Baby BMW Forum banner

Kidney Grille Replacement.

101K views 76 replies 45 participants last post by  Bf1421 
#1 ·
Here follows a "step by step" guide to replacing your front grilles on a BMW 1 series.
(My car is a 2006 E87 116i ES but the principal of remove and refit remains the same throughout).


Personally I wanted to change my stock grilles (silver/black) for BMW Gloss Black.

Please Note:-...There are two types of BMW Performance Black Grilles, each with different part numbers. (type A or Type B
The easiest method of identifying which parts you need are to have a look at yours and decide if you need the set with the pointed top corners or the rounded versions (see image below) Mine were of the pointed ilk....but the fitments are just the same.


Identification chart for BMWP Gloss Black Grilles

First of all you need to ensure that you have obtained the proper shape kidney grilles for your particular year and model. (more on this later).
Once you've ascertained you have the correct grilles you need to "pop" the bonnet open....
The two tools you will need for this job are:-
30x Torx Screwdriver
Flat Head Screwdriver.


These are all the tools you'll need.

With the bonnet now open you will notice the rubber bonnet seal running along the lip of the front bumper
You will notice three torx screws above each of the grilles (6 in all) three on the left and three on the right.


In this image you will see that I have removed two of the three screws from the left side.

When you have released all of the screws then you need to unhook the top of the front bumper from the little alignment spur.(below)


Alignment spur

The front bumper should now be pretty loose...loose enough anyway to allow us to access and release the grille clips in order to successfully remove our grilles.

PULL THE FRONT BUMPER UP AND FORWARD. It will withstand a little force (so dont be afraid)
Start on one grille at a time working from the outside top clip first


If you have performed the above correctly and holding the bumper out you will be able to see the grille clip.

Using your Flat Head Screwdriver....push the centre spigot down to release...the first clip should now have been undone and the grill will have loosened slightly....There is one more clip on the top and it can be accessed in the same manner as before albeit a little tighter to get at....This time locate the clip and insert your Flat Head Screwdriver as before whilst pulling slightly away from the car on the grille itself.......The top section should now be free.

There are two more of the same clips to unfasten underneath each grille.


This is a picture from above the left grille compartment....notice beside the left most torx screw (removed) there is a pocket in which you can get your hand down to feel the first of the bottom clips. This is done by touch alone, but it is quite a simple task....
Once you have located the clip with your hand and whilst pulling on the front grille press the clip upward and it will release....."Three down one to go"...........
There is no point trying to stick your arm down and round in there in a vain attempt to reach the fourth and final clip....unless you want to end up like this...lol


Result of a stupid attempt of trying to release that fourth elusive clip :lol2:

Anyhow lesson learnt.

It is much simpler just to lift the grille whilst pulling it away from the car in an upward fashion....it will release and more importantly it will not break anything


Old stock grilles removed


Simple enough task with a little patience

One thing you will notice, especially if the grilles have been in for any length of time, is that there will be a build up of grime inside the sills...now's the time to give this a good clean before you fit your new parts.


Amazing amount of road grime built up inside the sills

Fitting the new grilles are simplicity itself
Line up you new kidney grille in its appropriate socket offering the bottom clips towards their seating slot in the bumper.


Offer the bottom clips of the new grille to the slots in the bumper

Then its just a matter of pushing them in until you hear the clips click into place....Once in, give them a gentle tug to see that they have seated correctly and are not loose.
Make sure your rubber bonnet seal is correctly seated with no kinks, insert you bumper back into the alignment spur and check that all the torx screw holes line up....then simply insert and tighten all your screws in sequence and drop the hood.


JOB DONE!





Thank you for taking the time to look through this little walk-through...Hopefully it will come in handy for someone wishing to perform the same task.

Regards
C
 
See less See more
15
#6 ·
Great post (wish I'd seen it before I did mine) - I managed to get my arm in to get to that inner middle lower clip. Yes I did the same to my arm too. Thought I'd share my results of the same finish - gloss black but on a black car. Now matches the rear darkline look. :)

Only difference - I bought some OEM grills off eBay, painted them myself.

Grills



And some before and after shots for you.









Granted colour of the car has a lot to do with it, don't think I would have done this if the car wasn't black.
 
#8 ·
Just swapped my "chrome" grills with the black ones using this guide, times like this it would have been handy having tiny hands because those lower clips are a right pain in d ass and I've got the blood to prove it!

Thanks for posting it :)
 
#21 ·
Have no success doing this on my 130i, the gap that is on the pictures isn't there. There's no way for me to fit my hand down the back and I can do it with a knife from underneath the grilles as well.

Any tips short of taking the whole front bumper off?
 
#22 ·
Duffers917K said:
Have no success doing this on my 130i, the gap that is on the pictures isn't there. There's no way for me to fit my hand down the back and I can do it with a knife from underneath the grilles as well.

Any tips short of taking the whole front bumper off?
I was sceptical about this method too but I tried it a couple of days ago to fit my plastidipped grilles and it worked a treat. Give it a go, btw don't be afraid of pulling the top of the bumper forward to get your hand behind with a screwdriver. :D
 
#23 ·
have bought some Matt black grilles today, so will be using this "how to" over the xmas period to try and fit them!
operative word being "TRY"!!
 
#25 ·


Just fitted, my dealer quoted £200 supplied and fitted. Bought from another dealer supply only for £88 and 20 mins work. £112 saved [emoji106]

The thing I noticed tho was that I had to get my arm in to release the bottom and side clips on the LCI.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top