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Switching to ThunderCloud Grille on 07-09 RX - What to look out for
I was fortunate enough to find a 2005 RX330 ThunderCloud Edition grille for a very good price used from a member on the RX Facebook group! Now, while it is a little worn, it is nothing compared to my battle-torn stock grille from my 2008 RX350. If you're planning on putting a ThunderCloud grille or any 04-06 RX330 grille on your car and want to see the worst case scenario (missing hardware, slight damage), then this is the post for you!
May 25, 2023:
The TC grille is here! It made it safely from Cali to Canada!
Stock grille off! Just about every mounting tab broke. The vise grips had to be used! As most members have experienced, the majority of the tabs were already broken before the job began...
Expect this after removal ^
Stock grille - obliterated and peeling badly. TC grille - every single mounting tab intact!
Test fit! Lookin' good - but as you can see from the "dirt outlines" that less area on the hood is occupied by the new grille. This also means you won't be able to use a 350's grille gasket on a 330's. Now, it's time to head to Toyota and pick up some hardware as I am missing nearly all of it!
Toyota checklist:
❌ 90467-10190 (Grille plastic center clip that locates it) - Mine wasn't broken
✅ 53149-48050 (Gasket, Grille) - The most expensive part. I needed one as the previous owner needed his old gasket for his new grille! Most can skip this too
✅ 90109-05092 x2 (Stud, Bottom M5 - 0.8) - You need these for the lower tabs to adapt the different 330 grille to a newer RX if your new grille doesn't come with it. These are for a Lexus ES as Lexus doesn't offer them for the RX without a brand new grille
✅ 90109-05103 x3 (Bolt, Top M8 - 1.25 in, M5 - 0.8 out) - Top larger stud/nut combo that hold the grille in. These can be substituted for a 10mm or 12mm long M8-1.25 bolt, or can be screwed into the new grille while saving the old nuts. This is also an ES part
❌ 90080-17202 x5 (Nut M5 - 0.8) - Nuts that hold the grille to the hood. All of mine came off without damage so I am reusing them all. These are double the price of the other fasteners.
That's it for now! Stay tuned for when the parts come in and the grille gets installed.
Say Matt, for '08 & the remainder of the '09's is when Toyota enlarged the grille as you noticed. Some ppl swap for the '08+ grille's as well as some ppl yrs ago went for the Thunder cloud grille....
Oh good to know! I didn't realize that the enlarged grille was an 08+ thing! So 07 RX still have the 330 grille? Or is it the style of 08-09 but smaller? I prefer the look of the smaller grille and also the body-coloured door handles of 04-07.
Oh good to know! I didn't realize that the enlarged grille was an 08+ thing! So 07 RX still have the 330 grille? Or is it the style of 08-09 but smaller? I prefer the look of the smaller grille and also the body-coloured door handles of 04-07.
'04-'07 have the same size grille as well as the body color door handles.....Main thing that Toyota did for the '07's = 2GR, upgraded Denso nav. I'd have to swap out the chromies for body colored handles...I'd like to have a rx330 emblem, but I'm not paying the big $ some ppl want thou..I have removed the emblems on the rear hatch for a couple yrs now. $40. for a 330 emblem thou.....
That looks nice! Did your original grille look like the RX330’s in terms of design? The 08-09s definitely have completely different mounting hardware too! Especially for the lower bolts
That looks nice! Did your original grille look like the RX330’s in terms of design? The 08-09s definitely have completely different mounting hardware too! Especially for the lower bolts
Yeah, as the '04-'07 grilles are the same outside the '05 Thundercloud grille......As far as the 330 & 350 emblems on the rear hatch, is the differeence in what engine it is.
ES330 hardware and RX330 gasket arrived! As I expected, everything was a perfect fit and the grille is ready to go. I will be cleaning it tonight, gluing the cracks and throwing it on tomorrow after cleaning the area on the hood! Super excited
If you need new replacement hardware for your RX’s grille, get it from an ES! Don’t let them charge you for a whole grille.
I just swapped over the (falling apart, zip tied) 330 grille to a 400h grille on my brothers' car. I noticed the smaller size of it compared to the 04 grille... maybe it was a Japanese or first year thing?
Kinda glad to see its not just me that thinks its "off" with a smaller piece.
The RX400h grille is even smaller! It's annoying how there's 3 different grille sizes and gaskets as well. The RX400h one has its own gasket too. (04-06 RX330 / 07 RX350, 06-08 RX400h, 08-09 RX350)
The Thundercloud grille has been installed! Very straightforward job. The hardest part was getting the gasket onto the new grille as it wasn't a perfect fit but was able to fit pretty nicely after some "relief cuts" with some scissors (Edit: They sent me a 08-09 RX gasket instead of 04-06 330, it did fit though!). Not sure if this was because the TC grille has its own gasket which isn't offered unlike the 2004-2008 RX JPP (NAP doesn't have one shown in the parts catalogue for some reason) or what but overall it turned out as well as it could have. The grille needed a lot of epoxy and small clamps to hold the pieces back together as they dried. The epoxy is nice and solid now and the grille is structurally solid! The hardware fit perfectly and keeps the grille solidly-mounted to the hood. You screw in the top clips with a 12mm wrench, then when they're seated you pop it into place onto the car and tighten the 10mm nuts to sandwich it together.
I love it too! Can't even imagine going back to the vertical grille now. I was looking for one of these before I even got the car because I wasn't going to have it any other way! Haha
05-25-23, 04:43 PM
Switching to ThunderCloud Grille on 07-09 RX - What to look out for
