Anyone here love the look of the SS grille but hate the thought of having to remove the bumper to install it properly? Well, that is a way of the past. Granted, you still will have to cut it out, but I have found a way that makes it much easier, IMHO...

Step 1: Remove the fron trim by removed the eight (8) phlilips head screws that hold the trim in place, and pull the trim up & out. Here is how it looks removed and the positions of the screws


Once it is out, use a dremel cutting tool with a reinforced cutting wheel. Cut out all of the OEM grille with the dremel, leaving only the screw mounts behind. Go nuts cutting the trim, just be careful; the dremel will heat the plastic spray and can hurt you.

Here are the locations of the screws again on the back of the trim


Now, I made the mistake of leaving the trim in when I was first doing this, and wound up cutting the trim...

 

That's not a problem, though. Using some 3M Blue Acryl Glazing Putty, simply patch over the holes like so...


Since I did this, I had to paint it (shucks). I simply sanded the trim with 500-grit paper, rubbed her down with alchohol, primed it, and painted.


Finally, i used some wire-ties to install the grille..,and you're done!!!! ALL WITHOUT EVER REMOVING THE FASICA!!!!

 

Good write up dude, awsome pics as well
Mods: Can we put this in the sticky's?

This is so much better than taking off the entire bumber to put it on

 

not my style, but nice write up

 

We 5th gen owners have precious little choice.

Way to go from 1000 to 1,015 you *****.

 

haha i know im addicted, i need my fix man!

 

Looks like you got a flat there.

 

I'd rather just take the time and do it perfect. But dude that a good idea and im glad you gave some ideas to all the lazy guys hahaha. Nice look though!!

 

lol...bookmark this thread when you actually try to do it, you will see...

 

Nah, it's just a funny angle.

 

Hey Metal, that looks really, really nice. This is one of two aftermarket grill jobs I have seen that I like.


EDIT: Throw an 02/03 Nissan emblem in the center of that upper grille to finish off the factory look. Studman's:



And straighten out that front plate, would ya?

 

yeah hahaha i havent put on my grille yet, but i really wanna. although i prolly wont do it without the help of my friend. Well see, i will keep this thread in mind though. grille does look wicked.

 

That looks awesome...

 

Im not sure that i like that emblem. id prefer to leave it stripped.

 

what about the lower vallance grille? how difficult was the install for that?

 

Well, they say that you can simply install the lower valence with the provided clips, which is total bs. The width of the grille does not extend back far enough to even allow you to clip the top and bottom...also, there are little divets in the grille where the 'bars(?)' are in the bumper to allow for a better fit. In order to use the clips you would need to cut these bars out. Instead, I simply peeled off the 6 pop tabs under the splashguard and used some wireties. It's a royal PITA to get your hands up there, but well worth the effort!

 

i wish they made one for the 5.5

 

lol...sorry, I took the pic before I strightened it and put on a black pearl Maxim frame for it...matches the black pearl in the AE headlights!

 

pic is fixed

 

That looks so nice.

 

this fits the 5.5 doesnt it?

 

looks good, way to hack up the oem grill...

 

i like that grille a lot more with the silver trim around it. great job dude. how much was that top grille if you don't mind me asking and where did you get it from?

the top i believe does since we have the same grilles (just ours can be removed) as the 5th gens. the bottom one i'm not sure about.

 

Where did you get the grille from!?!?

 

Thanks - another lazy guy just ordered one. I got mine from www.stillen.com - $110

 

do the 5 and 5.5 have the same grill can the trenz grill fit a 2k, cause they are only offered for 2k2 and 2k3

 

I guess there is no turning back

 

That grill would look good if it was painted body color..

 

i believe the trenz grille will not fit a 5th gen because the OEM grilles on them are not removeable like they are on the 5.5s.

 

the 5.5 grills are different in size, it wouldn't fit the 5. also i believe they aren't removeable like ^^ he said.

 

The following link is for 5.5 grills from JMS: JMS

 

so if i want to change my grill I have to cut it out?

 

No. You can also remove the front emblem off of the grille and put the new grille over the old one.

 

yeah but then you can still see the old one

 

That will save a lot of time and effort, thanks for the wright-up

 

No problem, man - feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

 

hey metal, i kinda like ur grill.

U see ur grill is kinda more on the inside, while mine is sticking out........
hmmm, i wonder if i should just cut out the whole oem grill and make it like urs.

here's a pic of mine, i like it, but i think i like urs better, nice job man.

Btw, good job also on ur fiber glass project, i like that project dude.



For those wondering:

The SS grilles were installed on top of the OEM one.

Kinda hard to notice it unless u take a good look at the front of my car.

 

Dude, either get 2k2/2k3 HIDS or paint those headlights to make them look AE, it'll look A LOT better.

 

thanks a lot i needed something like that

 

Installing right on top of the 5th gen stock grille is simple and looks great. Don't even remove the trim. No tools required - ziptie and go