Grill compatibility

[HawkX66]

I did some searches for this, but no definite answers... I need a grill for my 17 platinum. I'm not spending the insane $650+ that they want for one right now. There are a million out there for short money for an 07-14. Do they fit? If not, why? I know the bumper covers are different on the sides and under the headlights, but inside the headlights and under the grill they look the same. The tabs along the top are different, but can they be modified to work?
If no answers, I'll just see what I can do to pull the one off my 07 this weekend to match it up. I'd rather not go through all that though...

Thanks.

 

[gixer2000]

I did some searches for this, but no definite answers... I need a grill for my 17 platinum. I'm not spending the insane $650+ that they want for one right now. There are a million out there for short money for an 07-14. Do they fit? If not, why? I know the bumper covers are different on the sides and under the headlights, but inside the headlights and under the grill they look the same. The tabs along the top are different, but can they be modified to work?
If no answers, I'll just see what I can do to pull the one off my 07 this weekend to match it up. I'd rather not go through all that though...

Thanks.

The grill from and 07-14 is nothing like 15-17 so I really dont see that happening. Depending on what style your looking for the material can typically be bought on eBay/Amazon and cut to fit your application

 

[HawkX66]

The grill from and 07-14 is nothing like 15-17 so I really dont see that happening. Depending on what style your looking for the material can typically be bought on eBay/Amazon and cut to fit your application

How do you figure it's nothing like it? The basic shape is identical so I'm having a tough time seeing it. The hood line is identical. Are the sides on the 15-17 angled and the 07-14 not? I wasn't sure if it was an optical illusion or not...



Screenshot_20180821-191130_eBay by Dave H, on Flickr

Screenshot_20180821-191321_eBay by Dave H, on Flickr

Expy Under Hood by Dave H, on Flickr


11627_st1280_050 by Dave H, on Flickr



grill-front-view by Dave H, on Flickr

s-l400 (3) by Dave H, on Flickr

 

[gixer2000]

If you wanna take some measurements id be happy to measure my 07 grill to compare. I don't think they are as close as you think but are roughly the same shape

 

[HawkX66]

If you wanna take some measurements id be happy to measure my 07 grill to compare. I don't think they are as close as you think but are roughly the same shape

View attachment 26440

I appreciate that, but I have an 07 and a 17. Unfortunately I live in a different city during the week for work... I'll check them out side by side this weekend.
As far as being close though, remember that the hood is the same 07-17 just like the fenders (except for a hole for the headlight). The grill has to match the hood back to 07 without a doubt.
Where in Mass are you? Born and bred there...

 

[JExpedition07]

I have a feeling the 07-14’ grille is slightly bigger. I say this because the headlight assemblies are supposedly bigger on the original 3rd gens and the grille sits flush with the bottom of the headlights on both. I could be totally wrong this is just going by your pictures.

 

[JExpedition07]

How about we have a user with a 15-17’ measure the height of their grille....that should give us an answer. Width is hard to see at this angle but its roughly 45” if you are in front of the tape.

 

[HawkX66]

I'd say the height and the width of the very bottom between the headlights would be telling. The top we know is the same because of the hood. The depth would have to be the same because of the hood also.

 

[HawkX66]

And height it is... Check out the difference between the top of the bumper and the bottom of the grill in these two pics. The bumpers both mount the same.

 

[JExpedition07]

Yes the grille on the black one is definelty bigger. It covers the outline in the bumper where the white trucks doesn’t.

 

[star-art]

When manufacturers like Ford do a "restyle" like this, for some reason they often make sure the newer, more updated parts can't easily be installed on older vehicles. They always seem to change just enough to make it extremely difficult or impractical to upgrade an older vehicle. In this case, the entire front fascia was changed. This includes the grille, headlights, fog lights, front bumper, and all the structure underneath.

