2004 Tacoma Projector Retrofit

Here is where I purchased all the materials for my retrofit:
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/

This is the projector I purchased:
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/components/projectors/bi-xenon-morimoto-mini-h1-6-0.html

Here are the shrouds I got:
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/components/shrouds/gatling-gun-2-0-shroud.html

Here's the harness I got:
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/components/harnesses/morimoto-h4-motocontrol-bi-xenon-wire-harness.html

35 Watt HID bulbs I purchased:
http://www.theretrofitsource.com/components/bulbs/morimoto-3five-h1-bulbs.html

There was no need to buy another set of ballasts since I already had a few pairs. I got the Gat 2.0 not knowing how it would fit my housing. It actually brings it all together because I was worried that it would make the projector look small in my medium sized headlight. The wire harness is for H4/9003/HB2 headligt assemblies.

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****DISCLAIMER****

I am not responsible for your headlights, your lungs while painting, or any other damage that occurs to you, your headlights, or projectors. This how-to is for EDUCATIONAL purposes ONLY. If you decide to undertake a projector retrofit and are reading mine, it is up to you to make decisions based upon your circumstances. Now...on with the how-to.

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****END DISCLAIMER****

I would like to first share some thoughts about this as it was my first retrofit. You MUST have patience while doing this, or any work on your truck really. Stuff will NOT always work out as planned...so you've gotta look at what you've got and decide what to do from there. TacomaWorld is a plentiful resource and that Search Bar with the upside down triangle is your FRIEND!!! Trust me...I've consulted tons of threads on here as well as other forums such as HIDPlanet for every possible resource to help me with my lights. If I had to tell you one thing to remember through your retrofit, I'd tell you to be patient. It takes time for things to set, especially if you're painting or using JB Weld. My retrofit took about 4 days. Just to be sure everything dried and wouldn't give off any fumes when the lens goes back on. I'm unsure of how your headlights are gonna be, but mine are kind of weird. I'll explain later, but I'll give it to you short now. My headlights allowed the projector to slide back further than what needed to be, so I bought some metal washers and tweaked the H4 adapter plate. It all works, but everyone's circumstance is different. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of that because I was a little too frustrated. Now...really on with the how-to.

I have relied on some other posts to help me along the way. One notable one I've used and what inspired me to get mine done is this guy. His thread build popped up first when I first started looking into this about a year ago. I dedicate my build to him. I'm going to try and be as thorough as possible without boring you to death. I tried to take as many pictures as I could during the retrofit and tried to get them pretty detailed. So without ANY further ado here is what I did and how.


I ordered the Mini H1 6.0 projectors, Gatling 2.0 shrouds with the centric rings, Morimoto H1 bulbs, OCI Butyl Rubber Glue, and the 9003/H4/HB2 relay harness...all from TheRetrofitSource for $205 shipped. I got the Gat 2.0 because I thought it would fill out the projector a little more. It did

What you'll need:
Needle nose pliers
Phillips screwdriver, both fat and fine. If you don't have both, it's ok.
Flathead screwdriver, skinny and wide, and long (for removing grill)
10mm socket
4mm socket
Heat gun (optional)
Larger channel lock (optional)
Sanding paper
Electronics air duster
Micro fiber cloth
Powderless gloves
Clamps (optional)
JB Weld
Outside strength Clorox bleach
Crescent wrench
Box cutter/exacto knife
Flashlight
Work clothes, I have a specific pair of shorts and shirt that I always use to work on my truck or my girlfriend's car or go to the junkyard with.


I have a 2004 Toyota Tacoma Double Cab Prerunner...Impulse Red baby.

Step 1:
I started by taking off my grill and headlight assembly. The video link I'm adding is exactly what needs to be done to get the grill off and the headlight assemblies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwSyjKVwl-k



Step 2:
Unscrew the bulb retainer, if that's applicable to yours.


Step 3:
Use your needle nose pliers to press together the black tabs on the back of the headlight assembly. Try and wiggle the square through the hole. This one was easy.


The other one is recessed inside the rectangular, long, black piece on the opposite side. I recommend "tightening" the adjuster bolt with a 4mm socket. I say tighten because righty-tighty is what you need to do to lift the black piece so you don't break the small square black tab thing.





Now instert your needle nose pliers into the hole and squeeze/wiggle out the square.


Then you're going to swivel the (almost) free black piece so you can unscrew two phillips head screws.


Now use your flathead and carefully pry out the black square from the spherical tab.



Oh yeah, remove that little black plug at the bottom of the headlight.


Step 4:
Remove the two metal tabs on the left and right side of the headlight.



