so i had to change my headlight and desided that taking off the grill was the easyest way, however since it was nice and cold when i did this all of the little plastic clips broke on reassembly. i figgerd no biggie i'll just stop at napa and have all new clips. the problem is they don't have them now i don't wana drive all over to find some tiny clips so any body know a part number from Toyota or any one else that will have them .

Thanks
-Tom

 

zip ties work much better

 

Don't bother. Use some zip ties. The factory plastic clips are stupid, they are hard to open and usually break.

 

amen what they said... bad design on toyota's part

 

If you wanna stick w/ the clips, they are pretty cheap from the Toyota dealership... I actually like them, although it took me a while to get used to how they release.

I'd rather use them than the zip ties though. But hey, if zip ties are your thing, then go crazy!!!

 

Look here:

https://www.1sttoyotaparts.com/partscat.html

they are less than a buck each

 

After being in there 15+ years they are going to be a tad brittle when removing, then add the cold factor.

Say no to zip ties and booty fab. Get the OEM clips as they have served you well this long and will continue to do so. Cheap and easy to install and remove with a small flat head screwdriver. These other folks are lazy, retarded or both, as I have removed mine dozens of times, once I put in new ones, over the part 3 years on my 85 no problem.

My local dealer had a box full in stock for cheap.

Do it right and be done with it.

 

My dealer wanted to charge for the clips.... No way in hell im gonna pay for them.

 

^^^x2 I agree, the hard part about replacing all those little clips is that you are usually in the middle of doing other stuff and you don't think that you'll need all those things,

Personally, I think that all the clips on my grill are either missing one part or the other, and the side marker lights are the only thing holding the grill on, maybe next time I go to the dealership I'll actually remember to get some clips, the ones that were in there lasted for close to 15 years, so I think it's not a bad investment at like $1.50 for the inner+outer clips

jay351,
of course they wanted you to pay for the clips, why should they be free? most places that sell things aren't in the habit of giving things away for free, McDonalds used to have $0.59 cheese burgers, and I don't think they would give them away just because they are so cheap

 

Ditto on the clips. I also converted from sealed beams to Hellas...now I only have to reach behind the lights to replace bulbs and no longer have to go through the hassle of pulling the park lights and grill.

 

I wouldnt use them if they were free

 

 

x235 on the clips...
when old n cold they barley hold, when nice n new tight n true.
i got two quotes from two different stealerships, then got sold the wrong ones.
all my original grille clips are broken now from removing grill a few times, but after the new ones went in, i had no trouble removing or replacing grill and all clips remained.

"My dealer wanted to charge for the clips.... No way in hell im gonna pay for them." i am pretty somebody charged them too!!

imo, if it gets cold (b-lo free-zing) i'd suggest replacing them every 5 years or so when pulln the grill any way. i had to drive around a bit without a grill tracking those lil rs at different stealerships that'd only have like 2 or 3 in stock.

 

I hate does things! My grill has only one!! When driving my grill moves so much it sound like I have a wood peker on my front!! Got bunch of zip tights and zip away!! Problem fix!!! Went the lazy way!! No time to go to the dealer!! Maybe someday cuz it will look better with out ziptights!!!!

 

On my 85 grill it came with a nylon piece in one of the clip holes. It tales a screw. I may convert all the clips to this. Pete

Only one mounting hole takes the screw bunges I bought.

 

Oh, man! .... I'm not sure you can buy zip ties for $0.20 a piece.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/252107534059?lpid=82&chn=ps&ul_noapp=true
(part no 90467-12040)

 

I like zip ties

 

How do you remove the clips to begin with? I'm trying to take my grill off and don't want to break anything.

 

Thanks for asking about this. In the past I released the clips by inserting a flat blade screwdriver between the two small tabs of every clip and turning the tabs apart while applying slight removing pressure on the grill itself. I was just thinking a Phillips screwdriver could work better in spreading the tabs apart gently. Good Luck, Pete

 

I wonder if we're all talking about the same thing?



I'm pretty sure these clips release by pressing the sides of the clip together on the engine side of the sheet metal. They don't have enormous grip, so often you can press the legs together one side at a time while VERY gently pulling the grill out. A recalcitrant one can be released by using pliers to press both side together at the same time.

Don't forget that you can replace all of these clips for $0.20 each (the link I gave above is still good today). Your clips are 25 or so years old, and are going to be brittle. Replacing them all will give you a lot of peace of mind. What you don't want to do is damage the grill as you pull it off; that will be much harder to replace.