Behind Grille LED light bar for 2017 Sierra

midwestdenaliguy · December 20, 2018

4 hours ago, B R A D said:

Were you able to remove the grill without removing the trim underneath?

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He did this on his Silverado, which has a different front end than our Sierra's. You have to remove the trim piece between the bumper and grille in order to remove the bottom grille bolts. I just did this about a month ago, no way around it. There's a youtube video of a guy who was removing the grille and bumper on a 2016+ Sierra, search for it if you need help. He does a good job of explaining and showing how to remove that trim piece (it's a pain the first time you do it, but once you know how it's a breeze if you have to do it again).

B R A D · December 20, 2018

He did this on his Silverado, which has a different front end than our Sierra's. You have to remove the trim piece between the bumper and grille in order to remove the bottom grille bolts. I just did this about a month ago, no way around it. There's a youtube video of a guy who was removing the grille and bumper on a 2016+ Sierra, search for it if you need help. He does a good job of explaining and showing how to remove that trim piece (it's a pain the first time you do it, but once you know how it's a breeze if you have to do it again).

Thanks! I have watched the YouTube video before and am not too excited about removing the trim piece. It looks flimsy and brittle but I'm sure it's probably tougher than it looks. I have new emblems to install and think I'm going to go ahead and buy a light bar and install while I have it apart.

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midwestdenaliguy · December 20, 2018

2 hours ago, B R A D said:

Thanks! I have watched the YouTube video before and am not too excited about removing the trim piece. It looks flimsy and brittle but I'm sure it's probably tougher than it looks. I have new emblems to install and think I'm going to go ahead and buy a light bar and install while I have it apart.

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Yeah if you're going to have all that apart for one thing, might as well install something else you want while you're in there. It's not a hard job to do, just tedious. Gotta remove the fan shield on top of your engine bay to start (lots of clips), then remove part of your wheel well trim (bolt and clip), then remove the trim piece (multiple tab points), then you can finally remove the grille bolts and take the grille off. Might as well clean off your radiator too while you have access.

As far as that trim piece it's got flex, but definitely not brittle or cheap feeling. Obviously you can't go nuts and yank the crap out of it, but don't be afraid to give it some muscle on the parts of the trim that are directly under the headlights. Once you reach the corner of the headlight closest to the grille, that's when you go under the truck to release the tabs from behind the trim piece. It's tight in there so you'll need a long flat head screwdriver to reach a few of the tabs. You can't muscle the tabs loose though, if you don't release them from behind you will break the tabs and have to buy a new trim piece. Just take your time and it'll go smoothly, good luck!

jaxsilverfox · January 21, 2019

Without messing with the active shutters used an aluminum angle which I cut to fit and mounted two LED light bars with a factory switch.

2018S1erraElevation · June 21, 2019

I have recently put a 30" curved led light bar in the grill of my 2018 sierra, there wasn't much room to work with but it is able to be done if you aren't afraid of a little bit of trimming. What I had to do was remove the grill obviously, I then found you need to remove the two lower shutters (they just clip in then you bend them a little bit to get them out) I had to trim the middle shutter in half to fit the light bar. The middle on is the motorized one so you cant remove it or else the check engine light will come on (ask me how i know lol). I then found the mounts that are from the light bar fit perfectly on the grill where it seals to the shutters, it only needed about a 1/4" spacer to fit nicely on the second lower opening of the grill. I also had to trim the fins on the light bar itself to clear the post in the middle of the shutter. After all that it fit perfectly.

Lnafree · January 20, 2020

2018S1erraElevation Is that mounted directly to your grille? I'm thinking this may work with my lightbar.

Edited January 20, 2020 by Lnafree

slj2008 · January 20, 2020

Without messing with the active shutters used an aluminum angle which I cut to fit and mounted two LED light bars with a factory switch.

Look's good - is that a 20" and 31" light bar ??? Thanks

jaxsilverfox · February 4, 2020

It’s a 32” and 22” light bar.

slj2008 · February 4, 2020

4 hours ago, jaxsilverfox said:

It’s a 32” and 22” light bar.

Look's good - Any info on your light bar's ??? Thanks

L86 All Terrain · February 5, 2020

Man I feel for you guys. Install on my 2015 was a piece of cake. Just made a couple brackets that bolt on to the rad support, filed a 1/4" out of my grille where the corners of the bar meet so I could push it out as far as possible. Active shutters, really GM? We made it 100 years of Chevrolet with no "active shutters", now they are necessary? Useless crap like this drives up the cost of these things for no reason at all. I have never had a cooling problem with a 1500 series truck besides burnt water pumps. How are these thin light bars, is the output the same as a standard style?

slj2008 · February 5, 2020

On 2/4/2020 at 2:51 AM, jaxsilverfox said:

It’s a 32” and 22” light bar.

What brand are you bars ??? Thanks

slj2008 · February 12, 2020

JAXSILVER FOX - Thank You for the info . Know to find a bar that will fit ? I try a 32" cruve , put no go ??

webcruzzer · March 7, 2020

Well I installed my 30 inch curved light bar with OEM off road light & harness. Active shutters are a PITA to work around. I didn't finish yet, I still need to trim grille & reinstall everything. The light bar has DRL in them which still need to be wired in. I took it out tonight to adjust the angle. For some reason I got a check engine light because of the ambient temperature sensor & my truck says it -40°C..... Wtf??

jaxsilverfox · March 10, 2020

I bought them on e bay, they are about the size of an I watch from the side and straight. They definitely provide light when needed.

HAWLURR · May 3, 2020

A little late to the party, but I bought a Rough Country Mesh Grille with Light Bar (DRL option as well). By installing this grille and Lightbar, I was able to add another light bar, behind the grille with numerous modifications to the inner grill lining, in order for everything to fit properly.

Thanks to the Harness Dr. - Phil

Gamboa for the off-road light harness

and Timkering Fox for the video.

You

Edited May 3, 2020 by HAWLURR