Haha HyHoe,

I going to keep the Hoe as stock as possible until its paid off in a couple of years.

It seems nearly impossible to get to the two bolts that hold on the front bowtie emblem. Any pointers?

Thanks

 

Yeah, unless you're Kate Moss there's no way to get in there without somehow dealing with the bumper cover. I've actually only swapped mine once but it was done whilst the cover was off for other reasons related to headlight mods.

I think, although I'm not sure, that you might be able to do it without removing the entire cover. If you just take off the bolts on top in front of the engine you might be able to bend the cover back enough to get in there ... or you might need to also undo the bolts at one of the top corners by the fender on one side. Careful with that one though, they're easy to remove but a pita to get back in, cause there's a little plastic bracket between the bumper and the fender that needs to get lined up right.

Small stuff like this, if one is uncomfortable undertaking themselves, can usually be sorted by a quick drive by a dealer service bay and tipping one of the mechanics 10-20 bucks to do on the spot.

But this isn't too hard, just a little time consuming.

 

I was afraid you were going to say something like that lol.

I have a bit of a history of taking things apart...then having no clue on how to put them back together!

Since this is my daily driver I think I may have to take it to the dealer...who knows maybe they'll put it on for free with the maintenance/oil change??? Probably not though.

Im already having nightmares of me driving around with no bumper or grille after attempting to change the freaking emblem myself!

 

On closer inspection, I've realized that the emblem was not damaged by a rock, rather the gold foil in the emblem is flaking/disintegrating on its own.
I just had a thought...do you think replacing the emblem will be covered under warranty?
I realize its not a big issue, but I feel a little bad considering the rest of the truck is in perfect condition (knock on wood).

 

If you are still within your 3yr/36k warranty then logic would dictate that it would be covered under warranty as it would be borne of a part defect and not road related wear. Meaning that any exterior part that fails on its own, like peeling interior trim, must be replaced at no charge to you.

Are you kidding?
I'd be rocking and weeping in the fetal position in the corner all night if my emblem was flaking.
OCD FTW!

(sadly I'm not joking)

 

Yup, the tahoe is still under factory warranty, so im gonna give it a shot with the dealer. Not gonna get my hopes up though.

I too am naturally a little OCD, I used to obsess over all the little dings on my 4runner. But as i've gotten older Im trying to not let my possessions own me.(i'm 21)

But boy is it hard

 

Well, this is probably the wrong forum to undertake an existential discourse on the nature of ownership ... this section is slow as it is already, we're going to bore to sleep the couple of peeps that do visit.

That being said, if the dealer gives you some song and dance why this part failure isn't covered, call GM customer service directly. In my experience they are very good at following up on your behalf and actually force the dealer to comply to the terms of your warranty.

 

Just an update... A few days ago I got the bowtie emblem I had ordered.
I decided to give it a try and it was surprisingly easy!

I even left the radiator cover still on and managed to fit my had through the small-ish opening and access the back of the emblem.
Not to mention the truck looks great with a brand new bowtie.

HyHoe, Have you considered removing the valence from the front bumper on your truck? It seems to only be held on by some bolts. Do you think taking it off will give our trucks a cleaner look?
I feel the black valence looks a little out of place on my white Tahoe.

 

lol, don't even get me started on that snowplow GM calls a bumper!

It bothers me so much that I'm this close to pulling the trigger and dropping $1600 to swap bumper assy and hood to that of the LTZ. Oh yeah btw, the Hybrid hood is a different shape and goes out farther/doesn't line up with the regular Tahoe bumper so you have to get that too ... ugh!!!

I've thought about taking the valance out, but when I was doing my headlight retrofit and the bumper was off, I took it apart and put the bumper back on with a couple of bolts to get a feel for how it looks at it looked terrible to my eyes.

You can tell that a piece is missing when you look at it ... and it really doesn't solve the fundamental aesthetic issue. Namely the catastrophic verticality of it.

The only other solution that I've considered is having a custom made valance fabricated either out of carbon fiber or fiberglass that would result in a more 'curved in' design at the bottom. But to date I have been unable to locate anyone in the DC area that does such customizations.

Depressed now ...

Let's see a pic of your ride with the shiny new emblem ... that ought to temporarily cheer me up.

 

Before:




After:




I knew there had to be a reason you still had your valance on Hyhoe!
I had a hunch the bumper wouldn't look complete without the valance.

Its quite frustrating...Today on my way back from work I scraped it at a railroad crossing. (luckily it was at low speed and no real damage was done)

I felt so guilty that I stopped at a detailing place and got the car hand-washed and waxed...even though I was tired and starving after a long day at the office!

Still love the Hoe though!