Ahhh...

Just got mine done, only took about 1 hr.
It looks much better!!

 

I know this is an older thread, but it is exactly what I was looking for, and how I found this site. Thank you for a great write up! Just got it all back together. Looks awesome!

Mondo

 

Do you guys know if a 97-98 grille surround and grill will fit an '02? Found one in good shape, but if it's not compatible, obviously it's worthless to me.

Great instructions, btw

 

Great write up! Helped a lot...painted the grill factory "true blue"

Before:


After:

 

This helped me a ton, thanks! I also painted my wiper arms and cowl, doing my bed rails, bumper step and back window trim tomorrow.

 

This helped a bunch and looks soooo much better. Thanks for the write-up!

 

Thanks for the info. Doing it right now. Doing the grill black again and the Ford Badge is going to be Fluorescent Yellow with my CMRA race number on the Badge.

 

Amazing right up man! Just dissasembled it and will begin the painting tomarrow after school. This kind of information is exactly why I joined this site.

 

Excellent instructions. Just waiting for the paint to dry and putting it back together soon. The insert is a bitch to get out of the grill. That's really the only struggle I had. My truck has 8 screws for the panel in step 1. The other 2 are back on the aft side of the spare tire wrench. Thanks again!

 

Great job. This info. saved me the big hassel of calling a shop when I needed to remove the grill before the fender. Mahalo!

 

Excellent post, but I would recommend leaving two top screws in, finger tight, and removing them last. This way you can hold the assembly while removing them and it has less chance of falling. I just had the truck painted but had to do the grille myself and I didn't want to chance any damage. It is also beneficial to place towels, don't tell my wife, between the grille housing and the upper bumper valance to protect the paint. One other note; get a "button popper" to remove the filler panel buttons and use another towel between it and the grille support to avoid damage. Shop towels will work, but terry towels are softer.

A very good post, but I have a phobia about scratches and it is not my truck--it is my wifes and I really want to keep breathing.

 

You cant get the black grill off without removing the white surrounding part?

 

No ... the center comes out of the back side of the surround. There's no room to pull it out w/ the surround still mounted to the truck.

 

Just did this with a 97'. Instructions were the same minus the center grill is glued in so I just masked around it and painted it up. I used matte bumper paint instead of trim paint to make it look more OEM.

Worked great.

 

Thanks, I have been wanting to do this forever.


2000 F-150 XL Standard Cab 4x4 4.6 5-speed