M&S Grill and Pierce Crash Bar DIY

The mesh on the grill is not attached to the frame.* It uses metal tabs that fold up and grip the mesh.* Go ahead and remove the mesh as it will just get in the way.*

The long plastic tabs on the frame will slide right into the slots that the original grill clipped into.* Here's where I had to get creative and feel there's plenty of room for improvement on my process.* There's no clips to hold the frame into the bumper so here's how I did it.

Since the mesh can be removed I didn't see a need to ever have to remove the frame so I proceeded in a way that would permanently seat the frame.* First issue was getting the frame to seat fully onto the bumper and stay there.

To do this I reinstslled the mesh.* Be sure to install it level so it doesn't look off when finished.* With the mesh level fold the metal tabs back around the mesh.*

To keep the grill in the bumper I ended up using the screw holes on the bumper and a few zip ties through the excess material on the mesh to hold the grill in place (don't over tighten the ties).*



With this done I still had gaps around the frame of the grill so I decided to reuse some of the extra screws (hind sight, bolts would work well and be easier to tighten).* Using one hand, push the frame into the bumper and with the other mark 4 spots (one at a time) on the grill frame tabs on the left and right side of the grill.* Dexterity it's tough so after marking the locations, push the grill forward and drill pilot holes in the tabs.

From here, push the grill frame back in and use the screws to hold the frame flush in place.* Next I used plastic weld on the rest of the tabs to further seat the frame in the grill.

The grill is installed in the bumper.... congrats, the hard part is over.

Next you need to reinstall the radiator shroud.* As with the bumper, the tabs slide right in place on the shroud but alignment of the two screws on the outside is a little tough.* (NOTE: I wouldn't use the drill to reinstall the screws)

With these back in, the whole top section of the grill felt flimsy so I got creative again.

Using the same drill bit as before and extra screws, I drilled holes through the tabs of the grill frame and the rad shroud.* Then I took a couple of the extra screws and screwed them into the new holes which added a lot of extra support for the bumper.* I only did 2 but you could easily do all 4.

The bumper is now ready to go back on.* However, having completed this with the Peirce Crash Bar I'm not sure if the grill would fit over the stock crash bar... so good luck.

Next up is replacement of the crash bar.

This is a quick, simple install.* You'll need you 12mm socket and a breaker bar helps but isn't necessary.* On each side of the crash bar there are four 12mm bolts and one 10mm nut.*

Loosen and remove these bolts, the 10mm nuts are there to help support and align the crash bar, further adding to the illusion that it weighs a ton.*

Don't forget to remove the 10mm nuts holding on the horn and the lower brace before removing the 10mm nuts on the crash bar.* You can also ditch the IC shroud or modify it.* I ditched it since my new one will have a metal one.

Install of the Pierce crash bar is the reverse of the removal, except the center support is gone and the the mount for the horn has moved a little.

With the crash bar in place the bumper is ready to go on.* Replace the bumper and all of its hardware (remember to hook up the foglights) and your done!

So, issues...

1. No instructions... at all.
2. As you can see in the pic the mesh is pushing against the Pierce Crash Bar,* which, holds on the Pierce logo but may make it hard to fit an aftermarket FMIC or horns of they mount to the crash bar.* This is a result of how far the mesh sinks back into the grill.

3. The design of the top of the grill, like the others, exasorbates the sagging bumper issue and is even worse if your headlight clips don't work.* It's not a deal breaker but noticeable for the owner.
4. Nothing securing the frame to the bumper except your creativity.

Good write-up @bigbird. Here is a picture just clarifying what needs to be cut and an alternative method of afixng the grill to the radiator shroud. Please note: these are not my photos, I managed to source these from the web earlier.

Bigbird said:

It's due on mine mostly because of the bumper sag. All of my passenger headlight clips are busted and I've had to move over to full quick release to still be able to hang the bumper. The tire I hit o-so-long ago did way more damage than I could see. I was able to adjust the hood a little to lower and still had room to go.

Click to expand...

Here something that will help man those factory supports are weak