My Stealership Story (Blacked out Headlights related)

I recently ordered some blacked out headlights from Ebay. I'm a newb when it comes to working on trucks but after reading a lot of writeups on taking em off i figured i could do it myself. (I still don't think i can do the actual mod i'm too chicken shit to throw these in the oven, i burn toast on a daily basis so fuck putting these in the oven man! )

I got all of the screws off of it fine but after getting underneath the truck to get that last screw by the fender, i realized i wasn't gonna be able to fit my hand up there good enough to get the last one out. It sucks being a big guy. Well only sometimes i guess.

So i decided to bite the bullet and pay to have someone do it. First place i called said $100 which made me go so i decided to call the place i bought the truck from to see how much it would be and they said it'd be about an hr's work and around $90, i said fuck it and took it in this morning.

After dropping it off and parking my ass in the waiting room the service manager came out to me and said they hadn't done anything yet but they found out they'd have to take the bumper off to get to all the screws to get all of the lights off and bulbs off and it'd would end up being 2.5 hrs of work and around $260! Which bout made me shit my pants! I told him no way and got my truck out of there.

WTF! $260 to install new lights! Seriously?

 

Holy shiz!!! If i was closer i'd come do it for you, hell, i'd seperate your lights too!

 

That's ridiculous... you don't have to remove the bumper...

make a friend with skinny arms do it for ya... it'll be cheaper

 

screw those guys, its a 45 min job.

 

That's what sucks, just bout all of the guys i know are big fuckers. The one skinny guy i'm good buds with knows his way around cars but bitches like a motherfucker and i don't think i could handle it

 

I called another place and they want me to bring it to them so they can give me a quote. Thinking about asking em if i can use the skinniest guy they got for about 15 minutes while i do the rest.

 

lol... offer him pizza and beer... That's how I get my whiney friends to help... lol

 

If this next place wants an arm and a leg just to do it then i just might have to try your method.

 

Just leave the screw off. It's is secure enough with the others screws already and won't rattle or move. Don't worry about it.

 

Getting it off in the first place is the the problem. I went to another place and got it priced for $60 which isn't too bad. Taking it in next week.

Anyone got a link to a good write up on removing the headlights that i can give to em? They were thinking the bumper had to come off to but i told them it didn't and the writeup should help em get it done fast.

 

the bolt is in the upper corner on the inside of the bumper cover. you will be able to feel two different bolts up there, its the top one that needs to come out.

 

When my buddy switched my headlights i kid you not 10mins hes done it quite a few times, 260 whoa that is crazy.

 

I know this is an old thread but I'm new around here still awaiting delivery of my 2010 black DC TRD Sport SB,

I asked my Toyota dealer to get me some quotes on parts and they quoted me the following...

smoked LED taillights and headlights. Taillights $699 installed $600 For Parts
Headlights$ 899 installed $ 800 for parts.

and thats just the start, granted I'm in Canada but still thats just nuts!!!

I found it an insult to my intelligence and I told them so. They also quoted me

All black custom grill $650 install $765 which is the grillmax grill and FJ emblem!?!?! seriously, the list goes on including 2800 for a ome 2.5 inch lift installed &PIAAs for 500 installed.

Now I know im new to all this but after reading these forums, these prices seem outrageously high, please correct me if i'm wrong.

Now that being said can anyone here recommend any places in Canada that have these parts, my dealer advised that it's best to get these parts installed by them, if a third party installs any of the above equipment it would void my warranty, is this correct?

 

Maybe if you weren't running around kicking elves all the time, you could find one of them to reach up there for you.

 

Wow those prices are redic. It's really easy to do... the hardest part to me was figuring out the right ways to twist and move the headlight out of the body without scratching it up.

If you can't get your hands in there (which, if I can you should be able to...) try a snake driver... $20 with a tool for life vs ungodly stealership prices.... well you do the math.

Also, the dealer selling you smoked pieces... they'll be what's already on a 09+. $650 to install a grill which is 4 clips and pull up, pop the new one in and put 4 clips back in is lol rape.

 

Thats what I was thinking!

 

You've already heard about finding someone to get the bolt out from the bottom. I'm a big guy myself and can still get a shorty rachet and socket in that spot to remove the bolt, just takes a bit of feeling around and a few scratches.

If you still want to do it yourself though, you can remove the bumper cover yourself, swap the lights, then reinstall the cover. The FSM, or the install instructions for the Grillcraft lower grill, tells you how the cover comes off/on. It's really not that bad to do yourself. I'd say it takes an hour, or so, to remove, replace the lights (VERY easy with the cover off), and replace the cover. An extra set of hands helps, but I did it by myself when installing my Grillcraft. That's when I noticed how easily the HLs could be changed with the cover off.

 

Hey .... go check the "Ask a Canadian" thread to see if anyone lives near you and can help you, maybe? I hated twisting and turning the headlights to take it out and put back into the body. I broke all the clips that was used to holding the grille together and I used zip ties. I also did not install the last screw back (the one that is harder to reach).

 

If you take the first couple of bolts out of the splash guard (fender liner) and fold it out of the way you can reach that PITA bolt real easy....... The splash guard is very flexible and will not be damaged by bending it.

 

thats what i was going to say, doing that getting to the bolt very easy either with a 1/4 ratchet & shallow socket, or a ratcheting wrench. screw those other places do it ur self!