Did you recently pick up a Ford F250 grill replacement but have no idea how to install it on your own? If so, you’re in the right place.
We’ve written a comprehensive guide to show you some tricks and some tips so that you can install the new grill replacement for your Ford vehicle like a true professional.
Contents
Awesome Comparison Table of Ford F250 Grill Replacement (Top picks)
PREVIEW | BRAND | DETAIL |
---|---|---|
Westin | ||
Prestige off roads, llc | ||
Auto Dynasty | ||
Westin | ||
Auto Dynasty | ||
Auto Dynasty | ||
Auto Dynasty | ||
ZMAUTOPARTS | ||
Auto Dynasty | ||
ZMAUTOPARTS |
You will also learn quite a few useful facts about grill replacements to help you next time you need to replace the grill.
By the time you finish reading this article, you should have installed the new replacement.
Ford F250 Grill Replacement (+How to Get it Done)
What Is a Car Grill?
The basic concept behind a car grille is to allow the air in and out of the vehicle.
Without the constant flow of air coming into the car itself, the engine would immediately overheat.
The grill also protects the radiator from any possible damage.
For instance, without the grill, the radiator would be exposed to debris and other stuff that could damage the radiator.
If the radiator were to get damaged, you would have to deal with the engine overheating every so often.
Almost all vehicles have a grille. You can find the grille on the front side of the truck.
They’re originally made to vent for air. Nowadays, car grilles have a bunch of features to improve the vehicle’s safety and usability.
Some modern vehicles have nice and fancy features to improve the car’s fuel economy through the vehicle’s grill.
Also, in recent years, we’ve seen more and more vehicles increasing their grille size.
While there is some criticism regarding the sudden change and sometimes unwanted size of the grille, they help reduce the amount of heat inside the engine, which leads to a healthy engine at the end of the day.
Does My Truck Need A Grill?
If your grill was recently hit by another car, you probably want to replace it.
If money is tight right now, you probably don’t want to spend that extra money on a new grill for your truck.
Grills are bound to get damaged at some point. Unfortunately, sometimes you can’t really predict when it is going to get damaged.
Someone might accidentally hit your car, which could damage the grill.
Or, in the worst-case scenario, you might accidentally hit an animal while driving down the road.
So, it raises the question, do I really need to go out of my way to get a new grill?
The answer is — it depends. The grill acts as a shield. It protects the radiator. You never know when a bird will get inside the radiator.
And aesthetically speaking, the grill makes your truck look awesome.
Without it, your Ford F-250 lacks its beautiful design, which F-250 owners love so much.
You can get away with it for a while, but to protect the radiator, you should get a new grill as soon as possible.
How Much Does it Cost to Replace a Ford F250 Grill?
Installing and buying a grill replacement can often be intimidating if you’ve never done it before.
Fortunately, grill replacement parts are not as expensive as you might think.
The average price for a grill replacement for the Ford F250 is about $240, taking into account a model with led lights.
However, other factors might increase the price of the replacement you need for your truck.
For instance, the high-end ones can be found for about $800 all the way up to $1,000.
Now, it’s hard to estimate the average price for the installation.
Different places might have different prices for this process. However, for the most part, you should expect to pay $400 for the installation.
We suggest installing the grill on your own. You don’t need that much experience with vehicles to set it up by yourself.
Replacing the grill is not nearly as hard as replacing a catalytic converter.
You’d save a lot of money if you did it on your own. And you could put that money towards something else.
Also, if you’re short on money, you could give the aftermarket ones a try.
Most of the time, they are cheaper than the original ones and work just like the original ones.
Are Aftermarket Grilles Any Good?
The biggest question most people seem to have regarding aftermarket grilles is whether they are suitable for them to be used as their main grill.
There is a lot of stigma around aftermarket parts. Most of it comes from the fact that you’re actually not getting an original product.
You’re buying a product from some third-party.
While we cannot talk about all the aftermarket products available, most of them are just as good as the original ones.
However, we always suggest doing some research before getting an aftermarket product to avoid low-quality products.
There are a lot of advantages you get from purchasing an aftermarket grill.
The most noticeable one is the price; since it is an aftermarket product, they are generally cheaper, and if you’re on a budget, an aftermarket product will do wonders for you.
Not only that, but they are also a great way to personalize your own vehicle since aftermarket grills offer more customization than the original ones.
Some people might be opposed to the idea of getting a different grill other than the original one.
Still, if you want a more customizable experience, an aftermarket product is an excellent choice. And you’d save up a lot of money.
DIY Guide: How to Replace a Ford F250 Grill
Now it’s time to install the replacement truck grille you got over a year ago but never bothered to replace.
That annoying light that keeps flickering will finally be gone once you set up the new grill.
Or, if you want to magnify the beauty of your current truck, then this guide will come in handy for you.
