This is one very cheap appearance mod, and very fun to do! it makes for an excellent little weekend project!
Stuff youll need:
- some type of wire cutters
- mesh grill $2.97 (more details further on)
- 1 jack and car stands (or some type of machinery to lift the front of your vehicle up)
Step 1. Go buy the mesh grill which is available at any local hardware store, its available at places like bunnings warehouse or Home Depot, its called 'gutter gaurd'.
Step 2. It helps alot if you jack your car up, this allows for much easier access. be sure that you have your vehicle safely jacked up and stabilised with car stands or at least smaller jacks so you dont get crushed!
Step 3. Now, this only applies if you do NOT have the foglights that came optional from the factory. If indeed you do not, then you have those fugly plastic inserts in place. I took these out, this is what took alot of time, there are several aluminul brackets that hold the inserts into place. A few of these are hard to get to, as they bend around to the sides of the bumper, if you have large hands, you might want to get someone to help you get them out. my hands arent really big and i had a hard time removing them. after you get those brackets off, just pop it out!
Step 4. Now your ready, i just measured the mesh by looking at it, and holding it up to the air dams. This isnt too hard to do, make about 1/2 inch to an inch access on all sides of the mesh, just in case.
I did the two side air ducts first, after youve fitted it, take it and cut little slits where the brackets attached to the bumper. Then stick it in, and put in a couple of those aluminum brackets to hold it in better.
Now for the center air dam (the biggest one, in the middle), you have two options, you can either place the mesh in front of the three reinforcement bars for the lower lip, or behind. I chose to put it behind. Slide the mesh back behind the lip going up into the bumper a little ways, and mark where the three reinforcement bars are, then cut slits for the bars, and stick the mesh into place. Push the mesh into the bumper a little bit as to make it flush with the three reinforcement bars. When you push it in, it will hold itself in, at least if you do it properly it will, mine is holding absolutly great, when i did the final slit for the reinforcement bars i had to struggle to get it back out.
So there ya go. I had alot of fun doing this. Hope you do too!
Brandon  |
Concerns about grills falling off?
You can use the same aluminum brackets that held the plastic inserts inplace. but the center peice, again, if done properly will hold itself in absolutly perfectly. drilling ANY types of holes to hold any of the grills in is completly unneccessary. These wont be shaken, jarred out, the only way to get them out is to have some type of horizontal force or impact upon them. so even with rough road conditions, youll be allright for a long time with them. |
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