legacycentral bbs

I've tried searching but couldn't find the answer.

How do I remove the bottom clips to get my grille off (without breaking the clips or the grille)? I've got a '93 ss.

Assuming that your grill clips haven't been broken and replaced, you should be able to reach in with a pair of long needle nose pliers and squeeze inwards on the sides of the clips and pop them through. I have to start on one side and slowly work my way over as I have trouble getting enough initial flex to complety pop off any one clip at a time.

It's a relative pain.

There's (supposed to be) a tab that holds the sides of the clips out to help prevent them from going back through the hole. If you push down on it with a screwdriver or something, squeezing the clip's sides so that you can push it through the hole will be easier.

Thanks for suggestions, guys! Much appreciated!

OK, now I have another question: my needle nose pliers cannot reach the bottom clips because there isn't enough room for the pliers to squeeze in between the bottom of the grille and the top of the bumper. Is my assumption correct in that the regular needle nose pliers will not work because it's too thick and that I need the extra long needle nose pliers or perhaps one that is made extra thin?

I've always needed extra long needle nose pliers but I've also always come in from the top.

A pair of those really open jaw vicegrips might work pretty well, you know the ones that have a
_____
|_ _|

shape to the jaws. I'm assuming you only have one pair of hands? If you have two hands, a pair of screws drivers works pretty well too.

Hope this helps a little.

Yes, if you push the center tab down and push each ear on the retaining clips one at a time while pulling on the grille, you can use a single screwdriver.

Hmmm, I guess I didn't understand your replies correctly or I didn't explain my situation clearly enough. But anyway, here's what happened . . .

I found I had a super thin extra long needle nose pliers from Harbor Freight Tools. I reached in and squeezed the sides and broke the pliers. (I later found that I was squeezing the metal bracket so naturally the delicate pliers broke.) Then I tried using other tools and ended up breaking all the clips.

When I examined the clips, what is needed is a thin slotted screwdriver with the head about 1/8" wide or less. (Or, a piece of wire hanger would also work but be careful if the wire hangar has a sharp tip so you don't scratch the grille or the bumper.) Insert the screwdriver under the grille and look for a black "button" on the center, underside of the clip. Push up on that "button" and it will release the clip. (With the top clips, you need to push down on the lever to release the clip; with the bottom clips you push up.)

The center clip was already broken and gone so I don't know what kind of clip usually resides there.

I tried the procedure on my '94 TW and I got the grille off in less than a minute without breaking anything (and, yeah, the center clip was also gone, too).

All my clips are broken and my grille is held on with two releasable zipties.

Vikash, what color zipties are needed? j/k

Yeah, the zipties would be an affordable way to hold the grille in place. Better than duct tape in this case.

Hehe, yeah.. and they're releasable by pressing on a tab so I can remove the grille without tools.