Are all 3rd gen grilles interchangeable?

RussToy

RussToy

New member
Hey guys...stupid question, so please don't beat me up... here goes..

I'm wanting to do the "Satoshi grille mod", but want to use an older style (like a 1998) grille.

I have a 2000 4Runner with the "newer" style grille. After researching and reading tons of "how to..." posts, I figured if I used my style grille...it would be much more work (more fiberglassing, bondo, and tons more sanding) then if I used an old style grille. Also, if I buy another grille, I can take my time without driving around without a grille.

My question is: will a 1996, 1997, and 1998 4Runner grille fit my 2000 4Runner?? I believe the answer is "yes"...but I want to make sure before I spend any money or time.

Thanks guys...
 
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Millerad1651 said:
Yes, they are interchangeable. I buy the grills when I do the mod for people from partsgeek.com. They are the cheapest I've found new. $50 for a plain black, and $60 for a chrome one shipped.

98 1998 Toyota 4Runner Grille Assembly - Body Mechanical & Trim - Action Crash - PartsGeek
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Sir, thank you very much for answering my question!

I also wanted to let you know your my new Hero for the tip on where to buy the grille from. The best I had found was $77 shipped for black. I'll be buying this in a few minutes...very excited to build my new grille!

Thanks again...
 
Are the black grills from partsgeek actually painted the OEM black color? I just got another 99 black 4R and the front grill is heavily sun faded/paint damaged/cracked.

The partsgeek offering is super cheap, so can I buy that, install and go? Or would it still need to be painted to match?

How does quality compare to OEM? TRDparts4u has the grille for $198, so partsgeek is super cheap!

TIA for any help.
 
IT is a primered black, so you would still need to paint it to match the gloss of your truck. However, the paint will only cost $10 or so, and you could paint it in about 2 hrs...still a better deal than the dealer.
 
Millerad1651 said:
IT is a primered black, so you would still need to paint it to match the gloss of your truck. However, the paint will only cost $10 or so, and you could paint it in about 2 hrs...still a better deal than the dealer.
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Thanks for the info! How is the quality and fit/finish?
 
Fireball said:
Thanks for the info! How is the quality and fit/finish?
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The partsgeek grilles are definitely not OEM -- they are marked "made in Taiwan" on the back, and are slightly lighter and thinner than stock.

I ordered a black one and it was bare plastic, not primered.

That being said, they're exact replicas, dimensionally true, and fit just like an OEM does.

Outside of finding a wrecking yard OEM piece, they are a good deal for the money.
 
Watch out - PartsGeek is by far the worst company I have ever worked with. My '98 grill arrived loose in a big box. No surprise it was broken in about three places. When I contacted them for a replacement, they sent me a refund for the cost of the grill, but would not refund the shipping charges. Took a few weeks of dealing with the most arrogant POS's to get a refund. Buyer beware with this company. Other forum members have had similar experiences.
 
So Many Roads said:
Watch out - PartsGeek is by far the worst company I have ever worked with. My '98 grill arrived loose in a big box. No surprise it was broken in about three places. When I contacted them for a replacement, they sent me a refund for the cost of the grill, but would not refund the shipping charges. Took a few weeks of dealing with the most arrogant POS's to get a refund. Buyer beware with this company. Other forum members have had similar experiences.
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I agree that their packing is pretty substandard. The grille I ordered was loosely wrapped in bubble wrap and in an ill-shaped box that was very loosely taped together.

The result was the clips on the corners were broken. Rather than deal with a return/exchange, some JB weld fixed it up with a lot less time/hassle/expense.

Since it sounds like a widespread issue (and partsgeek.com does have a long list of BBB complaints...), I think if I were to do it again, I would try and locate a junkyard piece instead.
 
So Many Roads said:
Watch out - PartsGeek is by far the worst company I have ever worked with. My '98 grill arrived loose in a big box. No surprise it was broken in about three places. When I contacted them for a replacement, they sent me a refund for the cost of the grill, but would not refund the shipping charges. Took a few weeks of dealing with the most arrogant POS's to get a refund. Buyer beware with this company. Other forum members have had similar experiences.
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That's weird. I've ordered 11 grilles from them over the past 3 years and never had a single problem. They come in a giant box with about 3 pounds of packing bubbles. They all got to me 100%.

I've also ordered a few other parts and never had a problem. What other problems are members having? I've never heard anything bad around here.
 
Millerad1651 said:
I've also ordered a few other parts and never had a problem. What other problems are members having? I've never heard anything bad around here.
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I will never buy anything from them again. I ordered NEW brake shoes and they sent me the relined ones which were cheaper and still charged me for the new price. When I called they said they were out of the new ones and so they sent me the relined ones. No call before they shipped letting me know, no refund of the price difference, just hoping to rip me off and hope I wouldn't notice. So I returned them but being their mistake, they still didn't want to refund the shipping and I still had to pay to ship them back. I finally got them to refund $10 for shipping when I probably paid around $15 shipping both ways.
 
And there you have it, they lost me as ever buying from them. They try to save a few bucks by hosing people and lose potential customers in the process.
 
zacattack20 said:
I will never buy anything from them again. I ordered NEW brake shoes and they sent me the relined ones which were cheaper and still charged me for the new price. When I called they said they were out of the new ones and so they sent me the relined ones. No call before they shipped letting me know, no refund of the price difference, just hoping to rip me off and hope I wouldn't notice. So I returned them but being their mistake, they still didn't want to refund the shipping and I still had to pay to ship them back. I finally got them to refund $10 for shipping when I probably paid around $15 shipping both ways.
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Damn...guess I've been lucky.
 
Rock Auto has them for $58 in chrome and $42 for unpainted. Gotta pick the 4cyl to get the unpainted versions.
 
csp said:
Rock Auto has them for $58 in chrome and $42 for unpainted. Gotta pick the 4cyl to get the unpainted versions.
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Ya I'm pretty sure they're the exact same grilles. I had to buy one from them when PG was out of them and it was the same quality/price.
 
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