does anyone know what the 2 ugly black boxes in the lower grill are for.
has anyone replaced them with a proper grill

Sorry to be an a$$ but ...

Thanks for reviving 20 threads from a year ago ... Oh wait ... you didnt... because you didnt take the time to search for your answer.


Search button is on top of page, does wonderful things.

wow that was a little rude. sorry to be an *** but i was wondering the same thing. good thing i didnt ask it. id hate to get my head bitten off. just cause he didnt search? hmmmm

It just gets annoying to see the same easily-answered questions get asked over and over again by people who don't care to take the time to search.

I know the search functions on forums usually suck, and sometimes its hard to figure out exactly the search terms to use, but at least try "lower" and maybe "grill" and you'll find:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...ll-insert.html
https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...wer-grill.html
https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...sert-info.html
https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...ce-grille.html

That only took about fifteen seconds...

To actually answer the original poster, no.

I think the black boxes are there to just break up all the chrome or paint. The replacement grilles do nothing for the boxes, the grilles only go in between them.

I forget what they're called, but supposedly they are there to help protect your bumper in the event you bump someone in a parking lot (though maybe you should be driving something a little smaller if you're having this problem).

they actually used to do this with bumpers a long time ago, but they were vertically aligned and much thinner.

they're called "overriders" and ^you're exactly right. They're designed to absorb minimal, incidental contact such as parking bumps and the like. They don't look good, but they don't look as bad as scratched paint. Some folks on other forums are starting to think about putting off-road lights and other accessories there.