[El Chemo]

Today has been somewhat of a great and bad day. I found a cragslist ad last night with oem honeycomb grills for a supposedly 2004 L (lol). Dude wanted $60!! Guy was located in Fontana ca, which is an hour drive from my location. Anyways, I just got home, decided to install the upper grill first and the grill is too narrow....????? It fits height wise but isn't long enough and has an inch gap on each side...could it be that the grill is for another ford? Or did the sizes change through the years??? I'm so confused..I'm going to jump into installing the lower grill, hopefully that goes well since that's what I really wanted but the seller didn't want to seperate. Anyways any help is appreciated,i 'll upload a picture shortly thanks

 

[El Chemo]

Don't mind the grill shell crack..I'm on the process of fixing

 

[LightningKray]

That's odd...

 

[El Chemo]

Yea idk if it's the shell or the insert

 

[El Chemo]

All the rear tabs lined up fine...I wonder...

Thankfully the lower grill was a direct fit

 

[svtwhiterocket]

I Think it's your suround I have a honeycomb and a O2 grill and both fit in mine

 

[El Chemo]

Yeah my truck is salvage so the shell isnt the original one.. I remember seeing the 97 and 98 being different but i don't remember exactly. I'll compare right now

 

[El Chemo]

So the 97-98 grill shells are different to the 99-2004 shell, and I do have the newer shell so I imagine it's the insert itself that's meant for a 97-98..unless the inserts are switchable between early and later shells..

 

[s|ck]

Looks like you have a 97-98 grille shell, they have a wider opening towards the bottom.

 

[Throttle Jockey]

Looks like you have a 97-98 grille shell, they have a wider opening towards the bottom.

Surprisingly I was not aware of this, you learn something everyday.

 

[El Chemo]

Looks like you have a 97-98 grille shell, they have a wider opening towards the bottom.

Uh well I thought there were only 2 types? Based on the late model truck picture catalog picture, it seems like the 97-98 grill shell is straight from underneath where it goes with the lines of the top bumper. The 99-2004 she'll curves in the middle to go with the flow of the lightning bumper(this is the one I have). Aren't all 99-04 shells the same wether they're expedition or f150s?

 

[El Chemo]

(ignore the writing on the photo) so I found this. So there's these two, then there's the one the lightnings have(which is the one I have) I guess I'll have to go grill insert hunting at the jy next Sunday...for the meanwhile, the one I put will have to stay (with the gaps) for now...btw I have a black upper and lower grills in case anyone wants them..

 

[s|ck]

Uh well I thought there were only 2 types? Based on the late model truck picture catalog picture, it seems like the 97-98 grill shell is straight from underneath where it goes with the lines of the top bumper. The 99-2004 she'll curves in the middle to go with the flow of the lightning bumper(this is the one I have). Aren't all 99-04 shells the same wether they're expedition or f150s?

I had to change my grilles when I got my CF Grille Shell that was a mold from a 97-98' F150.

It had the same issue as yours where the grille opening was wider towards the bottom. Thankfully Carriage Works grilles fit perfect.

 

[TrueBlueRodder]

(ignore the writing on the photo) so I found this. So there's these two, then there's the one the lightnings have(which is the one I have) I guess I'll have to go grill insert hunting at the jy next Sunday...for the meanwhile, the one I put will have to stay (with the gaps) for now...btw I have a black upper and lower grills in case anyone wants them..

what type of grills do you have left?

 

[s|ck]

Looking at pictures from Google it seems you're right about the 97-98 grilles, they all seem to have a flat bottom. Could be a 99' Grille? :smt102

 

[El Chemo]

Uh well I thought there were only 2 types? Based on the late model truck picture catalog picture, it seems like the 97-98 grill shell is straight from underneath where it goes with the lines of the top bumper. The 99-2004 she'll curves in the middle to go with the flow of the lightning bumper(this is the one I have). Aren't all 99-04 shells the same wether they're expedition or f150s?

I had to change my grilles when I got my CF Grille Shell that was a mold from a 97-98' F150.

It had the same issue as yours where the grille opening was wider towards the bottom. Thankfully Carriage Works grilles fit perfect.

Wow what a huge bummer..I really want to go for the stock look. Well there should be a honeycomb style insert for our style shell right?? Its going to be a mission looking for the right one

 

[El Chemo]

(ignore the writing on the photo) so I found this. So there's these two, then there's the one the lightnings have(which is the one I have) I guess I'll have to go grill insert hunting at the jy next Sunday...for the meanwhile, the one I put will have to stay (with the gaps) for now...btw I have a black upper and lower grills in case anyone wants them..

what type of grills do you have left?

The black billets I removed

 

[El Chemo]

Looking at pictures from Google it seems you're right about the 97-98 grilles, they all seem to have a flat bottom. Could be a 99' Grille?

And the 99 should be the same as the newer ones right? The only other thing I can think of right now is that the lightnings have different designed shells compared to the standard f150