Rugged Ridge | Grille Insert, Mesh, Black | 11401.31 | Fits 2007-2018 Jeep Wrangler JK

First of all, it’s a very decent looking grille. The issues come with Rugged Ridge’s instructions and hardware. Two of the four bolts should be ¼” – 3/8” longer for easier installation. I used my own longer bolts. Come on: a cost for Rugged Ridge about 5 cents. The instructions indicate the washers next to the bolt head. However, the bolt head is large enough and the washers should go next to the nuts. Instruction #4 states “cut holes…” the word “cut” should be drill as you do not “cut” a hole with a drill bit, you “drill” a hole. The grille brackets had to be bent a little, because I didn’t like the amount of pressure on the stock grille. No big deal there. My Jeep has a non-stock bumper and a large winch. The grille still fits perfect even with the winch and its cables. Be careful removing the lower part of the stock grille as you do not want to break the clips, especially in colder weather. The top pins come out easy with a screwdriver or a Harbor Freight Tool Push Pin Pliers # 67400. The lower bolt holes need to be drilled about 5/16 – 3/8” below the top of the flange, so the nut can easily be placed on the bolt threads. Again, the lower two bolts should be about ¼” – 3/8” longer for easier installation, again about 5 cents. Instruction #1 state “unplug marker lights”. You can either do this or with a quarter turn either clockwise or counter clockwise remove the entire light socket from the grille. Another photo of the grille insert outside the box would also be helpful for its sale. I am done typing…It is a good looking grille insert and that’s why it’s a five star.

Update: 10/25/2015I just traded my jeep in for a newer Rubicon, and I will be getting another one of these. the one on my 2007 held up through road trips, mud bogs, rock crawling, and more. Never came loose, and never had any issues at all through the 3.5 years it was on there.Update: 3/11/2016Just installed another one on my new Jeep. I apparently had blocked out how much installing the minuscule bolt and nuts after you drill the holes for the braces. The ones on top are just fine, but the two at the bottom require you get a finger into a very small place to hold the nut in place. The bolt is just about exactly the length needed to fit through and just reach the nut, which makes it very frustrating. Considering the little alcove is a good half inch deep, there's no reason not to use a longer bolt so you can actually get it on there - that's what I did and the extra length is hidden by the plastic.Faced with the option of a DIY mode using gutter guard and zipties, I decided to get this mesh grille insert instead. The price wasn't that much more than the materials and considering most of the gutter guard methods end up needing to be reinforced after they fall off, I was attracted by the way these were braced.The product description states they are no-drill, but the instructions clearly state you need to drill a total of 4 holes. The braces have to be mounted with the included nuts and bolts and there aren't any existing holes that match up. Instead, be prepared to drill 4 small holes - 2 in the top and 2 in the bottom.Besides that, this is very sturdy product and looks great. It helps protect the radiator fins from the larger debris that likes to get sucked in when you're on the road.

I really like the look of this grill insert! I think it really finishes off the front of my Jeep. You can no longer see the radiator through the opening. It's much more subtle than the plastic inserts with the lip around them, and this one is steel.I am a pretty handy guy, but I actually made a couple of mistakes in installing this. I guess it seemed simple so I just didn't pay close enough attention. The first mistake was putting in the first bottom screw. I drilled the hole a bit too close to the edge of the 'pocket', which didn't leave quite enough room for the screw head. I enlarged the hole a little and finally got it installed without the washer. As other reviewers have said, the bottom two screws should be longer and that would help a lot!The second mistake was in underestimating how tight the support bars should push the mesh against the grill. When it was laying on the garage floor, everything seemed fine... but as soon as I reinstalled the grill, if I bumped the mesh it would rattle. Not good, so I redrilled the upper mounting holes as you can see in the second picture. You can also see that the support brace causes the grill to not quite sit flush against the top. Not a big deal, I just was not quite expecting that. You can also see the screw length in the picture, that is great for the top holes so the screw isn't protruding, just not for the bottom.In summary I love the insert and I would buy it again, but I have to knock off a star for installation. Hopefully this helps someone else do a better install job.