removal of the grill insert

anyone has a picture of the grill insert removed? mainly the 13 little tabs or how to get them out? I been trying to pop off the 13 tabs but none of them would budge and i don't feel like breaking any of them. Any advice would help; such as, which way to push the tabs or pic of the inserts already popped off would help, tia!

 

Thanks dude, maybe I'll wait til spring then...

 

The above picture will be your insert out.

 

It just seems the center clip barely fits back in the slit, since the slit seems so tight. I'll try the cloth method too. Btw why did you take off your insert? I'm thinking about either painting it black or plasti dipped it

 

Thanks, but I need a pic of the back if anyone has it

 

If it's cold where you are at, apply a little heat to it with a blow dryer. It should help a lot. Like everyone has said, once you get it started it will go by quick.

 

Thanks, maybe I'll just bring it inside and find a good excuse as to why the grill is on the dining room table...

 

Those are are a make or break deal I'm sure. I tried the same thing then just cut the center out and mounted my new grill insert. Easy peasy.

 

Make sure you remove the screws first. And just be really patient and loosen each one little by little until it pops off. If you break a couple of tabs, it's not that big a deal, just don't go breaking all of them. The screws will get it back on tight.

 

thanks! This patience thing everyone is talking about is what I lack in....

 

Yeah, me too. I ran out of it and just yanked it and broke a couple. The bad thing is, the tabs break on the surround, not on the grille.

 

I wonder if you can shove in a flat piece of something in each one. Maybe like a paper clip or something even thinner. Then pull. That would probably help.

 

Never send a marine to do anything that requires patience...here's the first two victim

 

I found getting the first one out was always the hardest (which I broke) ... work from one side to the other, not from the middle out and just like Joon said ... make sure you remove the screws first.

 

Those things were a real pain in the ass when I did mine for sure

 

Lol, after the first 2 I just said f*** it, I already got the pro grille on and I was just looking to paint this one, but now maybe I'll put an after market insert in where they break off all the tabs anyway

 

Yea they don't send the Marines in unless they want something killed or destroyed

 

They are definitely only made to go one direction. When you are removing the center section something is going to break: either the tab on the surround or the small plastic knob on the grill insert. I think the latter is something most people miss/don't realize when messing with these things.

I just spent an hour trying to preserve both pieces, meticulously working through it and the above was my result. The knowledge I gained was:

Start at the far sides, using a screw driver as a wedge for the two side tabs and then pull. It requires much more force than I had anticipated, so prepare yourself for a good tug (even pressure, slowly adding force. Don't just yank).



Once those are out, work towards the center using the same method. The four tabs in the dead center are much more robust than the others, so you can just wank those.

When all is said and done, as mentioned before, something will be broken at each tab location. It will be the tab itself or the little plastic knob below. If the grill insert is more important, sacrifice the tabs. If the surround is more important, sacrifice the little knobs by pushing them off with a screw driver slid in behind the tab.

 

MERCA!

 

Did you use heat (hair dryer) to get 'er done?

 

more info here: https://www.tundras.com/threads/removing-platinum-grille-insert.12157/page-2#post-863014

and by the grace of God Almighty, I've got mine separated!