removing headlights advice needed

I am trying to remove the headlights on my 09 and simply cannot finagle the light out of there. I have removed the grille, all the screws (including that tricky one), bulbs, and the "Front Bumper Filler" but just cannot figure out how to twist or pull or push that sucker out of there. Either the top or the bottom hits and I can't pull it straight out. The FSM says to remove the the Front Bumper Cover too, but I think I have read somewhere that you don't need to. I would really like to avoid removing the bumper cover because the instructions say to apply "protective tape" and that just means there is a probability that I'd screw something up permanently.

So for anyone out there who has removed their headlights, is there a trick to it? Can someone provide a pointer or hint? I have read a bunch of threads about doing the BHLM and they all complain about the 4th bolt, but no mention of trouble getting the whole unit out once it's loose...I feel like it's one of those puzzles where you have to know the secret and do it in the perfect move but I can't figure out the solution and feel defeated. Thanks for any insight.

 

hha ya there a little tough to get out....just keep trying different ways... eventually u'll find the right position to get them out...i had a little bit of a struggle too..its just as much of a pain to get em back in...good luck

 

Try this

 

Well, I eventually got those blasted lights out. The secret turned out to be patience and perseverance. Actually, (this is hard to explain, so probably hard to imagine) I had the best luck with moving the lights horizontally slightly toward the middle of the truck and then once the bastard arm on the outer bottom was able to clear the lip, swinging the side of the light closest to the grille upward. Then molesting the light all the way out. That description probably won't help anyone but I wanted to at least attempt to provide some help because I have gotten so much from this forum.

I was surprised that in all the BHLM write-ups I've read, and that's a LOT, I never saw this difficulty mentioned. No once. Maybe it was just me... For me removing the lights was the hardest part of this project. A real pain in the balls.

 

Yeah it's pretty tricky the first time around. I got pretty pissed when I swapped out my lights!!! I thought there was some trick to it!!!