front grill removal?
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 325
Likes: 0
From: San Luis Obispo, Ca
Re: front grill removal? Grab and pull. Pull harder, then harder some more. It will come off. There are plastic nubs on the back that have nuts that thread onto them to hold it onto the car. You can retrieve those nuts and put them back on the back to make it stay on more secure. Or use some 3m mounting tape to hold it on. Hope this helps.
-dan
-dan
Re: front grill removal? Grille Removal Tips 101
As many of you have expressed the “YANK” method scares you to death - me too.
So I wanted to see if the grille could be remove without the “YANK” method or the removal of the entire bumper. Even though the factory grille is a POS I wanted to not damage it so I could keep it.
Here is what I learned.
GM in their infinite wisdom installed the damn thing with two different types of fasteners. There are 8 points the grille is secured. Along the bottom are 3 rectangular press on pieces. Along the top are 3 - 11mm nuts, and on the left and right side are hooks.
To remove the grille I first pulled out the three plastic expansion anchors under the car that hold the bumper cover to the metal frame, pull it gently down, then reached my arm inside I felt the three press on fasteners, with a Mini Stanley Wonder Bar (a very small pry bar - Craftsman makes one too) I slowly pried off the clips. Now the bottom is loose.
Then I reached to either side of the grille and released the hooks on the left and right side. By now the grille is VERY loose. To avoid scratching the paint or clear coat I wrapped the entire grille opening with “blue” 3M masking tape. Unfortunately I could only “feel” the top fasteners, and could not get a wrench around them. But now I have it apart I can tell you they are 11mm.
Since the grille was so loose I did employ the “YANK” method on the remaining fasteners two of the nuts popped right off one stud did break. The grille is complete and visibly in good condition, also no damage to the car.
I hope this info helps all you Camaro owners.
As many of you have expressed the “YANK” method scares you to death - me too.
So I wanted to see if the grille could be remove without the “YANK” method or the removal of the entire bumper. Even though the factory grille is a POS I wanted to not damage it so I could keep it.
Here is what I learned.
GM in their infinite wisdom installed the damn thing with two different types of fasteners. There are 8 points the grille is secured. Along the bottom are 3 rectangular press on pieces. Along the top are 3 - 11mm nuts, and on the left and right side are hooks.
To remove the grille I first pulled out the three plastic expansion anchors under the car that hold the bumper cover to the metal frame, pull it gently down, then reached my arm inside I felt the three press on fasteners, with a Mini Stanley Wonder Bar (a very small pry bar - Craftsman makes one too) I slowly pried off the clips. Now the bottom is loose.
Then I reached to either side of the grille and released the hooks on the left and right side. By now the grille is VERY loose. To avoid scratching the paint or clear coat I wrapped the entire grille opening with “blue” 3M masking tape. Unfortunately I could only “feel” the top fasteners, and could not get a wrench around them. But now I have it apart I can tell you they are 11mm.
Since the grille was so loose I did employ the “YANK” method on the remaining fasteners two of the nuts popped right off one stud did break. The grille is complete and visibly in good condition, also no damage to the car.
I hope this info helps all you Camaro owners.
