I have seen a lot of write-ups on swapping the grilles out but I didn't find any information about what parts from a black LT grille and a Chrome LTZ grille were the same, if any. I thought someone might benefit from this information.
First off, to do the swap I found this video on YouTube very helpful:
http://youtu.be/J_YSHYOzO1U
I recently bought a Chrome LTZ grille to replace my black LT grille and one question that came up in the process was whether or not you could just buy the chrome inserts (OEM) and replace the black ones. The answer on mine (2013 Suburban) was no.
During the swap I ended up completely disassembling both grilles because I wanted to use my Chrome bezels as they were in better shape. When I took my black grille apart I found that the grille mesh and the part that actually retains the grille in the truck is one part. The chrome grille actually has a mesh insert and a separate black piece for retainage. after I disassembled both grilles I laid them out so you can see the difference:
The top grille is the same except the black piece that mounts the grille to the core support is also part of the black mesh on the old grille and only the piece for retainage on the chrome grille:
I also noticed that the slots that the chrome inserts snap into are not on the black mesh grille, which makes sense as it is all one pice with no insert:
First off, to do the swap I found this video on YouTube very helpful:
http://youtu.be/J_YSHYOzO1U
I recently bought a Chrome LTZ grille to replace my black LT grille and one question that came up in the process was whether or not you could just buy the chrome inserts (OEM) and replace the black ones. The answer on mine (2013 Suburban) was no.
During the swap I ended up completely disassembling both grilles because I wanted to use my Chrome bezels as they were in better shape. When I took my black grille apart I found that the grille mesh and the part that actually retains the grille in the truck is one part. The chrome grille actually has a mesh insert and a separate black piece for retainage. after I disassembled both grilles I laid them out so you can see the difference:
The top grille is the same except the black piece that mounts the grille to the core support is also part of the black mesh on the old grille and only the piece for retainage on the chrome grille:
I also noticed that the slots that the chrome inserts snap into are not on the black mesh grille, which makes sense as it is all one pice with no insert: