460mudsports
Full Access Member
You can remove the grill without the hood being open. I did this for my neighbor about a month ago when his latch was bent on his 95. Four different people tried to help him get it open for a total of 10 hours, and I did it in 10 minutes with no damage.
You can unbolt the hood latch assembly, still latched to the hood, with the grill in place. If your hands fit through the grill openings, a 1/4" drive rachet with a shallow socket and short extension works well. If your hands don't fit, like mine, I suggest a long wobble extension to get the rachet on the outside of the grill.
Once the latch is unbolted, the hood can be lifted up slightly with latch still attached. This will provide about as much room as it being on the safety latch.
Then use a 1/4" flex head rachet wrench to turn a short #2 phillips screwgun bit. This lets you fit the screwdriver bit under the hood edge to remove the top screws. A regular wrench will work, but take MUCH longer. I happen to have a cheapie rachet wrench with more angle than most that almost matches the angle of the grill perfectly.
Once the grill is out, you have much more easy access to the hood latch to get it free.
This is still a pain, but it can easily be done in 15 to 30 minutes and doesn't break anything.
You can unbolt the hood latch assembly, still latched to the hood, with the grill in place. If your hands fit through the grill openings, a 1/4" drive rachet with a shallow socket and short extension works well. If your hands don't fit, like mine, I suggest a long wobble extension to get the rachet on the outside of the grill.
Once the latch is unbolted, the hood can be lifted up slightly with latch still attached. This will provide about as much room as it being on the safety latch.
Then use a 1/4" flex head rachet wrench to turn a short #2 phillips screwgun bit. This lets you fit the screwdriver bit under the hood edge to remove the top screws. A regular wrench will work, but take MUCH longer. I happen to have a cheapie rachet wrench with more angle than most that almost matches the angle of the grill perfectly.
Once the grill is out, you have much more easy access to the hood latch to get it free.
This is still a pain, but it can easily be done in 15 to 30 minutes and doesn't break anything.
