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T-Rex Billet Grill and Bumper Insert

3K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  am33 
#1 · (Edited)
Tools needed:
10mm socket wrench
Phillips screwdriver
Small cresent wrench
Dremel tool w/cutoff wheel(possibly)
Drill
Drill bit slightly smaller than the provided screws(I don’t remember what size I used)

This is one my favorite mods. It really changes the look of the truck immediately! These are T-Rex billet grills, but I ordered them from T-Rex powdercoated satin black instead of with the polished front. Since I am doing this write up after the fact I will do my best to give you a step by step. If I miss anything or you have questions let me know.
First thing to do is to take off the plastic shroud covering the radiator, grill supports, and fan shroud. Then find the 4 screws that hold the grill on. They will be easy to spot. Use a 10mm socket to take these out.

Once they are out the grill is now loose and is just held on by tabs. Just pull straight out and it will pop loose...

Here is where I got upset. T-Rex designed these grills based off the factory honeycomb grill. Their supports go right where the chrome bars some of us have go. From here you have three choices: quit lol, undo all the snaps and take out the stock grill, or get frustrated and take a cut off wheel to it(my personal favorite). It took me 3 wheels and about 15 minutes to cut all of the bars out. Once that was done I connected the braces from the back side of the grill. I ran the provided screw thru the billet grill and the self locking nut and started slowly tightening these in place. When I got close to it being tight, I positioned the new grill in the stock housing and kind of wedged it in place as I tightened the bracket all the way. I did this for every one. Now that part took a while. Tightening and loosening until I liked how each grill sat. If I were to do it over again, I would put some clear plastic or silicone on the ends of the grill to help hold them in place and reduce the risk of them scratching my grill. Here is the finished product from the back side

Front


Bumper insert-
This was really simple. I placed the insert up in the plastic factory trim and held it in place with my hand. I then took a nail and pressed hard into the plastic where the screw holes would go. Once I did this for each side I took my drill, made pilot holes and installed the lower grill. This took all of 20 minutes at worst.

Finished product-


It’s a great mod and one that was fairly easy. If you have the chrome bars and want a billet grill just be aware of what you are getting yourself into!
 
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