The 2007-14 parts are pictured above, the 2015-17 below:

 

[JExpedition07]

I don’t completely agree with that, you can convert a 2nd gen front end to a 3rd gen front end with some swapping. Why didn’t they do this when they switched the design from the 2006 to the 2007 then? I think it’s just what happens when they change up a vehicles appearance, parts aren’t going to fit or be comparable 100%.

 

[star-art]

I didn't say you couldn't swap parts. What I said was they often try to make it difficult rather than easy. . .

 

[HawkX66]

Too be honest, I don't think they necessarily try to make it hard. I think it's just the nature of the change and they aren't actively trying to keep them compatible. It would only help them if things were easily changed. Ford especially knows the value of allowing a customer to customize their vehicle to the way they want it. The frame, fenders and hood are interchangeable. That leaves having to change the bumper assemblies, headlights and grill only. Pretty easy in my opinion.
Once my new bumper gets here, the coming week or next hopefully, I'm going to take some solid measurements and see what it's going to take to modify an 07-14 grill so it will fit and look good. Because I'm using an aftermarket bumper, I can easily go with customizing a grill. Especially now that we know where the difference is. I suspect it's only going to take a height modification for the fit. To make it look good? Wait and see...

 

[star-art]

Sorry, I have to disagree. Ford probably prefers that we don't customize anything. The tight integration of electronics and other systems is evidence to support this assertion. If you're missing an option, for example, good luck getting help from Ford to make that change to your vehicle. The dealer won't touch it and Ford won't support them (or you). Sometimes making a change will even void your warranty.

The main reason they don't want you making changes though is the fact their business model is based on people trading in vehicles for new ones. If they do a restyle (like the 2015 changes) but you can easily bolt those parts onto an older vehicle to make it look like it's newer, then you might be less likely to want to get rid of your old truck and buy a newer one.

 

[HawkX66]

Sorry, I have to disagree. Ford probably prefers that we don't customize anything. The tight integration of electronics and other systems is evidence to support this assertion. If you're missing an option, for example, good luck getting help from Ford to make that change to your vehicle. The dealer won't touch it and Ford won't support them (or you). Sometimes making a change will even void your warranty.

The main reason they don't want you making changes though is the fact their business model is based on people trading in vehicles for new ones. If they do a restyle (like the 2015 changes) but you can easily bolt those parts onto an older vehicle to make it look like it's newer, then you might be less likely to want to get rid of your old truck and buy a newer one.

I lived outside Detroit for the last four years. I've seen it first hand at all the shows and in the companies themselves. Ford and GM both work pretty closely with the A/M suppliers. Roush? SLP? SEMA would also disagree with you. Livernois is packed with brand new vehicles with window stickers still attached. Their dynos are going non-stop.
Of course they also are smart enough to keep their options open with the warranty denial angle for the sheep that say "ok", but the Magnusson-Moss Act pretty much makes them the dog barking at the end of a chain unless you do something pretty dumb.
As far as the 2015 restyle... Give me the bumper, grill and headlights and I'll turn your 07-14 Expy into a 15-17 look alike in a couple of hours or less.

 

[star-art]

Point taken but I was talking about factory OEM parts and upgrades, not anything from the aftermarket. . .

 

[HawkX66]

Point taken but I was talking about factory OEM parts and upgrades, not anything from the aftermarket. . .

Arguably companies like Roush and SLP are just extensions of Ford and GM. We had a cook out hosted by SLP last year for the Camaro Super fest. Outstanding company. They were packed wall to wall with both GM and Fords being modified for Ford and GM.
Don't forget, both Ford and GM also have a performance side where they sell performance parts to upgrade your cars and trucks. FRPP (Ford Racing Performance Parts) and Chevy Performance Parts. Both those extensions are there to purposely allow the customer to modify their cars the way they want them whether it's make them faster or cosmetically unique.

 

[Trainmaster]

Any luck?

 

[HawkX66]

Still waiting for my bumper from Iron Bull. Should be within the next couple of weeks. I ordered it 7/31. I'm not going to do anything with the grill until I have that.