‼️ UPDATE FORD E-RAPTOR grille swap and install tutorial

[AleksEst]

Hi everyone,

I’m installing the newer version of the Raptor-style grille on my F-150 Lightning — the one that already has the camera cutout and the dedicated washer nozzle area.

The issue is that the rear camera bracket still hits the factory plastic protrusion on the frunk/hood side. Because of that, the grille won’t sit flush and leaves a large gap at the bottom.

As I see it, I have two options:

1. Cut/remove the factory protruding plastic piece on the vehicle side.
2. Modify the grille side — cut part of the camera bracket and find another way to mount/fix the camera.

I’d rather not cut the vehicle side, but I’m also not comfortable permanently gluing or hard-fixing the camera to the grille, since the angle may need adjustment later or the camera may need to be removed/serviceable.

Has anyone dealt with this issue on the newer grille version with the camera cutout and washer nozzle? What would you recommend as the cleanest solution?

Any advice or photos would be appreciated.

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[kvasiir]

1. Cut/remove the factory protruding plastic piece on the vehicle side.
2. Modify the grille side — cut part of the camera bracket and find another way to mount/fix the camera.

I’d rather not cut the vehicle side, but I’m also not comfortable permanently gluing or hard-fixing the camera to the grille, since the angle may need adjustment later or the camera may need to be removed/serviceable.

Has anyone dealt with this issue on the newer grille version with the camera cutout and washer nozzle? What would you recommend as the cleanest solution?

I don't have photos because it's all closed up now, but I got the new one and installed it. I needed to cut a LOT of stuff. The camera bracket itself, the grille near the hole to get the camera connector seated correctly, and also that big bump on the vehicle side. I also needed to add a check valve to the washer line.

 

[CrimsonGhost603]

Hi everyone,

I’m installing the newer version of the Raptor-style grille on my F-150 Lightning — the one that already has the camera cutout and the dedicated washer nozzle area.

The issue is that the rear camera bracket still hits the factory plastic protrusion on the frunk/hood side. Because of that, the grille won’t sit flush and leaves a large gap at the bottom.

As I see it, I have two options:

1. Cut/remove the factory protruding plastic piece on the vehicle side.
2. Modify the grille side — cut part of the camera bracket and find another way to mount/fix the camera.

I’d rather not cut the vehicle side, but I’m also not comfortable permanently gluing or hard-fixing the camera to the grille, since the angle may need adjustment later or the camera may need to be removed/serviceable.

Has anyone dealt with this issue on the newer grille version with the camera cutout and washer nozzle? What would you recommend as the cleanest solution?

Any advice or photos would be appreciated.

I needed to dremel down the protruding plastic bumb about 90% and then add the raptor nozzle and a check valve (on the previous page). I have a very small gap between and may install some foam in there to seal it off eventually.

 

[AleksEst]

Thanks, that helps.

Quick update: I ended up cutting off that factory protruding plastic bump, but I cut it carefully along the outline so I can glue it back in place later if needed. After removing it, the new grille finally seated properly.

Now I’m looking at adding the front camera washer. Can you confirm if these are the only parts I need to order?

• NL3Z-17A605-D — Windshield washer hose / front washer line
• FL3Z-17603-D — Raptor-style camera washer nozzle / spray jet
• Inline check valve — not sure if there is a specific Ford part number, or if a universal washer hose check valve is fine

Do I also need any additional pump, housing, brackets, clips, or anything else to make the camera washer work?

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[AleksEst]

I needed to dremel down the protruding plastic bumb about 90% and then add the raptor nozzle and a check valve (on the previous page). I have a very small gap between and may install some foam in there to seal it off eventually.

Interesting. After I cut off that factory plastic bump, my grille seated very easily. I didn’t have to cut anything on the grille side at all.

Maybe the difference is the front camera washer setup?

 

[CrimsonGhost603]

Interesting. After I cut off that factory plastic bump, my grille seated very easily. I didn’t have to cut anything on the grille side at all.

Maybe the difference is the front camera washer setup?

Thanks, that helps.

Quick update: I ended up cutting off that factory protruding plastic bump, but I cut it carefully along the outline so I can glue it back in place later if needed. After removing it, the new grille finally seated properly.

