actively pull the grill forward from the outside while pushing on the tab from the inside. |
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04-13-2015, 06:18 PM | #173 |
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Couldn't bend my bumper far enough to get a good reach to even pluck out the top 3 clips. No way I was going to be able to fit my hand down there to release the bottom ones. Is anyone else experiencing that their bumper is way too stiff to reach the clips. If I bend mine anymore it'll snap
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04-18-2015, 08:23 AM | #174 |
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Ended up doing the 1 swift pull/ yank method, which removed one grill minus 1 broken tab, and used the space to remove the tabs on the other grill to remove without any broken tab. The warmer weather helps make the clips more pliable and easier to yank out.
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04-18-2015, 11:02 AM | #175 | |
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Only need one tool
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04-19-2015, 07:45 PM | #176 |
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I ended up using everything in this thread lol. Opening up the bumper, a hook tool - everything. It was a struggle. Even after getting one grille out, the other grille had a tab that decided to fight me the entire way.
I wanted to keep the chrome surround and replace the grilles with M4 dual slats and even that fought me a bit. Keep in mind that we are talking injection molded plastic, variances in tolerances are going to mean some things go easy and some are going to be a cast iron bitch.
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