Hey gang, I banged my front grill today and it bent inwards, snapping some of the plastic clips that hold it in. I am in the process of looking for a new one, but I was wondering if anyone could point me to some pictures of the grill, and how it mounts.

I was looking at mine, and have a question. There are 6 clips securing the grill on that are accessible from the top, 3 on each side. On the drivers side, the inner most (one nearest the center) clip secures the grill to a bracket. On my (now damaged) grill passenger side, this bracket is not present and the inner most (one nearest the center) clip only attaches the silver part to the black plastic part, but there's nothing underneath to attach to. IS THIS NORMAL? or did the bracket fall off? It wasn't on the ground after impact, but it could have fallen into the bumper and fallen off later while I was driving. I just want to see if I am missing something or what.

Also, are the clips that are under the little bumps (very nearest the center, only accessible from the bottom) supposed to secure into the 2 holes under them?


So those 2 questions (for now) and also a request for anyone wishing to sell an OEM grill to PM / email me (prpl_haz3@yahoo.com).

Thanks all - I also put a WANTED ad in the classifieds.

 

Not sure if this will help you ? but here's a few pics that i took last year of under my hood. You might see what you referring to (this is the closest to the centre on the driver's side pin):





He're a bit of info on my TRENZ install that might help you ???

Good luck with it.

Bob




http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=326238

 

That is much appreciated, but I need to know if there is a support of any kind under that clip which is near the left center of the vehicle. The one near the right center has it. It's almost as if I need pics from behind the grill facing to the front of the car.

 

Doesn't that clip just hold the cover onto the grill ? IIRC ....The Centre one fastens the the grille to the frame and the other one fastens the cover onto the grille ?

Bob

 

Well I just took another look and I was intially mistaken about the center clip on the right attaching to a bracket. It does not. So then, the only 2 clips that hold the grill to the car are the outer 2. So I'm not missing anything structural (good news).

So how do you get those stubby little clips under the 'bumps' that appear to align with a couple of holes to snap in, they seem real short. And I also noticed that the tabs on the lower part of the grill are broken off of my grill. Are they supposed to insert downwards or towards the direction of the rear of the car?

Thanks for all of your help! (esp Bob)
and Bob, where are the 'custom' bolts you installed shown in the 3rd picture? I dont see them, so it's a little hard to tell where you put them in relation to the grill.

Doesn't the Trenz grill use the outer 2 supports? I see air between the central grill and those outer 2 holes...dont I?

If you look here at this pic of my grill you can see the 2 silver wings extend out to the outer holes, which I did not see on the 3rd pic you posted.



The pic may appear larger if you go here MY CARDOMAIN PROFILE and then view the same picture.

Thanks a bunch,
- Ray

 

Ray,

First, I haven't forgot about you and my stock grill. Just looking into a way to ship it (a good box with bubble wrap). I'll be asking about 60 bucks for it. Let me know what you think.

About your grill...I just recently took off the stock grill to put on the ECG Classic grill. Removing the stock grill was pretty easy. You have the black plastic cover that you have to remove first with the black "bumps" as you called it. You simply take a small screwdriver, lift it up around the edges and pull it up and out. I used vice grips once it was lifted, and pulled them out. Now that pic with the bolt...that's a custom deal. Once you remove the black plastic cover, then you have to remove the grill. There are also plastic clips (like bolts) that hold it in. I used the same procedure on that as well. You don't have to be too careful or worry about scratching since it's trashed anyway's. Then once you do that you'll have to stick your hand into the slot where the lock mechanism is for the hood release. There are four (I believe) plastic clips that are horizontal going from front to rear that hold the bottom of the grill in. Just push them down, you'll have to put some elbow grease into this, and pull out. You might have to put something in there to keep it out while you do the rest so it does not pop back in.

Oh...Important note...before you do any of this...put some tape on the finished paint around where the grill is. I used duct tape. I slid it in and under the grill. This will protect your paint when your pulling out the grill if you should start hitting the paint.

Let me know if you have questions...I can look at my car again and get more details since I just did this a week or so ago...

Later! Jimbo

 

Sweet, thanks for the info. I did notice the factory already put some tape near 2 of the bottom clips. This is pretty useless now, and I did get some scratching behind the grill on the bumper when it got knocked inwards. It's hidden by the OEM grill, and I am hoping that if I ever upgrade to a Trenz or the like it still will be hidden.

The bumps I was referring to are not the clips but the indentations in the black cover which are closer to the center than the 2 innermost clips.

Lemme know if your grill has the logo still (I emailed a few folks), and if that price includes shipping.

Thanks very much for the information and the help, it is VERY useful.

 

The TRENZ doesn't design doesn't have the farthest to the outside holes. It stops right after the second from the middle. So you do see air.

I replaced the clips for the bolt in the holes closest to the centre. You don't have to do this with the stock grille.

The tabs fit into the 4 holes on your bumper in the direction of the back of the car.

Let me know if you need more info.

Bob

 

4 clips on the bottom eh? I saw 2 but just looked at it for a minute. Do you think that if the center part of the grill got pushed back about 6-8 inches the holes that these clips go into would break off / break out? I'll need to take off the grill, but now Im concerned that these slots are busted off of the bumper....which would suck

 

And does anyone else but me think that the Trenz website needs some serious work? I was on there for 20 minutes and couldn't get a price for their "(2004) 2004 Nissan Maxima Framed Perimeter Grill" Item 2093-NFP

I take it they just dont sell those grills online or what?