Now your headlight should look something like this.


Do this for both headlights.


I apologize for the dirty lights. I cleaned them up really well once I separated the lens from the housing.

Step 5:
At this point you can go one of a few different routes. You can pop your headlights in the oven, use the boiling water method found here:

http://www.hidplanet.com/forums/showthread.php?28408-Toyota-Tacoma-Murano-Projector-Retrofit

or you can use a heat gun. I used a heat gun because I don't trust myself with such high temperatures in an oven. And I didn't boil them because I didn't have a pot big enough. If you do use a heat gun, I recommend using the low fan setting. Or if you have a fancy one that you can set the temperature, set it to 500-700 degrees Fahrenheit. I didn't have pictures for this portion but I hope a detailed explanation will suffice.

I looked around the headlight for a space between the reflector bowl and the lens to put my flathead and started there. Anytime you use a heat gun, it's crucial to keep moving, even if its in a small section. Too much concentrated heat can damage anything. So I heated about a 4-6 inch section of the contact point and started twisting the flathead...to my amazement, it was working! I've read other retrofit builds that people have gotten headlights that had a glue instead of an epoxy type sealant. They had ZERO luck prying open the headlight. Anyways, work your way around in small segments. REMEMBER keep the heat moving!!! Once I had about 1/2" of space between the housing and the lens, I heated all around the headlight just to make sure the sealant was still pliable and then I pried the lens off. Use the box cutter to cut away the strings of sealant. Be sure to not get ANY on the lens or housing...this stuff is SUPER SUPER SUPER sticky.

Step 6:
I stripped the chrome finish off of the shrouds with some Outside strength Clorox Bleach. It is concentrated so be careful around fabrics. Anyways, I had an old box of those Swiffer "moist towelette" things. Perfect size for both the shrouds. I didn't get a picture of that as I'm bad luck with dropping things as you'll soon find out. Dun dun DUN!!. I let those soak for about 25-30 minutes. One still had some chrome finish on, so I used a toothbrush to get the rest off. Occasionally dipping the toothbrush in the bleach. I rinsed them off with warm water and let them air dry completely.

Step 7:
After the shrouds dried I married them with the centric rings. This was a B**** to do because the rings were a tad too big to fit inside the shrouds. So, get some sanding paper(high grit for quicker erosion)and start sanding the inside part where the ring is supposed to sit. I also sanded the centric ring just a tad just to help. I kept sanding until the ring resisted going in but eventually popped into place. It's all up to you how much you sand.

Step 8:
On my way to spray paint everything, I mocked up some stands that let the shrouds sit high enough so I could get everything but not paint the inside at all. I used two old Jack-in-the-Box cups and cut that up. Then put those on a piece of flat wood. Then my dumb ass decided to transport all that to inside the garage. Next thing I know......one shroud hits the ground. I thought it was OK, nope. Nope nope nope nope nope!!! I had to get a hose clamp and superglue the shroud together. It actually turned out decent. Looks just like a hairline. So I paint my reflector bowls and shrouds flat black with Rust-Oleum High Heat spray paint, rated up to 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. I didn't really tape off the reflector bowl, i just sprayed from the inside out so that when I got to the edges, the spray paint didn't get into the sealant channel. I hit the bowls with 4 light coats of paint and 5 light coats for the shrouds.




Then I waited until the paint was dry!

Step 9:
JB Weld the centric ring to the shroud, then to the projector. Let it cure for a full 24 hours. I don't care what anyone says. I wanted to do this thing right the first time. I think I did more waiting than doing. Just mix up the proportions 1:1 equal parts. I didn't get the Kwik JB Weld because I wanted all the strength I could get.

Step 10:
Once everything is completely dry I started the assembly process. Here is where I started to wear powderless gloves as to not get my oils on the paint on the shrouds, the headlight bowl, or the projector lens. Before I actually married the projector and the reflector bowl, I took the lens off the projector and cleaned the lens with a microfiber towel then blew some air on it all with some of that Electronics air can stuff. Remember the orientation of the projector bowl, solenoid, and lens holder. The bowl that looks like a keyhole O- with the non-circular part facing down. That little part is for the HID bulb return wire. next, the actual solenoid should be on the bottom with the return wire orientation. Then the lens holder goes on. You can't screw it on wrong. The top two screw points are wider than the lower ones. It's just 4 screws...HAND TIGHT ONLY!!! Then I micro fiber cleaned everything. Now is the assembly, I didn't get pictures because I was getting really frustrated with how the projector sat inside the bowl. I spent a good 3 hours figuring out what to do. Then I finally went to Home Depot and got some 3/4" steel spacers. Here's how the modified assembly went:

Route the solenoid wires through the original bulb catcher hole
Projector
Smaller silicone washer
Steel washer
Housing
H4 adapter plate
Locking nut
Bulb holder, three screws

HAND tighten I repeat HAND TIGHTEN the locking screw!!!! The locking ring is aluminum and will deform if you tighten way too hard. I personally hand tightened them used a crescent wrench and tightened 1 1/2 turn. Do not over tighten or you will strip the locking ring and that is a whole other problem.

