4runner Grill Mod/Clip Delete

jblazy18

New member
I hated trying to take off my grill for various occasions and trying not to break those plastic inserts... and well.. i broke 3 of them and my grill rattled and annoyed the hell out of me.. so i decided to do something about it....

These are the things your going to cutt off
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jblazy18


Like this: I used a regular hack saw, only cut off the 4 that clip into the headlights and take off the metal clips that should still be on headlights, you dont need those

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Next i made the hole in the center bigger with a 1/4" drill, make the hole a little bigger by going in and out with the drill pressing it along the sides to make it easier to get the bolt through the underside of it... ignore the 2 prongs in this picture.. just pretend they're cut off..lol.. i took this picture before i ended up deciding cutting them off was the way i was gunna do it

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For Materials: I used 1, 1/4" x 1 1/2" stainless steel bolt, and a total of 3 washers and 1 lock washer, 1 wing nut, and not pictured is 1 regular nut
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Here is the end result:
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The two bottom washers and wing nuts are a pain to get on if you have fat hands like i do but i promise you can get them on.. do one bottom side but dont tighten the wing nut all the way.. just enough to catch the threads.. then do the other side and go ahead and tighten it all the way then proceed with the rest.. thats the easiest way i found.. and no more worries of trying to preserve those little stupid fragile plastic inserts.
 
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nice. this is what i was going to do but i got lazy and used zip ties haha
looks great tho, i think i will get around to doing it now
 
well it being almost 3am i do apologize ahead of time if its hard to understand but hopefully the general idea is clear!..lol
 
I think most people are trying to compress the outside of the clip. If you push down on the center part of the clip it will release the grill and the clip will remain in the truck body. Then simply squeeze the clip, remove it, and reinsert it into the grill for reassembly. I can take my grill off in less than 30 seconds with only my fingers. Using bolts seems like more hassle to me.
 
Great idea! I know I broke some of mine when I first removed my grill....I've since learned how to do it without breaking the tabs...but now have 2 or 3 that are busted.

I like the idea of the wing nuts..... nice and quick to remove instead of using a socket and ratchet! :)
 
well this is just an alternative to those who only have maybe like 1 or 2 of those clips left and instead of paying some crazy amount at a toyota dealer to get them.. but i have noticed the grill stays in place allot better than with the clips.. when the clips were in it still moved a tiny bit, but now theres absolutely no play in it when you grab it and try to wiggle it...
 
It took me quite a few times to figure the clips out. I totally broke most of them. But, once figured out, the clips are slick as snot. I was gonna ebay some. Not expensive imo.
 
Heres a few more pictures

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In this picture im showing how the nut perfectly fits inside the hole of the headlight bracket
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i got these bolts from work so this mod cost me a total of $0.. you can use regular bolts but i figured why not use stainless
 
nice. this is what i was going to do but i got lazy and used zip ties haha
looks great tho, i think i will get around to doing it now

I am lazy and didn't even consider anything except zip ties. :dance:

Nice job OP. Much better solution than OE.
 
I have all of my clips (wrecked the front end a year or so ago) but I like how this is done.

I can't tell if the posts about the clips being expensive is sarcasm, but the clips are $0.72 on camelback toyota's site...

Just my $0.02 - I'd throw a lock washer on that wingnut!
 

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