Will the front grill of the Gladiator fit the Wrangler front end?

[JESM]

Gladiator front grill has wider slats for better cooling. Will it fit the Wrangler?
Thanks, JESM.

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[Arterius2]

Gladiator front grill has wider slats for better cooling. Will it fit the Wrangler?
Thanks, JESM.

The consensus is that they’ll fit.

 

[TrailTorque]

Only time will tell wise cricket.

You could be the first and then let us all know?

Thanks bud

 

[BLACKMOAB]

Gladiator front grill has wider slats for better cooling. Will it fit the Wrangler?
Thanks, JESM.

My stock JL cools just fine in Texas at 105+ temperatures. Where do you live, Death Valley?

 

[Stampede.Offroad]

My stock JL cools just fine in Texas at 105+ temperatures. Where do you live, Death Valley?

Under a heavy load while moving slowly for hours?

More cooling won't hurt. It's easy to cover up extra in the winter or whatever, but not so easy to get more.

 

[TOTL Innovations]

Its the inserts in the slats that are the difference. The grille itself is identical.

 

[Gregj]

Its the inserts in the slats that are the difference. The grille itself is identical.

I parked next to a Gladiator at Home Depot and snapped a picture, I see a lot of difference in the grill shell compared to my sport.

Gregj

 

[TOTL Innovations]

I parked next to a Gladiator at Home Depot and snapped a picture, I see a lot of difference in the grill shell compared to my sport.

Gregj

From the pictures, it looks like the mesh screen is different and the red one has a deeper recess? Its a little difficult to tell for sure from the different angles.

I was just going off of what was written in this article:
https://jalopnik.com/the-engineering-behind-the-jeep-gladiators-tow-rating-1833657453

 

[Pic18]

I parked next to a Gladiator at Home Depot and snapped a picture, I see a lot of difference in the grill shell compared to my sport.

Gregj

Well done @Gregj!

I think this is the best post I’ve seen on this subject. There’s been tons of talk about is the grill different or not. Do the inserts fit etc. These simple 2 pictures clearly show that the grills are different because it doesn’t go in as deep. That allows the 7 openings to be bigger as well as the mesh being obviously bigger. We now know how the sport grills compare. Hopefully someone could take the same 2 pictures of a Rubicon Wrangler vs Gladiator grille.

 

[Pic18]

The difference here isn’t as noticeable but i think the bottom of each slot is shaped different with the Gladiator sloping up more. I’d assume the same situation as the sport applies.

 

[Gregj]

Hmm,
I'm thinking all may not be lost on this Gladiator insert in JL grill thing. the Rubicon/Sahara grill is three layers deep (the grill shell, the Gray/Silver trim rings, and then the honeycomb), I remember this because I took the grill out of my wife's Rubicon to paint the trim rings red at her request. the JT shell *may* be that shell without the trim rings and different honeycomb, I have no way to prove this but when the parts diagrams get out it might be worth checking numbers to find out.

Gregj

 

[Gregj]

So, after thinking on this for a day or two, this crazy idea of mine is making more sense to me. The JL Rubicon grill shell has shorter returns into the recess to allow for the trim rings around the openings than the JL Sport. Looking at the JT Sport grill shell in the photo below I recall the Rubicon grill looking similar when it was apart without the trim rings.

Now, I remember reading in another thread on this forum or the sister JT forum someone who claimed to know firsthand that the cooling on the JL was running on the ragged edge and was the reason for the different grill, well he was ridiculed on this opinion by folks on the forum and signed off. Thinking about it, the “Max Tow” is only available on the Sport and Sport S which looks like it has the wider openings in the grill. The Rubicon JL and JT appear to have the same trim rings in the grill, see the photos below (yes the honeycomb is different) which appears to narrow the openings. Photo credit to @Pic18 for the following photos.

So this lacking sufficient cooling may be part of the reason for the lower tow rating on the Overland/Rubicon JT, well that and the added girth for all the gadgets and gizmos on those models.


Just thinking out loud here.

Gregj

 

[Warpath]

Here are some pics showing the size difference:

JL:

JT:

 

[digitalbliss]

 

[DaveF]

That’s my rig on the JL & JT Rubicon Owners Facebook page. JT inserts fit perfectly in the JL grill. Slots are exactly the same size only difference Is the honeycomb.

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