• If you currently own, previously owned or want to own an Avalanche, we welcome you to become a member today. Membership is FREE, register now!

Bowtie Removal W/ Billet Grille?

FSUGUY

SM 2003
Full Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2002
Messages
2,331
Ok I just put on a bolt over and i can barely get the hood open. But, I want to change out my bowtie whenever I have a desire. of course it ain't as easy now and i don't want to remove the grille that much.

Is there an easy way? can you cut the painted part behind the bowtie?

???
 
I have a Carriage Works billet grille. I use a small, long screw driver to push on one of the tabs on the bowtie as I pull on the same corner. It takes a little practice to tell when you are touching the tab but once you do it a few times it gets pretty easy. Hope that helps.

-Mark
-UtahAV
 
I have a precision Bolt over grille and I do the same procedure. Just get a long tip screwdriver and before long you too will be an excpert at it.......
Tractman
 
Nobody told me it needed to be done from under the hood.

I put in long screw driver from the front.....I don't think so...hmmmmm.

open hood look around....close eyes...got it! not that hard... lucky I had a spare bowtie to know that the clips were just off the edge of the center square part of the bowtie.
 
I just pried from the front in the corner of where the vertical and horizontal lines of the bowtie meet and it just popped of with no damage.

Putting on the Billit bowtie was a whole other adventure since it is secured with 2 washers and nuts. ended up taking off the lower 1/2 of the Carriage Works grill and tried to tighten the 2 nuts from the front. No Go. Then pried off the 4 push rivets under the hood and pop the corners of the "chrome bar" and was able to get my hand under there enough to use a socket with the little circle ratchet that came with my Metwrench set. Took an hour and a lot of scratches. At least I know no one is going to come up and pop my custom bowtie off.
 
I do the screwdriver thing from the front. Like I said it takes some practice. The first time I did it I put my hand on the bowtie and with the screwdriver in the other hand I started to tap anything that was up inside the bowtie. When you tap on the tab of the bowtie you can feel it on the face of the bowtie. Then just put the screwdriver on the outside part of the tab and firmly push it toward the center. This is one of those things that I could show you in 10 seconds but I could write a book trying to explan it to you :) I hope that makes any sence.

-Mark
-UtahAV
 
If the billet bowtie is like mine from T-Rex it goes on with bolts and washers. I changed the nuts to butterfly type and can just reach in and spin off. However, I have a non-bolt on billet grille and one of the biggest problems was how do I get the hood open after installation. If you have a dremel you can cut out a precision piece from the plastic under the bowtie, then use the dremel to sand it down, and your fingers fit right in. It does not help with bowtie removal but those butterfly nuts certainly help. And nobody is ever going to get in the hood or steal the billet bowtie.
 
Back
Top