We independently change the radiator grill on the VAZ 2106

The radiator grille is the hallmark of any car. The regular grille of the "six" can hardly be called a masterpiece of design thought, so many car owners are trying to improve this detail on their own. Let's figure out how it's done.

The purpose of the radiator grill on the VAZ 2106

The radiator on the "six" is located in front of the engine and is cooled by the flow of oncoming air. The grill covering this device performs several functions.

The grille is necessary to protect the radiator from damage.

Radiator damage protection

On early VAZ 2106 models, the radiators were made of copper. Aluminum later replaced copper. However, in both the first and second cases, the design of the main radiator was very sensitive to mechanical damage. A radiator is a system of tubes with thin fins of copper (or aluminum) “strung” on them. These ribs can be bent even with your fingers. The radiator grill on the VAZ 2106, despite its apparent fragility, effectively protects the radiator from flying stones, lumps of dirt, ice, etc.

Providing cooling

When constructing the grid, the engineers had to solve a difficult problem. On the one hand, the grill should protect the radiator. On the other hand, the slots in it must be large enough to ensure that the cooling of the radiator is as efficient as possible. But the designers solved this problem by developing a grid with triangular cross-section bars, which effectively cut through the flow of incoming air and almost did not prevent it from passing to the radiator through rather narrow slots in the grid. And since it was not so easy to make a grille with such ribs from metal, the manufacturer acted differently and began to stamp radiator grilles from plastic. As they say, cheap and cheerful.

Improve Appearance

Another function of the grille was to give the car a beautiful appearance. The opinions of car owners on this matter were divided. Some considered the regular VAZ grille to be an acceptable solution. According to others, AvtoVAZ designers failed to cope with the task. Some do not like the appearance of the grille, it seems to them some kind of angular. There are those who do not like its black color. All these people sooner or later start tuning the grille. This will be discussed below.

Types of radiator grilles

We list several types of grilles that are popular with motorists today:

• State grid. It is made of ordinary black plastic and consists of two halves. These halves have recesses for low and high beam headlights. The bars of the grille have a triangular section to improve radiator cooling.
  

  Regular grilles on the early "sixes" were made of brittle plastic
• Solid grid. Initially, motorists made solid gratings on their own. Then, factory-made gratings from manufacturers who decided to occupy this niche began to appear on store shelves. The solid grille is also made of plastic. But unlike the regular grille, there are no recesses for the headlights, the distance between the bars is greater, and the cross section of the bars can be anything (most often it is rectangular).
  

  Solid grille completely covers low and high beam headlights
• Chrome grille. Appeared relatively recently. Today they can be found in shops selling parts for tuning cars. can be both solid and detachable and are also made of plastic coated with a thin layer of chromium. The advantage of the chrome grille is obvious: it improves the appearance of the car. The downside is that water easily penetrates through it. Since the chrome coating is very smooth, drops of moisture falling on the grille are easily blown away from it by the flow of incoming air and fall directly on the radiator and adjacent body elements, causing them to corrode. The heatsink itself is also susceptible to corrosion: despite the fact that its fins are made of aluminum (and in earlier models of copper), the heat pipes in it are steel and are also subject to corrosion.
• Grille from another car. In some cases, the car owner decides to act radically and puts a grille from another car on his “six” (usually this happens when the regular grille breaks, and there is no way to replace it with a “native” grille). Then the drivers put bars either from the VAZ 2107 or from the VAZ 2104. These cars are the closest "relatives" of the VAZ 2106, and their grilles differ little in both shape and size. Installing grilles from earlier (or later) VAZ models is rarely practiced by drivers. These gratings need a significant alteration, and there is simply no practical point in installing them.
  

  Chrome-plated grille significantly improves the appearance of the "six"

Replacing the standard grille on the VAZ 2106

To change the radiator grill on a VAZ 2106, we need the following:

• new radiator grille for VAZ 2106;
• Phillips screwdriver of medium size.

Sequence of operations

Before starting work, you should understand the following: regular grilles on the "sixes" are quite fragile. So the car owner should be very careful both when removing the grille and when installing it.

1. Using a screwdriver, pry and slightly bend the corner of the plastic lining on the headlights. There is a latch there.
   

   It is most convenient to bend the headlight trim with a screwdriver
2. Holding the corner of the cladding with your hand, lightly press with a screwdriver on the latch tab until a characteristic click is heard. In the same way, open the second latch (in the other corner). Remove the trim from the right pair of headlights.
   

   The cladding is removed after bending the two clamps
3. The lining is removed from the left pair of headlights in the same way.
4. The hood of the car opens. Just under the edge of the hood, there are six self-tapping screws holding the top of the right half of the grille. Self-tapping screws are unscrewed with a Phillips screwdriver.
   

   Each half of the grille is held by six self-tapping screws.
5. Then the left half of the grille is removed.
   

   The left half of the grille can be removed only after unscrewing the six upper screws
6. The right half of the grille is removed in the same way.
7. After removal, the old halves of the grille are replaced with new ones, and the headlight trim is installed in its original place.

Video: changing the radiator grill on the VAZ 2106

Part 2 - Replacing the grille on the VAZ 2106

Fastening gratings from other machines

As mentioned above, sometimes car owners put grilles from “sevens” and “fours” on their “sixes”. In this situation, the main problem arises with mounting holes that do not match. In particular, if on the “six” each half of the lattice is held by six screws, then on the “seven” there are five such screws. The driver who decides to install such a grille on the "six" will have to drill new holes. This is done with an ordinary drill of a suitable size. As for the remaining old holes, they are sealed with a special sealant for plastic. After the sealant dries, the hole is sanded with fine sandpaper and painted over with black paint.

So, even a novice motorist can replace the radiator grille with a VAZ 2106. All that is required of him is the ability to use a Phillips screwdriver and care when removing the fragile plastic lining.