So the 1st item to address was the grill. Without the grill change the rest of the look was not going to happen and was a bit pointless. I saw a few options out there that might work, but most of them were overlays. Often zip tied in place etc. Looking up close at pictures of them just did not have the look and finish I was looking for. I wanted something that almost looked factory, yet stood out. Then I found
www.customcargrills.com. I emailed them and traded a few emails with Matt and he recommended a few options. What caught my eye is that they make premolded/cut grills for the Taurus and a bunch of other vehicles.
I really wanted to do a wire mesh look like the V series Caddy's use, but he did not think it would work for this application. Not to be dissuaded I bought a sample kit and chose the weave as one of the samples. WOW it is a really nice product for sure and is under the FORD logo in this picture below.
Alas, it was not meant to be though. Just as Matt had said, it was not going to work. It is a true woven rod material, so if you flex or bend it, that loosens the weave and it starts to come apart. I would still like to go this route, I just cannot see a way to make it work yet. The far right and middle left samples seemed ok, but I was not a fan of the tiered look it had when at an angle like the 13+ grill. The left most piece looked good, was solid yet flexible and actually is the highest flowing mesh he carries so I contact Matt and had him make me up a custom grill with my car using the perforated hex mesh and also ordered 2 strips of perf hex sheet for the lower grill. Matt was on it and had the order shipped in a day.
BUMPER REMOVALI did not find much out there about removing the bumper cover, I know there are threads but I could not find them when I needed them, so I will give a quick walkthru here in hopes it helps others. It really is super simple and the way I did it I found it easy to remove and install by myself, no helpers needed.
- Jack up the car and get it set on a pair of Jackstands.
Then you need to:
- Remove the three small socket head screws plus one plastic Molly in each wheel well
- Remove a bunch of plastic molly's and a bunch of 8mm hex screws holding on the cover under the car and remove the panel.
- While you are under the car, unplug the DRL and bumper sensor connectors on both sides of bumper.
- Loosen by 1/2 - 1 turn the eight phillips head screws (yellow in picture) ontop of grill and inner corner of bumper cover. Do not remove, just loosen.
- Remove Four 10m socket head bolts holding upper rad cover on to car. Leave the molly's in the middle in place for now.(red in picture)
- The bumper is now just sitting there by the two mollys, the bumper reinforcement bar below the grill and the clips at each corner. These clips can be tricky to disconnect without breaking the teeth. If you break a tooth off, don't panic I give the part numbers for the replacement parts below, they are cheap and very easy to replace. I paid $13.xx after tax at local dealer, they are <$8.00 online.
- The trick with the clips is that you need to pull the bumper cover forward away from the seam and then lift up on it. Pulling the cover away from the seam pulls it off of the two teeth a bit and helps it break free without taking a tooth with it. I use the flat of one hand on the bumper cover like shown to pull the panel forward away from the seam and fender, then use the other hand under the cover and wheel well liner to lift away from the car. I press my hands together to pull the cover forward then up away from the car (towards the camera) and it will pop free. Repeat on the other side.
2010+ Fender clips:
- Right (pass side): AG1Z17C947A
- Left (drivers side): AG1Z17C947B
- Now you are ready to remove the bumper from the car. Make sure you have a soft spot (grass or blankets on a hard surface) to put the bumper on.
- I stood in front dead center and used my knee to push lightly against the bumper holding it in place then removed the two mollys on the radiator cover by the hood latch. keep pressure on the bumper and set them aside someplace within reach.
- Now grab the top cover and upper lip of bumper cover where they meet and carefully lift up a little to take the weight of the bumper and carefully slide the entire thing forward away from the car. Holding it this way you have very good control and the top panel gives the bumper structure so it does not twist all over while you carry it it to that soft spot you setup to work on it.
- Once on the ground you need to remove the top panel by taking out the 8 phillips head screws.
- Then carefully roll the bumper forward on the blanket so you are looking at the backside of the bumper. The reinforcement bar is held on by some clips and is holding the top and bottom grills in place. You may need to use a screw driver to pull back the tabs holding the clips in place and then lift the bar up off the grill.
- Now you can remove the grill and bezel, they are held in place by similar clips and tabs. just take your time and get them to pop loose one by one.
GRILL SWAPThe grill itself is attached to the bezel with T20 torx screws. Once removed give the backside of the bezel a good cleaning, I used simple green and paper towels, but basic soap and water will also work, you have to have clean surface for the adhesive to hold.
Now you are ready for the new mesh. The customcargrill grill is precut and folded to fit. It will need some tweaking and adjustment as it was designed to fit the PI grill. Other than that you can follow the install video on their website. I saw an opportunity to possibly not use the adhesive, and unfolded the top edge of the mesh and was able to get it to reach the screw points at pictured. I was then able to re-install the back plate/air guide back using those screws and pinched the mesh to the bezel.
The Goop works awesome and now that I have used it would have no concern using only it in the future and would not bother with the screws. The adhesive takes 24hrs to cure, so plan ahead and give it time. Make sure to keep the goop on the backside of the bezel, and below the edge as it slowly runs as it cures. They used a toothpick, but I used a plastic pick-nick knife and just pushed it in there like they did. I left my grill facing down, so the goop ran down the back of the bezel and stayed hidden.
Once it is dry, re-assemble the grill/bumper in reverse of how you removed it.
- Install the top cover with the eight phillips head screws, make sure to leave them 1/2-1 turn loose like when you removed the assembly.
- Carry the assembly over to the vehicle and slowly raise it into place, careful to not mount it too quickly so that the sides of the bumper do not slam into the fenders and scratch them. Just let it slide into place with the reinforcement bar around the bumper support.
- Install those 2 molly's to hold it all in place.
- Snap each side of the bumper into the clips at the edge of the fenders.
- align the bumper assebly as needed so everything lines up and no distortion to the bumper the install the four 10mm bolts in the top cover and tighten the phillips head screws down.
- Under the car reconnect the wires for the DRL and sensors (do this 1st so you do not forget, don't ask me how I know this..)
- install all the previously removed fasteners
Without further blathering or guilding the lilly by me, here is how mine turned out to this point. I am still working out how I want to to attach the lower grill mesh, but being a daily driver had to get her back together while I figure that out.
