A Mach 1 Grill delete is rather simple. There will be a few places that the install may get a little annoying, but it wont be that bad. I would rate the install as a 1 out of 10. You do not have to remove your entire front bumper, you may can even get by with only removing the headlights and top push pins. You can try this out to save a little time, but it seems to go easier if you simply remove all the bolts and push pins mentioned.
Materials/Tools Needed
- Phillips Head screw driver. A short one if possible.
- Ratchet and socket set. May work better than screw driver for some people.
- Double Sided 3M tape. Not needed, but works good to remove the gap that can be created with the bumper peice.
Getting Started - Lets take a look at what we are starting with, below is a picture of the OEM front end. You can use this as a before and after comparision.
Ok now lets get started. You should start by poping your hood and removing the headlights. This is rather easy, all you need to do is pull the two pins out that hold each head light in. The headlights will then slide out with ease. I recommend using a towel under the headlights to keep from scratching the bumper. Unplug the headlight connections and sit the headlights to the side so they will not get broken or damaged. Pictured below are the locations of the headlight pins and the bumper push pins to remove.
Remove Screws and Push Pins - You will notice two push pins on the top of the bumper next to where the head lights are located, one on either side of the current grill area. Use the picture above to locate these push pins and remove them, keep in mind they will be reused so dont break them.
If you look on the front bumper at the edge of the fender well in front of the front tires you will see two screws. Remove these screws from each side. You may have to turn your steering wheel to the side to gain access to these bolts.
Remove Inner Bumper Bolts - You may can get by with out doing this, You can give it a go and see. If you simply need a little more room to gain access to the underside grill bolts or to install the radiator cover you will need to remove these bolts. If you lay down on the passenger side of the car with your head facing the front of the car you can run your hand up inside of the inner fender. You will feel two 15mm bolts where the front bumper meets the vertical line of the front fender. Remove both of these bolts, you may need a deep well 15mm socket. This takes a bit of time, but its not that bad. If you do not remove these bolts then the removal of the fender well edge bolts is not needed. If you do remove the inner bumper bolts, once they are removed pull out no the edge of the bumper to remove the bumper's sides from the bracket it will be slid over. You may wish to use tape around the edges of the fender and bumper to keep the paint from becomming scratched. Repeat the process for the passenger side.
Removal of Stock Grill - The removal of the stock grill is not that bad. Start by making sure the bumper's sides are pulled out and the bumper is slid forward as far as it can be. You may have to pull up on the bumper where it meets the area below the headlights to free it from the headlight alignment panel so that the bumper can be pulled out. Once you have the bumper as far out as it will go bend the stock grill down to gain access to the four bolts that are under it. These are a pain to remove so take your time, a 7mm socket should do the job for you. Once you have the factory grill out sit it to the side and move on.
Removal of OEM Radiator Cover - Your vehicle may not have an OEM radiator cover, some do and some do not. If you have one there will be two push pins holding it in place. These push pins are located on each bottom side of the radiator cover. Remove these and pull the cover out. The push pins can be hard to remove so take your time and dont scratch the bumper. The picture below has the radiator cover listed and the location of the two push pins.
Install New Radiator Cover - the new radiator cover is very easy to install, as you will notice it is nearly identical to the OEM version. It has a different top part that overlaps the top radiator cover to hide the nasty little gap that is between the OEM radiator cover and the grill delete radiator cover. If you do not have the correct radiator cover, as pictured in the grill delete kit, I would buy the correct one from ford before installing the kit. You will have to remove the two push pins on the top radiator cover panel and slide the radiator cover peice from the grill delete kit under the top panel. Replace the push pins once done and you can move on.
Install The Bumper Peice - Before you can install this item you need to re-install the bumper. Replace the inner bumper bolts and the fender well edge screws. Finish up by making sure the bumper is aligned correctly OVER the edge of the headlight alignment panel and the bumper's clips that slide under where the headlights go are in correctly. It may be best to take note of how they are before you remove the bumper. Do not re-install the top push pins into the bumper that are located between the headlights just yet.
Once this is done you are ready to install the bumper peice of the grill delete. Simply side it into place and use the bumper push pins that have not been installed yet to hold it in. You may notice a gap where the bumper peice does not set flush with the bumper. You can 3M double side tape to tape the panel in place, I find it best to use two layers of the tape due to the lip that the bumper peice has. The lip is thicker than a single peice of the 3M double sided tape so two layers works best. Line the entire front edge with the tape and some on the back edge also of course. Take your time getting it in the right spot before you push it down. When finished place the two push pins in place.
Install the Floating Pony - All that is left to do is install the pony. It simply pops in place and will be held in by two bolts. You may have some with your kit, if not you can either use the OEM tamper proof bolts that ford has. They should be cheap and will help prevent someone from taking your horse off; however you will need a tamper proof bit either borrowed from ford or bought at an auto parts store. You can also just pick up a couple bolts and nuts from just about anywhere, just make sure they are black.
Reinstall the Headlights - Plug the connectors back up and slide the headlight back into place. Slide the pins back into the headlight and your done.
Finishing Up - You should be done at this point, take a minute to look over everything and remove any tape you used to protect the paint. Thats about it... nice to save a hundred bucks or so on such a simple install huh? Below are a couple of pictures of the finished product.
