Grill is on backorder. May have to wait some time.
Picked up the grill today ... it's very light, hope to install it over the weekend
The front license plate bracket will not fit this grill. I will simply attach the plate with plastic quick ties.
Ordered up a Z06 Grille. :)
- Thread starter blue_bomber697
- Start date
Picked up the grill today ... it's very light, hope to install it over the weekend
The front license plate bracket will not fit this grill. I will simply attach the plate with plastic quick ties.
Picked up the grill today ... it's very light, hope to install it over the weekend
The front license plate bracket will not fit this grill. I will simply attach the plate with plastic quick ties.
That wasn't a very long backorder... mine wasnt back ordered at all and took 2 weeks to arrive lol. Yours came way faster.
And yeah, you'll probably have yours on before mine. Mine is still sitting in my garage with my splitter.
Mine just came in....
I alredy started the install. All went well till it didn't. Will take few more hours to refit bumper skin. Not for the faint of heart.
NOT RECOMMENDED to do this yourself, unless you are a mechanic or body shop mechanic.
You have been warned.
That removal and reinstall video is a good starting point, and for that I am thankful. BUT it is missing the most crucial steps, not clear on other steps, possible paint damage no matter how careful you are, and fitment problems you will encounter. It would take way too lomg to elaborate, so that is all I can say. Attempt at your own risk.
I alredy started the install. All went well till it didn't. Will take few more hours to refit bumper skin. Not for the faint of heart.
NOT RECOMMENDED to do this yourself, unless you are a mechanic or body shop mechanic.
You have been warned.
That removal and reinstall video is a good starting point, and for that I am thankful. BUT it is missing the most crucial steps, not clear on other steps, possible paint damage no matter how careful you are, and fitment problems you will encounter. It would take way too lomg to elaborate, so that is all I can say. Attempt at your own risk.
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This is definitely not something I wanted to see. I don't want to sound intrusive but are you mechanically inclined? The video appear straightforward but apparently it is not. Has anyone else tried the install???
Now I'm concerned.
Yes, I am not a licensed mechanic, but I am very mechanically inclined.
Tools you should have at your disposal that are not mentioned in the video, before you even attempt this is a 15" 1/4"drive extension (which you *May* need if you need to "PRY" the whole plastic nose up to access 2 extra bolts on each side of each headlight that hold a metal bracket. The metal bracket squeezes the top 2 plastic tangs on the nose, and tightens the gap between nose and fender. Those release the top corners of the nose. Without loosening those, there is *NO" way my nose would release. This is a tricky thing to do. You may also need a 1/4" swivel joint, depending on how good you are with a ratchet.
The video conveniently FORGOT TO MENTION THIS MOST IMPORTANT PART.
The problem is, once loosened, the skin pops up, but how to you tighten them again when the skin goes back on, since now the skin is mis-aligned by being pried up to tighten bolts. The bolts could be tightened before skin goes back on, but no way will it slot back in with the bolts tight. Still have not figured that out, and hence job remains unfinished. May need to bend the metal bracket.
You need plastic wedges, like those made by 3M, to pry the panel clips apart.
You should have a long plastic trim stick, which you will use to pry the tangs sideways to release the old grill from the nose. Sideways. They bend. Some are on tight. Putting new grill back in will require a helper to steady the nose, while you force the new grill into it. Mine was unbelievably tight. You may have to bend the nose to the shape of the grill, for all the tangs to re-engage. I did.
You should tape off ALL leading edges, to prevent paint chipping on the fenders or the nose, as the 2 parts will clash against each other during the re and re.
You must make sure the Z06 grill vents pop inside the cooling ducts.
You must make sure the front air dam is inside the skin when replacing, not outside.
The park light connectors have a locking tang on them. That has to be pulled out first, before attempting to pull out the socket.
You have to release the nose first in order to easily get at these plugs. Do not pry the inner fenders unless nose is released.
The 2 plastic trees on top of the front nose shown in the video must be released this way. First you pull out the center with a screwdriver placed in the little slot on top, then the bottom part of the tree is removed by reaching underneath and squeezing the bottom of the tree while pushing it upwards to release it.
Just a few of the problems I encountered.
Lining up the skin to put it back is a real bitch. Have not been able to do that so far. So far into it for about 3 hours and counting....
Watch your torque, as the tiny bolts shown in the video can over-strip like butter.
So here you have it. Still not done. Pain in the a*s. Unless you are VERY mechanically inclined, do not attempt this. You will scratch the paint or break something, and you will hate yourself. It always looks easier on YouTube....
Before you even attempt this, get a bottle of touch up paint. If you remove paint on a leading edge, lot easier to touch up a spot BEFORE you reassemble.
Tools you should have at your disposal that are not mentioned in the video, before you even attempt this is a 15" 1/4"drive extension (which you *May* need if you need to "PRY" the whole plastic nose up to access 2 extra bolts on each side of each headlight that hold a metal bracket. The metal bracket squeezes the top 2 plastic tangs on the nose, and tightens the gap between nose and fender. Those release the top corners of the nose. Without loosening those, there is *NO" way my nose would release. This is a tricky thing to do. You may also need a 1/4" swivel joint, depending on how good you are with a ratchet.
The video conveniently FORGOT TO MENTION THIS MOST IMPORTANT PART.
The problem is, once loosened, the skin pops up, but how to you tighten them again when the skin goes back on, since now the skin is mis-aligned by being pried up to tighten bolts. The bolts could be tightened before skin goes back on, but no way will it slot back in with the bolts tight. Still have not figured that out, and hence job remains unfinished. May need to bend the metal bracket.