We’ll cover each stage, explaining exactly what you need to do to install the new grill without going to your local mechanic.
That said, here are all the steps you need to install the Ford F250 grill on your own:
01. What You Will Need
Taking the grille off is not as hard as you might think it is.
But before you can remove the grille, you need a few tools for this job. Here is what you need to install a grille:
- A 10mm socket — you will need the socket to remove a few bolts from the truck
- Flathead screwdriver — you will use the screwdriver to unlock the clips. Alternatively, you could use anything that has an excellent straight edge
- A rag — you will need the rag to clean any dirt you find once you take off the grill from the truck
Once you get all these items for this tutorial, you’re pretty much ready to move onto the next stage of this article.
02. Remove The Bolts From The Truck
Before you can safely take off the grille from the truck, you need to remove all the bolts, which, fortunately, does not take any time.
Follow these steps to install the ford F250 grill replacement:
- Open the hood of the vehicle
- Once you gain access to all the parts of the truck, you want to remove the four bolts, which you can find on top of the grille
- Use the 10mm socket to remove all the bolts from the vehicle safely
You need to remove the grille from the vehicle, which we’ll do in the next section.
03. Remove The Grille
Now that you have removed the bolts, you want to take off the grille.
But, you want to be careful when removing the grille. Here is how you can do this on your own:
- Lean the grille forward towards you
- Right at the bottom of the grille, there are a few metal clips that you need to remove for the grille to come off
- Use the flathead screwdriver to push down and release all the clips
- Carefully push down on the clips to remove them
- Keep doing this until you have successfully removed the five clips
- From there, you want to apply a little bit of strength to pull out the grille
In the next section, you’ll need to clean all the dirt from the vehicle.
If required, you can skip the next step.
However, it’s always a good idea to clean all the dirt from underneath the grill before you can install the new replacement.
04. Clean All The Dirt
If you’ve never taken off the grill before, you will most likely have to clean all the dirt underneath the old grill.
You definitely want to clean all of that before you install the new grill.
Follow these steps to clean the dirt:
- Dampen the rag to clean the dirt
- Rub the rag back and forth on the desired area
- You might have to apply more pressure as you’re rubbing the rag against the surface if it’s not coming off
- Be careful when cleaning the area; you don’t want to apply too much pressure as you could something while cleaning
- Keep doing this until you have cleaned all the dirt from the surface
Next, you want to install the new grille. The process is relatively simple, but you want to be careful when doing so.
You do not want to damage anything in the process, more on this down below.
05. Install The Grille
Now, there are a few things you need to know before you can install the grille replacement.
Knowing these things will allow you to install the grille like a professional; here is what you need to install the Ford grill replacement:
- If you flip the grille over, you will find the clips of the grille at the bottom. Those are the clips that sit into the slots so that you can put in the grille
- Now, lift the grille up and then put it back into place
- It would help if you made sure to line up all the mounting tabs on the bottom and the top. Otherwise, you will have a hard time trying to fit in the grille
- You will hear a clicking sound once you install the replacement. Also, be careful when fitting in the grille. If you mess up in the process, you will break the clips
- Once you have installed the new grille, you need to tighten all the bolts you previously took off
And that’s pretty much it. You now have a beautiful grille, and you didn’t have to pay a single cent to install the new grille for the Ford F250.
Also, if you’d like to watch a video for this process, here is one you can watch:
Ford F250 Grill Replacement: Most Online Queries
Knowing how your vehicle’s grille works always comes in handy if you run into any problem the truck might experience, which is primarily what this FAQ section aims to provide.
01. Where to buy replacement grill grates?
Our extensive research has concluded that Amazon is an excellent place if you want a grill replacement.
eBay also has proven to be an ideal place for grill replacements. But overall, Amazon takes the lead.
02. What is behind the grill of the front bumper?
Once you remove the grill from the truck, you’ll find a massive plastic behind the actual grill.
That plastic with holes on it allows the air to flow within the vehicle.
03. How long does it take to replace a Ford F250 grill?
Replacing a Ford F250 grill is ridiculously easy; even if it’s your first time replacing the grill, this process should not take more than an hour.
If you’ve done it before, you might be able to pull it off within twenty minutes at most.
04. Is it okay to drive without a grill?
Yes, you can drive without a grill. The grill is only there to enhance the beauty of the vehicle.
However, we suggest keeping the grill on at all times to protect the radiator.
Conclusion
Installing a Ford F250 grill replacement makes your truck look brand new again.
The grill itself improves the value of your vehicle. While you can get around without it, it does not look great to have the radiator exposed.
And as you know by now, replacing the grill is super easy to do.
As long as you take some time to learn how to install the grill replacement, you should be fine.
And you will save a lot of money if you do this process on your own.