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      12-30-2011, 09:05 AM   #1
litt
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removing kidney grills

Has anyone removed the front kidney grills on the F25? I can see a few screws around the grills (two on top and one on the inside) but I can't tell if they actually attach the grills or not. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
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      12-30-2011, 01:22 PM   #2
paul386
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Quote:
Originally Posted by litt View Post
Has anyone removed the front kidney grills on the F25? I can see a few screws around the grills (two on top and one on the inside) but I can't tell if they actually attach the grills or not. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
In the assembly video they just snap it in... I don't think it is retained with any fasteners.
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      12-30-2011, 02:43 PM   #3
02420X3
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It appears that they're not all that easy to remove. See Post #20 in this Link
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      12-30-2011, 02:55 PM   #4
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That is awesome. I want one
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      12-30-2011, 02:56 PM   #5
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That is awesome. I want one
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      01-01-2012, 05:18 PM   #6
litt
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So it turns out it is quite easy to remove the grills once you know the trick. It took me less than 5 minutes to remove both:

1) Remove the top two screws that sit above each of the grills (takes a T25 screwdriver). You will also need to pull out the rubber thing that covers the screws. It slides right now and is not attached with any glue or anything.

2) With the screws removed, take a flat head screwdriver, slip it below the top of the bumper where you just removed the two screws. Because the screws were removed, you should have room to insert the screwdriver. There is room to look under the bumper and you can see all three tabs at the top of the grill that hold it in place. With the flat head screwdriver, unlatch each of the three tabs.

3) With the top three tabs released, you can pull the top of the grill out a little bit. Now you can insert your hand into the grill on both the left and right side of the grill. You should be able to feel the tabs on each side with your hand and unlatch them by pulling the grill out a bit.

4) There are only two tabs left now on the bottom. Using the same method above, put your hand in and you should be able to feel the two tabs on the bottom and pulling the grill out you can release these latches also.

After that, I did some sanding and painting and here they are:








Last edited by litt; 01-01-2012 at 05:25 PM..
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      01-22-2012, 12:24 PM   #7
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black grille looks more badass! good job
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      01-22-2012, 04:19 PM   #8
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What paint did you use? Looks awesome!
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      01-22-2012, 04:22 PM   #9
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The black grille looks really good on the alpine white. I would think about doing it myself, but don't think it would look as good on Carbon Black.
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      01-22-2012, 08:20 PM   #10
litt
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adamandmikah View Post
What paint did you use? Looks awesome!
I will try to get a pic with the roof racks and mirrors in. The gloss black matches really well with them.

I actually just bought some black gloss automotive spray paint from home depot. I also bought gloss clear coat from there as well. Total cost was less than $10. I sanded the grills, did about 4 coats of black and about 3 coats of clear coat. There is a great DIY post on the e90 forums for sanding and painting them.
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      04-09-2012, 03:26 AM   #11
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There needs to be a vender that comes out with them so we don't have to paint them IMO.
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