084runnerltd
SILVER Star
I received my appearance package grille and attempted to install it today to get rid of the chromy grille.
The first few steps are easy….
1). Remove a bunch of clips and remove plastic cover.
2). Remove 3 bolts fastening the grille down
3). Disconnect hoses attached to the grille
4). I removed the Lexus logo and disconnected the sensors, installed in new grille.
5). Spent the next several hours trying to figure out how to remove the grille…..sucks being the guinea pig. The top of the grill is loose, but the bottom is very snug.
-I removed about 30 bolts underneath the car, all 10mm, but all different lengths and thread pitches…not much progress there and not sure if it is even needed….
-I removed molding around a front wheel, in case the whole bumper has to be removed, but in addition to crazy clips that I have never seen before, several of the body panels are glued to each other
-Here is a pic of the clips that attach various panels, however, there is no access to them with your hands….only room to slide in my phone between some slates in the grille.
I can mange to figure out how the clips work, but they are inaccessible.
Additional hurdles:
A). 1/2 down the front of the grille is a solid piece of molding preventing access to the lower part of the grille (preventing me from finding connections points.)
B). Access from under the pig is also blocked with several pieces of molding.
Does anyone know if the entire front end has to be removed to swap the grille?
Anyone have a schematic of connection points?
I was planning to make a DIY, but am pretty frustrated now and don’t even know where to start tomorrow…..press my luck and just starting pulling down on the whole front end, hoping it is just snapped together and risk damaging the bumper….Or Possibly get out the sawzall and cut out the original grille….
Of course the kicker is that it is a new (and not cheap ride) so I am trying not to break things….
Any help or insight is appreciated.
The first few steps are easy….
1). Remove a bunch of clips and remove plastic cover.
2). Remove 3 bolts fastening the grille down
3). Disconnect hoses attached to the grille
4). I removed the Lexus logo and disconnected the sensors, installed in new grille.
5). Spent the next several hours trying to figure out how to remove the grille…..sucks being the guinea pig. The top of the grill is loose, but the bottom is very snug.
-I removed about 30 bolts underneath the car, all 10mm, but all different lengths and thread pitches…not much progress there and not sure if it is even needed….
-I removed molding around a front wheel, in case the whole bumper has to be removed, but in addition to crazy clips that I have never seen before, several of the body panels are glued to each other
-Here is a pic of the clips that attach various panels, however, there is no access to them with your hands….only room to slide in my phone between some slates in the grille.
I can mange to figure out how the clips work, but they are inaccessible.
Additional hurdles:
A). 1/2 down the front of the grille is a solid piece of molding preventing access to the lower part of the grille (preventing me from finding connections points.)
B). Access from under the pig is also blocked with several pieces of molding.
Does anyone know if the entire front end has to be removed to swap the grille?
Anyone have a schematic of connection points?
I was planning to make a DIY, but am pretty frustrated now and don’t even know where to start tomorrow…..press my luck and just starting pulling down on the whole front end, hoping it is just snapped together and risk damaging the bumper….Or Possibly get out the sawzall and cut out the original grille….
Of course the kicker is that it is a new (and not cheap ride) so I am trying not to break things….
Any help or insight is appreciated.