[ron84]

please anyone with experience, i just recieved my cts-v grill today and am ready to swap it in for the old plastic one. what is the quickest and easiest way to do this step-by-step? thank you.

 

[RobertCTS]

please anyone with experience, i just recieved my cts-v grill today and am ready to swap it in for the old plastic one. what is the quickest and easiest way to do this step-by-step? thank you.

It's plug and play. To speed it up I used sidecutters to remove the old push pins and bought new ones to replace them. Side pins are a bit cramped. It's a 1 1/2 Budweiser job.
:alchi:

 

[ron84]

ya the side pins are cramped... (im thinking of reusing the pins.) There is a pin on the bottom of the grill facing downwards below the bumper and i cant get to it, do you remember how you took care of this one? also, do you have to loosen the front part connected to the bumper which surrounds the grill? (sorry i know these are dumb newbie questions but im trying to surprise my dad with this grill on his car and i dont wanna fuk anything up!)

 

[RobertCTS]

ya the side pins are cramped... (im thinking of reusing the pins.) There is a pin on the bottom of the grill facing downwards below the bumper and i cant get to it, do you remember how you took care of this one? also, do you have to loosen the front part connected to the bumper which surrounds the grill? (sorry i know these are dumb newbie questions but im trying to surprise my dad with this grill on his car and i dont wanna fuk anything up!)

You can reuse the pins. I like using new parts when ever I can. The clipping makes the removal so much easier. Putting them back in is easier as the pins can be installed from either side. The pins are pricey at the dealer. I hear NAPA sells the same thing cheaper. I hope your Dad likes the V-grill. I got an extra CTS grill on ebay and painted it my body color. It's much more stealth looking IMO.

 

[ctsav8tr]

I'm also interested in swapping out my grill for the V model. I looked at the clips holding the old grill in place. It looks like it is a real knuckle buster to get the bottom clips out. Any insight would be helpful.

Thanks

 

[22Cadillac22]

you dont actually have to put each clip back in...i mean if thats something that bugs you then yeah but they are a little hard to put back in. i just snapped out the old ones and put a little over half of them back in and its still held in their tight. it does get frusterating though

 

[Caddy Man]

my car needed some warranty work done, so i just gave my grill to the dealer with my to do list, and they put it on for free :highfive:

 

[ron84]

well i finished installing the grill earlier today and I LOVE IT! the V-grill is hands down the best one out there!! IMO there is no comparison with the other ones. I think the new 06 sports grill is kinda ugly along with the original stock one...

It was a pain in the ass putting the new grill in considering the tight spots you have to fit your hands into. Whoever said that this job is a knuckle buster is absolutely right. i ended up reusing all of the pins except for 1 of them (the upside down one on the bottom of the grill). didnt even bother with that, way too frustrating.

 

[RobertCTS]

well i finished installing the grill earlier today and I LOVE IT! the V-grill is hands down the best one out there!! IMO there is no comparison with the other ones. I think the new 06 sports grill is kinda ugly along with the original stock one...

It was a pain in the ass putting the new grill in considering the tight spots you have to fit your hands into. Whoever said that this job is a knuckle buster is absolutely right. i ended up reusing all of the pins except for 1 of them (the upside down one on the bottom of the grill). didnt even bother with that, way too frustrating.

Glad to hear it's done. Two Budweisers would have helped the frustration a lot.:yup:

 

[odysseus]

Has anyone tried removing the pushpins that connect the bellypan (front air deflector) to the bumper from under the car, and coming in from below? I haven't tried it, but it should give you access from below without being a contortionist. The car would likely need to be on jackstands to get your arm up there.