Any screws, inserts, hardware I should get before grille/light replacement?

[454cid]

I need new (composite) headlights, and may as well replace the other lights and install a spare grille that I've been storing. My truck has almost 300K miles, and I anticipate finding rusty screws, brittle plastic inserts, and rusted pushnuts if there are any. It's been so long since I've had my grill off that I don't recall how everything is held together.

I'd like to get whatever I'll need ahead of time. What should I be buying?

 

[df2x4]

The only thing I can think of off the top of my head are the little square plastic nuts that clip into the grille and grab the threads of the parking light mounting screws. I've had the grilles off both of my trucks multiple times and those are the only fasteners I've ever had to replace.

Well, now that I think about it there was one missing screw in the grille of the red truck. It wasn't damaged though, just gone.

 

[454cid]

The only thing I can think of off the top of my head are the little square plastic nuts that clip into the grille and grab the threads of the parking light mounting screws. I've had the grilles off both of my trucks multiple times and those are the only fasteners I've ever had to replace.

Well, now that I think about it there was one missing screw in the grille of the red truck. It wasn't damaged though, just gone.

Any idea what thier called? I'm imagining something like the nylon looking inserts that some vehicles use for license plates, but smaller.... is that accurate?

 

[df2x4]

LMC calls them "Grommets." I bought mine from there. Part number 7 on this diagram.

https://www.lmctruck.com/1988-98-chevy-gmc/parklight/cd-1994-98-parklight-composite

IIRC someone else here posted a link to them years ago from another supplier that was much cheaper, but I can't remember where.

EDIT - And yes, your description sounds pretty accurate.

 

[454cid]

LMC calls them "Grommets." I bought mine from there. Part number 7 on this diagram.

https://www.lmctruck.com/1988-98-chevy-gmc/parklight/cd-1994-98-parklight-composite

IIRC someone else here posted a link to them years ago from another supplier that was much cheaper, but I can't remember where.

EDIT - And yes, your description sounds pretty accurate.

They're not giving any hints what it actually is with that drawing, either. I'll have to crawl up into the attic and pull the grill down, and see what may be there already. I see lots of options on Rockauto in the Universal Parts section.

 

[df2x4]

The majority of mine were fine, but I had one or two on each truck that were stripped and wouldn't hold the parking light screws tightly so I just replaced them all. If your spare grille has all of them still installed you can probably piece together a good set out of what you have. They pop out pretty easily and you don't need to remove the grille to do so, although it does make things a little easier. Maybe test fit your parking lights in the spare grille before you install it and see if any of the grommets are stripped.

 

[454cid]

The majority of mine were fine...

That's good to know. I just figured plastic only lasts so long when it's stressed.

...but I had one or two on each truck that were stripped and wouldn't hold the parking light screws tightly so I just replaced them all. If your spare grille has all of them still installed you can probably piece together a good set out of what you have. They pop out pretty easily and you don't need to remove the grille to do so, although it does make things a little easier. Maybe test fit your parking lights in the spare grille before you install it and see if any of the grommets are stripped.

Yes, that's what I'll do. I didn't even think about the set in the "new" grille, until I started this thread. I bought it at a local live auction quite a number of years ago, mainly for the Chevy bowtie, but I think the grill itself is in pretty good shape. I've also got what I think is the orginal grille for my truck that I had a body shop replace under my insurance when a peice of rotten plywood flew out of a dumpster in front of me on the highway. It broke a few of the thin pieces in the grille, but it was otherwise fine, and would be a lot better than the one I have currently. I think every single attachement point on the top of the core support is broken, or at least badly cracked. The chrome is nasty now too.

 

[454cid]

Well, I pulled both grilles down, and neither one of the them have any of the plastic inserts. I had thought the auction grille might have them along with the corner reflectors/lights, but it's got nothing but the Chevy Bowtie.... and it's got two cracks in it, that I didn't know about, in the end of the center bar. I need to clean them up and decide which one to use.... both have the chrome covered in mouse blood. They were stored in my grandmothers garage for a long time, and family would put mouse posion out there. I started throwing the crap away.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

When I replaced my grille the "grommets" from my OE one were dried out and brittle. Luckily only one's tabs broke so, I have one parking light with 3 holding it in place.

The new grille had the center bottom tab broken. I supported and filled it with epoxy.

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[Stumpy]

LMC calls them "Grommets." I bought mine from there. Part number 7 on this diagram.

https://www.lmctruck.com/1988-98-chevy-gmc/parklight/cd-1994-98-parklight-composite

IIRC someone else here posted a link to them years ago from another supplier that was much cheaper, but I can't remember where.

EDIT - And yes, your description sounds pretty accurate.

I can confirm part #7 is the inserts for the signal light screws. When I changed my grille, I hit my local Napa first, for those, but they didn't have the right size at the time, so I order from LMC.

The holes in my aftermarket grille are slightly over sized, so the inserts wouldn't clip in. I took up the slack with some electrical tape over the hole, then cut an X in it, so it would wrap all 4 sides. That was enough for the inserts to stay in, and function as they should.