Help removing corner lights! 2003

I've read a bunch of tutorials and watched a bunch of videos. There's supposed to be just the screw at the top and then you pull to release the plastic pin. That would be so great if only that was how my truck was built.

However, at the spot where the top screw is, the grill protrudes up the screw hole and blocks it from sliding. The plastic is too old and fragile to lift up over the protruding grill part. I tried, gently, and hear *crack*.

It seems like I'm going to have to take off the whole grille, which is full of all those nifty plastick tabs that almost always break. I was hoping to change my marker bulbs tonight, but I don't have extra grill tabs laying around to replace the ones I'll inevitably break so I have to wait.

Am I missing something? Am I the only one with a grille like this? Below are pics of what I'm talking about. Everything is all locked together. It's not possible to just pull the marker lights forward!

 

Those things are a bitch to remove, I broke one within the first week of owning my truck. For me I used a thin piece of hard plastic between the light and fender to kinda pry it out. They'll come out you just need to be patient. The other option is to pull it out a bit and get your fingers in between the fender and light trim and pull. Don't be surprised if you break one though, they're fairly cheap on Amazon or RockAuto. Sorry, probably not the answer you were looking for.

 

What Dan said. I've broke a few and actually just replaced mine last month. Just wiggle it out carefully, but, you'll have to tug on it. Don't be shy. On autoanything.come they're like $30 a pair with bulbs. Once you break one you'll have it figured out.

 

The thing is, I can't pull it out without taking off the grill as well. The grill has a portion that sticks up through the black tab that you put the screw through. It's not about the plastic pin in the light assembly. Its actually the grill coming up through the black tab preventing any forward movement. I'd have to lift the black tab up over it and that won't happen without breaking it (I'm sure). It's too much to have to lift it.

But I also can't take the grill off for the same reason. The black tabs of the corner lights are holding the grill on. Even if I get all of the little grill tabs to release, I can't pull it off, because the corner light tabs are holding it in. They all have to come off together at once (It seems)

I'll just have to try again in the morning and go really slow. Once I get everything out, I'll shave off the part of the grill that sticking up into the screw tab. It shouldn't be this difficult to replace a light bulb.

 

Oh, I think I see in your pic what you're talking about. Is that something like a screw sleeve? Can you pull it out with needle nose pliers? Mine ain't got that. Don't go overboard and start hacking stuff off , the grill won't come off by taking those out. Try some pliers first and see if the tabs will wiggle out.

 

mine didnt stick up so much i couldnt pull out out like you seem to be describing. i think i just pulled it up, although it should come out with a wiggle

 

The black plastic part "should" have enough flex in it to slide over the grill. It might just be that the plastic is old and brittle, in which case its gonna break eventually. For what its worth, even if you do break the tab off, the part of the corner light that slides into the fender holds it so tightly that you don't really need the part that sits on the grill.

Either way like Willie said, once you break one you'll have it figured out.

Edit: is the grill OEM or is it aftermarket?

 

Who you calling Millie?

 

Pretty sure mine had the same thing going on.
I got angry and pulled it off pretty hard, luckily didn't break it until I replaced them with aftermarket ones.
Good luck! It should come off with some even pulling, but it may be too brittle.

 

Yep, had to go out and look at mine again. Should just wiggle over the top. It'll be a balance between wiggle/pull/cuss. Repeat.

 

Duly noted and corrected, my computer auto-corrected. Haha.

 

As long as you don't add Vanilli after Millie............

 

Thanks everyone. I took some more pics at a better angle. The grill is OE. The part coming up is just a continuation of the chrome finish on the grill. But it's coming up way too far (on both sides) to really work the black tab over it. I tried and heard a crack and stopped. If it don't fit don't force it. It's a 13 year old truck and the plastic is not as flexible as it was at production. If/when I get this sh*t out, I'll have to shave it down or cut it


off.

 

Yep, may break. Buy new ones then rip the old ones out
If you have a heat gun you could heat up the tabs to make them more maliable. Just take your time, it'll be ok.

 

Get a hammer & maybe a long drift & knock that POS sheetmetal down (if I'm seeing this correctly)

 

No sheet (metal) just plastic

 

That might be slightly overkill for a plastic grill. J/K

OP - the protruding part of the grill does seem much taller than I remember on my truck.

 

I broke off one of the tabs on mine too when I did the blinker relocate mod... They're a bitch to get off. I just taped it back on with electrical tape and screwed the bitch back in.

 

Fuck it , hit it anyway.... Naaww if it's plastic I'm out, Imma horrible detail/trim guy, give me metal , save the paper & plastic for the ladies....

 

Yeah, plastic. I might take a thin blade knife and try and whittle it down before hand. Just don't want to gouge the black tab. It's too dark here now to give it a go so has to wait till the morn.

CHPTR11 - It does seem unnecessarily high. Someone got crazy and over filled the mold at the factory.

If you watch or read any tutorial on removing this light assy, there is no mention of this. They all just say "unscrew the screw and then just pull out".