Looking to update the look of your 1999-2004 Ford Super Duty pick up?
So were we and after a little research and help from LMC Truck, it's a lot easier than you think. While Ford hasn't made any significant changes to the Super Duty model, one thing we'll admit is the 2005 and newer body styles carry a nice, bold, tough look up front. At first glance you'd think updating the front end would be a job only for the body shop, but with OEM original style parts from LMC Truck and a wiring harness from GOS Performance, you're just a Saturday afternoon away from cruising in a bolder, more aggressive style.
Offering complete OEM style replacement parts for just about every truck out there, we used LMC Truck for the headlights, grille and header panel. The bumper was purchased on Ebay and we took it to the local Ford dealer to have it painted to match our truck. Last thing you'll need for the swap is a wiring harness from GOS Performance. That's it, not really that much to it.
First off, start by removing the grille shell, four screws on top and four clips on bottom. Next take off the front bumper. You'll be surprised when you realize all that holds it on. There are just a few bolts on the front side and one bolt on either side in the fender wells. With the bumper off, you're just 10 minutes into the swap and already halfway through disassembly. Next is the header panel. This is what the lights and grille bolt on to. We removed the corner lights to gain access to some of the bolts on the outer edges while some plastic snaps in the center will need to be removed and the headlight wiring will need to be disconnected. It's really quite simple. It took us less than 30 minutes to completely disassemble the front end.
At this point you're looking at the front of your truck, concerned and scared that you won't be able to get it back together. No need to be worried. It goes back together just as easily as it came apart. Thanks to the quality parts from LMC, just bolting things back together is all it takes. Start with the new `05 style header panel. You'll be using all the original fasteners.
Now you'll need to wire in the harness from GOS Performance. Aden at GOS did a great job designing this harness and installation couldn't be easier. Two wires to 12V power on the battery, one wire for each headlight to ground, one plug into the factory drivers headlight harness, then one plug into the back of each new headlight. Then just plug in the two supplied relays and you're done. Put the new headlights up into place and anchor them to the new header panel with the original hardware.
Now the new bumper can go on. It will bolt up just like the original, with the same bolts in the same mounting holes. Take your time here and make adjustments with the bumper before tightening everything up. Use the outer fenders and headlights as references to get the bumper centered and aligned right. Once that's done the new grille can go on.
Again, it mounts just like the original. With all the parts back on the truck you can step back and take a look. Some final tweaking with the grille and bumper alignment might need to be done, but other than that, you're done.