Now I’m looking at adding the front camera washer. Can you confirm if these are the only parts I need to order?

• NL3Z-17A605-D — Windshield washer hose / front washer line
• FL3Z-17603-D — Raptor-style camera washer nozzle / spray jet
• Inline check valve — not sure if there is a specific Ford part number, or if a universal washer hose check valve is fine

Do I also need any additional pump, housing, brackets, clips, or anything else to make the camera washer work?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Looks great, this is exactly how much I dremeled mine.

Those part numbers are correct, however, since I had the factory hose I just cut the factory hose and spliced it onto both the raptor nozzle and check valve, then zip tied all ends to seal.

I used the Permatex ultra black gasket sealer around the camera bracket where it fits into the grille , then some around the Frunk open/close button, and I also used Permatex around the raptor washer nozzle (which I slowly tapped in with a rubber mallet AFTER applying the Permatex underneath the head of the nozzle).

 

[CrimsonGhost603]

Interesting. After I cut off that factory plastic bump, my grille seated very easily. I didn’t have to cut anything on the grille side at all.

Maybe the difference is the front camera washer setup?

Do you have any grille sag on the right side? Mine is hardly noticeable but I want to correct it eventually.

 

[AleksEst]

Do you have any grille sag on the right side? Mine is hardly noticeable but I want to correct it eventually.

I can’t really answer that yet, because I haven’t fully tightened all the mounting bolts or installed all the push pins. I still plan to remove the grille again, since I’m thinking about painting the outer trim/outline.

But for now it looks like this:

I started looking more closely and I don’t really see any issue with the grille itself. However, it almost looks like the passenger-side headlight is sitting slightly lower and not perfectly aligned with the LED bar.

I bought the truck from auction, and I’m still waiting to get the headlights back after modification. Here in Europe the turn signals need to be amber and work separately from the brake lights.

 

[AleksEst]

Separate small issue:

I now noticed that the front camera can see the lower corner of the R letter.

I installed the letters according to the marks on the grille, so I’m not sure if there is any real adjustment here. Is the only fix to move the R letter slightly?

The camera also sees about 3 mm of the front bumper, which I actually like, because it doesn’t feel like the camera is aimed too far forward.

 

[CrimsonGhost603]

Separate small issue:

I now noticed that the front camera can see the lower corner of the R letter.

I installed the letters according to the marks on the grille, so I’m not sure if there is any real adjustment here. Is the only fix to move the R letter slightly?

The camera also sees about 3 mm of the front bumper, which I actually like, because it doesn’t feel like the camera is aimed too far forward.

Your grille looks great overall, I think mine is sagging because the shop that did the front end repair on my truck did a poor job. It was in a front end collision with a deer according to Carfax. I noticed several things were misaligned when I got the truck including the license plate bracket.

Unfortunately that R letter in the camera view is normal with this aftermarket grille. I have not found a way to fix this, maybe others have had some luck. It hasn't caused me any real issues.

 

[kvasiir]

Unfortunately that R letter in the camera view is normal with this aftermarket grille. I have not found a way to fix this, maybe others have had some luck. It hasn't caused me any real issues.

Same here, both in that I can see the R and that I don't care. It hasn't made a difference to anything.

 

[Anders]

• NL3Z-17A605-D — Windshield washer hose / front washer line
• FL3Z-17603-D — Raptor-style camera washer nozzle / spray jet
• Inline check valve — not sure if there is a specific Ford part number, or if a universal washer hose check valve is fine

Do I need all this stuff or did someone get it working without? Got a grille ordered from the US to Norway through slow means, but it's on its way. So I would hate to have waited for months just to disassemble and have to do it again with proper parts.

 

[CrimsonGhost603]

Do I need all this stuff or did someone get it working without? Got a grille ordered from the US to Norway through slow means, but it's on its way. So I would hate to have waited for months just to disassemble and have to do it again with proper parts.

You need all of these parts. I didn’t need the hose as I already had that in place and just cut it in half then spliced in the check valve. Without the check valve it will not spray correctly, it will just drip non stop. The stock grilles spraying system is set up in a completely different way and I was not able to install it into the aftermarket raptor grille.

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