Aaaaand here is what that all looks like assembled


At this point I was just itching for a break. So I sat back and admired my work up until now, then I got lunch with my girlfriend. Then came back and really got cracking.

Here are some assembled shots WITHOUT the lens.



Now before you get all giddy and gung-ho thinking you can pop on the lenses and roll out....STOP!

Step 11:
I took my headlights out to my truck, without the lenses. I hooked them up to my ballasts and turned on my truck and turn my headlights on...I almost cried at the beauty I beheld. Moving on.....I adjusted the roll just a hair on one side. Then I mock-leveled them. Not 100% but they'll do for now until I get to flat ground and 30 feet away from a wall. Turned them off and let them cool for a few minutes before bringing them back inside. Here are some pictures of them on the truck without lenses for testing.





Step 12:
Ok here is where the heat gun was the best, I think. I was able to slowly work my way around the headlight ensuring each side was perfectly seated in the sealant. I didn't need any of the Butyl from TRS. Before I put the lenses back on, I super cleaned the reflector bowls, shrouds, lens, and projector lens with a micro fiber towel. After I wiped everything thrice, I blew some air on the headlight and lens THEN the lens went back on the headlight. At this point, I turned my heat gun to about 500 degrees on low fan and let it heat up. At first I used my hands to push everything back together, but towards the end I used the channel lock to press the piece together even more than I could with just my hands, more leverage. I put the two halves together and pressed them slightly. Then I started heating about a 4-6 inches for roughly 30 seconds, MOVING THE HEAT. Then I put the heat gun down, still on for quick use, and grabbed the contact point and squeezed until they were closer together. I did this all the way around the headlight. Then I let it sit for a few minutes to cool down. Then I looked around for and wide spots and used the channel lock to hold it shut while I heated that area. I say I did pretty well resealing the headlight. There was more than enough of the original sealant that I didn't use any of the new sealant. Here are the babies all sealed up.


Step 13:
Assemble the hi/lo solenoid with the provided 9006 female end. The tab need to be facing up, towards you. Then the connecting end at the bottom like so:


When you put the metal flange inside the 9006 female plug, the thinner parts need to be on the outside and the sharp pointy side need to be towards the middle of the 9006 connector, both Negative and Positive. Another thing to note is that you should probably pull back the rubber gasket and insert the metal flange. Wait until you hear a click signifying that you put the metal piece in correctly THEN put the rubber gasket in.


Now all you need is to reassemble it all back into your truck and you have successfully finished your FIRST projector retrofit.

I will have some pictures in the morning of everything installed. If you have any questions contact me here. You just need patience with these kinds of projects. Especially with something as sensitive as optics. Anywho, I'm pooped from being so stressed out about these lights! Over all, I think a retrofit is 178624596037478614909293758270 times better than HID bulbs in reflector housings. At first I was a bit timid, then I really got into it and I think I did a really good job for my first time.


Now...just waiting to install my Dakar's with the D6XL.
Until we meet again!

Rubio, out!

Now for some truck pron....

How she looked just before putting everything back together this morning



Then I put my newly painted grill and side markers on. The paint isn't 100% perfect, but nothing too noticeable. Well...when you have projectors on an Impulse Red Taco...who wouldn't be distracted.




I'll be posting a video up as well, just waiting on YouTube. I painted my grill, chrome and black inner grill, satin black. Then I painted the Toyota Emblem gloss black. Some contrast, but subtle. I don't know if it turned out well in the picture, but you decide.


Here is the video as promised!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRA8Me8iauE



Some after notes/thoughts:

The projector would NOT sit correctly inside the bowl. The problem I had was that it sat too far in the bowl. So even though I threaded the locking ring all the way, there was still some room between the projector and the bowl. So my fix was a steel washer about 2 inches wide with a 3/4" hole for the projector to go through. I put the small rubber washer on the projector first, then the steel washer then put it all together. It all sits perfectly taught.

