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HOW TO: convert your 94-97 front clip to 98+ s-10

126K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  Rhotpursuit 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
94-97 to 98+ Front End Conversion

By comics22 at Mon, 2006-06-05 22:37
well first you will need to buy parts:
grille
headlights
turnsignals
radiator core support
grille clips*
headlight clips*
headlight plugs
*only available through a dealer, or junkyard.


1). Ok start by taking off the old grille. It is held on by 6 screws, 4 are across the top of the grille and 2 are in the openings on the grille above and below the emblem. they should be 5/16" or 1/4"

2). Once the grille is off take off the headlights, they are held on by 4 10mm bolts(circled in green).

3). Remove the battery and then remove the battery pan (the thing the battery sits on). The bolts are circled in green. also remove the ground wire from the core support (circled in red)

4). remove the air intake from the fan shroud. First, unclamp it from the part that is over the fan shroud. It's held on by plastic pins that you have to pop up the pin and then pull the intake off (see pic). The air filter box just slides straight up. DO NOT forget to unplug the air intake sensor!

5). remove the upper half of the fan shroud by unbolting it from the radiator support(circled in green). There are 4 bolts on the sides of the fan shroud. Remove these. The radiator should be pretty loose by now.

6). now you get to start taking off all the bolts that hold the support to the fenders and wheelwells. First you have to remove the bumper. It's held on by 4 torx head bolts and 2 15mm bolts (these are underneath). Don't forget to remove the turnsignal bulbs and socket from the bumper first; you use these later. On the fenders there are 4 bolts on each side that hold the fenders to the support. Remove these (see pic). There are 3 that hold the wheelwells to the support; remove these. You have to lay on your back and get them from underneath.

7). Now comes one of the hardest parts: removing the main core support bolts. Hold the head of the bolt with a 15mm socket, 3" extension, and a breaker bar (thing that looks like a ratchet but doesnt ratchet, just swivles), then turn the nut with a 18mm wrench or deep well socket.
8). now you have to remove the power steering cooler. There should be 2 hose clamps on tubes that go to the cooler; unscrew these but dont take the hose off yet.(circled in yellow) Take one off and immediately lift it up as high as you can get it to stop the fluid from draining out; do this with the other hose as well. I put a bolt in the end of the tubes and tightened the hose clamps on them to stop them from draining. Also remove the ground screw (circled in red).

9). the core support should now be free. First unclip the airbag sensors by unclipping the orange tab, then unplugging the yellow plug. You will remove the sensors later. have someone pull on a fender while you slip the old core support away from the tabs on the fender. but be careful not to hit the radiator; they aren't very strong.
10). now that you have the core support out turn it upside down and get a sharp drill bit, or a angle grinder( goes faster) and drill/grind of the rivets that hold the sensors on.
.
11). now switch all the speed nuts and clips to the new core support. Install the new core support.Start with the 2 big main support nuts and bolts and don’t leave out any washers or rubber pieces. don't tighten any bolt until you have all the bolts that hold it on aligned in their respective holes. Start tightening them, one on one side then one on the other. dont tighten just one side. once this is all done you can start to re attach the air bag sensors to the new core support. you can either use new rivets or drill all the way through the new core support with a 1/4 drill bit so you can put bolts through it to hold them on. they only fit one way and make sure the socket for the plug on the sensors goes towards the back of the truck.
11.) re-install the power steering cooler by first bolting it up and pushing on the hoses and tightening. don't forget to check the level of it before you start your truck! now re-attach the hood lock that bolts to the front side of the core support.
start wiring the headlight plugs, if you already had the composite headlights, you can skip this step. but if you have sealed beam (rectangular) headlights use this wiring diagram:

then put the battery pan and the battery back in the same way you installed it. connect the battery back up.
12.) install your new headlights by first connecting the plugs to the corresponding bulb (lows on the outside, highs on the inside), putting the bottom tabs in the slots on the core support and the "pegs" through the square holes in the upper half of the core support. Put the retaining clips on by pushing the very bottom of the clip(not the hole in the middle of it) under the top of the peg. test the headlights! if you got the halo projectors, the red wire from the halos connects to the brown wire of the side marker light (little amber light). if you connect the red halo wire to the blue side marker wire they will flash with the turnsignal. The white halo wire connects to ground.
13.) next is to install the grille; start by holding the grile close to the truck and try to get the turnsignal bulbs trough the hole on the grille so it i easier to put in the turnsignals. once this has been done just snap on the grille. If you haven't already done so, put the chevy bowtie back on before you snap on the grille.
14.) put the bulb in the turnsignal and snap them in place. They only fit one way so dont force them too much if they dont wanna go. Test your turnsignals to make sure they still work.
15.) install the fan shroud if not done already, as well as the windshield washer resivoir, the air intake box, and the part that sits on top of the fan shroud.
That should cover everything for you!

and it helps to have a decent size space to work on the truck as you can see:
 
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