9 Inch Oval Replacement for 06 and up Ranger
By David Swearingen (SouthTXFord)


If you have an 06 and up Ranger chances are that your grille emblem is peeling or is likely to do so in the future. When Ford decided to start using these super-sized emblems, they changed the process in which they were made compared to the smaller ones. I'm not entirely sure what is different about them but whatever it is causes them to delaminate and flake to pieces. This can make an otherwise nice grille look pretty sloppy.

I bought mine with this issue so it only took me a month before I just couldn't take it anymore and decided to replace it. If you know what you're doing from the get go this can be a relatively painless procedure that can be done in a matter of minutes. So what do you need?

First and foremost you need a new emblem. You could buy one from Ford or snag one off Ebay. Even though Ford has been using them on just about all their trucks for at least 6 years, they can be tricky to find in good shape. Mine came off the tailgate of a 05 F-150 and they can be found on the tailgates and grilles of all late model F-series trucks from 04 on, and obviously 06 and up Rangers. You may be able to snag one off of a late model E-series van as well. Now something to note is that while you are more likely to find a tailgate emblem, they do require a slight modification that I will cover later that the grille emblems won't. With that in mind, if you can find a suitable grille emblem to replace yours with, that will save you some time.

Second, I recommend a roll of quality mounting tape as a back up to the pegs as they do tend to be rather flimsy and can snap.

As for tools, you need a 7/32 socket, a flat head screw driver with a 6 inch blade, a small flat head screw driver (I used a 1/8) and a pair of needle nose pliers. If you use a tailgate emblem I also recommend a blow dryer and razor blade to remove the old mounting tape from the back of the replacement emblem.

Step one is remove your grille by removing the four bolts from the top of the grille assembly. I was able to remove these using the 7/32 socket, however if you know the correct size, please contact me so I can list it here. Once these have been removed, the grille is held in place by two metal clips on the bottom the grille. They will release by putting the 6 inch bladed screwdriver between the bottom portion of the clip and the plastic of the grille. With the screwdriver, gently apply downward pressure to the clip while pulling on the grille in an outward motion.

Step two, flip the grille over and you will see the two retaining pegs of the emblem sticking through with what look like thin metal washers around them. Using the pliers, work these washers in a twisting motion until they break away from around the pegs. NOTE: I have not checked, but for the extra paranoid, you may want to check on the pricing of replacements from Ford, but they seem to be there just for redundancy and really aren't necessary.

Step three, using the pliers lift the plastic tab under the peg, while applying downward pressure on the peg TOWARD the tab. If you look at the picture of the back of the emblem you will see there is a notch in the pegs and the reason you have to modify the tailgate emblems to fit. This process can be a pain, so if you dont mind being a bit destructive of your old emblem, you can always clip one of the pegs off and the other will practically fall out of the tab. Just try not to pull so hard on the tab that it snaps.

Now, if you have a replacement emblem from a grille, its a simple as snapping it in place, popping the bottom of the grille back into the clips, bolting the top, and you're done. But if you have the tailgate emblem, you have a few more steps.

Taking a razor blade and a blow dryer, be sure to remove all the old mounting tape from the back of the new emblem.

Next, you need to modify the pegs on the new emblem with notches like the original so it will snap into place. The alternative is to clip off the outside pegs (leave the middle one as a guide) and mount the emblem using the mounting tape. Just make sure the grille mounting surface is clean and that the emblem is centered before you press it in to place.

And that's it. Now you have a fresh looking grille without all the embarrassing scrape marks from trying to pry the emblem off with a screwdriver and blow dryer!

 

Nice write up! I could have used it about 3 weeks ago when I replaced mine... lol
I put mine on using thread cutting nuts, like these...



Seems to hold it tight, and makes it easy to remove for next time.