The passenger headlight not lighting up on the first try was due to a bad grounding point for the relay harness. So I found some bare metal with a nut already there and just hooked it up there. Lit up first try. ALWAYs find a good ground!!

!!!!!Update!!!!! 02/01/2014

Ok, so a few days ago it rained. Not hard rain but enough to keep the streets wet for a while. It was late and I was headed home from the SO's house. I come to a stop at a light. White lifted F-150 pulls up next to me on the inside lane. He's losing traction left and right. Lights turns green and we go. He flies past me. About 3/4 past the crosswalk, I lose traction and spin out. At this point I was going pretty fast to be dead honest. I let go of the gas and keep off the brake and something in me kept the wheel locked. Typically in a spin, especially hydroplaning, where your wheels point is where you're going. I flew up onto the curb, front end completely off the ground, sliding sideways, back end hits the curb and I finally screech to a halt. Mind you this is all on a downhill slant so it wasn't helping any. Thank God there was no one parked in the gas station I flew into or someone walking. To be honest though, my lower back has been killing me. BUT....my lights are completely unharmed. Long story short, if you're considering a retrofit, they WILL take a beating if done right. I consider that a harsh hit to the lights. They work perfectly fine and didn't budge at all.

 

Nice write up. Do you have a day time picture of just the front end all put back kinda curious of the blacked out housing look on IRP Tacoma color.

 

As you can tell by the time posted, I wrote this at 1:20 in the morning. I finished it last night around 10..ish? I just woke up and going to go check on my grill. Should be completely dry by now. Give me at most an hour. Thanks for reading my man!

 

I just added some pictures! Check 'em out, let me know how I did!! I'm currently waiting for a video to upload so I can show y'all the results!

 

I am also planning a small photo shoot to just get my profile up to speed with all my new updates to my truck. Just waiting for s nice sunny day to take my truck out to the mountains or something.

 

Never owned retrofit projectors but in your video the driver side came on but the passenger didn't. Is this normal? Or is both supposed to fire right up at the same time?

 

They're supposed to both turn on. I have aftermarket ballasts that could be messing with the relay. I'm planning on getting some 3five Ballasts from TRS soon so that should fix it. I've heard others who've done a retrofit have this problem. Maybe it's the relay. I don't know. But other than waiting for one to warm up a little then turning it off them back on and BOTH turn on....this retrofit is perfect. I adjusted the angle of the headlights last night and they are perfectly level now. I am beyond impressed with the light output and wide beam. If you have the time and money to do it...do it.

 

I'll take some pictures later. I washed my truck yesterday and it's pretty sunny today.

 

I see you've done the foglight mod too? Did you use HIDs? If so did you use 5k? or what?

 

i have the same led's on my fillers under the headlights too, although its because i dont have a lower valance with lights anymore.... high five!

 

No, I purchased some 3157 fleaBay lights and cut off the corresponding wires so that it wouldn't blow up my housing. Happened once...way before that I needed a 3157CK LED instead of a 3157. Different wiring. I've considered doing a small how-to because CK LED's from superbrightleds.com are SUPER expensive!! Like $25 for 1 bulb!!!!

I bought some fleaBay Amber Eagle Eye LED's. 10 of them to be exact. I'm going to put either 4 or 5 where the current little LED strip things are and wire them for turn signals. Should be fairly bright. I have 2 that white and are hooked up to my reverse lights. I can see when I'm backing up.

These:

 

those are nice...

 

Thanks. With two white ones in the back, I can see what I'm backing up against. I can't imagine how 8-10 are going to look as turn signals upfront.

 

Looks good man, I want to do halo/projectors or HIDs in the new Headlights I get!

 

Do it! You'll never want another pair of dull reflector headlights again. I just finished a retro on my dad's Crown Vic. They look amazing. The light output is amazing and the give the truck such a clean look. If you have any questions, I'll be here.

 

Nice. I used the same type of amber leds a while back for the filler panels as turn signals. Crazy crazy bright! 7 on each side. Heh. Got some 1157 projector type leds for reverse that fit inside the tail housing. Think they are higher wattage too.

Here's a vid I took. So u get a heads up what to expect. I love em.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cda8vTi6ZG8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

Some really poor output shots. They were taken from my iPhone 5S so I had to keep adjusting the focus/white balance when I turned the other lights on. In order: MH1's Lo, MH1's Hi, MH1's Lo+12" LED bar with Amber covers, MH1's Lo+32" LED bar(spot/flood combo).

 

what happened to the photos?

 

Forget to pay the bill?

 

Damn...I used some free image hosting site. When I get time this weekend, I'll redo this thread. I've been super busy with work and school.