You need plastic wedges, like those made by 3M, to pry the panel clips apart.
You should have a long plastic trim stick, which you will use to pry the tangs sideways to release the old grill from the nose. Sideways. They bend. Some are on tight. Putting new grill back in will require a helper to steady the nose, while you force the new grill into it. Mine was unbelievably tight. You may have to bend the nose to the shape of the grill, for all the tangs to re-engage. I did.
You should tape off ALL leading edges, to prevent paint chipping on the fenders or the nose, as the 2 parts will clash against each other during the re and re.
You must make sure the Z06 grill vents pop inside the cooling ducts.
You must make sure the front air dam is inside the skin when replacing, not outside.
The park light connectors have a locking tang on them. That has to be pulled out first, before attempting to pull out the socket.
You have to release the nose first in order to easily get at these plugs. Do not pry the inner fenders unless nose is released.
The 2 plastic trees on top of the front nose shown in the video must be released this way. First you pull out the center with a screwdriver placed in the little slot on top, then the bottom part of the tree is removed by reaching underneath and squeezing the bottom of the tree while pushing it upwards to release it.
Just a few of the problems I encountered.
Lining up the skin to put it back is a real bitch. Have not been able to do that so far. So far into it for about 3 hours and counting....
Watch your torque, as the tiny bolts shown in the video can over-strip like butter.
So here you have it. Still not done. Pain in the a*s. Unless you are VERY mechanically inclined, do not attempt this. You will scratch the paint or break something, and you will hate yourself. It always looks easier on YouTube....
Before you even attempt this, get a bottle of touch up paint. If you remove paint on a leading edge, lot easier to touch up a spot BEFORE you reassemble.
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Wow!!! This sounds like sh..... storm. I was going to try and get this done Sunday but now .... I may ask the dealer to install it, along with the flat bottom steering wheel. I appreciate your input and feel your pain.:swear:
C
C7Jake
I've done a C7 grille swap in 1hr...easy with automotive trim skill/tools.
No more mods...for now
No more mods...for now
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OK, finished it this morning. Took another hour to finish. Maybe the 2015 is harder to do than a 2014. A superman licensed mechanic top gun could not do what I did all in an hour.
And I am pretty fast. Took aligning the panels with wood blocks, and that took over 1/2 hour itself.
I sure would like to see how much time a Mitchell's allows for this. Bet at least 3 hours, including grill swap.
If you C7 Jake did it in a hour, you are from another planet. Or the 2014 is Mickey Mouse compared to the 2015. Otherwise not buying your time estimate....
And I am pretty fast. Took aligning the panels with wood blocks, and that took over 1/2 hour itself.
I sure would like to see how much time a Mitchell's allows for this. Bet at least 3 hours, including grill swap.
If you C7 Jake did it in a hour, you are from another planet. Or the 2014 is Mickey Mouse compared to the 2015. Otherwise not buying your time estimate....
C
C7Jake
If it really took you an hour, then I bow down to you sir! You really are automotive Superman. Or your clock stopped in the middle of it.
Did you have to release the metal brackets I spoke about above? Cause that requires a lot of twisting and time.
In fact, the guy who shot the video, or somebody else on a c7 forum (can't remember which C7 forum I read it on as there are so many, but he also stated that it took them 3-4 hours to do the job also. And that is if you know what you are doing....
Now I guess if you work on the GM production line installing these bumpers all day long, then sure, you could do it even faster than you...but only with specialized tools.
Did you have to release the metal brackets I spoke about above? Cause that requires a lot of twisting and time.
In fact, the guy who shot the video, or somebody else on a c7 forum (can't remember which C7 forum I read it on as there are so many, but he also stated that it took them 3-4 hours to do the job also. And that is if you know what you are doing....
Now I guess if you work on the GM production line installing these bumpers all day long, then sure, you could do it even faster than you...but only with specialized tools.
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C
C7Jake
Can you show a photo? Quick question: The z06 grill has what looks like a plastic piece covering part of the grill over the lower part of the intake at the ends. Can/should this plastic piece be removed to allow more air in or does it actually cover something? On my grill the tabs look liked they have been glued to hold this piece in place.
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C7Jake
I know about the brake cooling ducts. My z06 grill has, what looks like a small piece of plastic at each end of the grill, just above the brake cooling ducts, that are actually covering part of the grill. The piece is on the inside of the grill and attached with plastic tabs that look like they have been either glued or heated. The original c7 z51 grill has the same plastic pieces. Do these serve a purpose or can they be removed to allow more air to flow through the grill?
FYI Ontarians and BC'ers.
The Z06 front plate "SHOW" bracket is too large to hold a plate properly. Use zipties to secure plate onto grill. Use adhesive foam on back of plate to avoid scratching grill. The show bracket comes without special Z06 mounting plastic fasteners, which are not interchangeable with the z51 brackets. GM parts catalog shows them as same part #, but it is not. Hopefully this has been corrected now....
The Z06 front plate "SHOW" bracket is too large to hold a plate properly. Use zipties to secure plate onto grill. Use adhesive foam on back of plate to avoid scratching grill. The show bracket comes without special Z06 mounting plastic fasteners, which are not interchangeable with the z51 brackets. GM parts catalog shows them as same part #, but it is not. Hopefully this has been corrected now....
I've done a C7 grille swap in 1hr...easy with automotive trim skill/tools.
No more mods...for now
Jake, did you replace your steering wheel with the flat one yet? If yes, can you provide us with a photo. Did you do it yourself or have someone else install it?
