looking to replace my headlights need suggestions

Even though i am now happy with them, I would still not recommend them. It took some mcgauvering to fix my non-dorman brand i received (that were wobbly before I broke them) to make them solid.

 

Holybrightness!

 

Right? I really need to get a picture of the brights, they are crazy bright.

 

I will have to post a picture of mine in oem form once I get back from mammoth

 

It cracks me up how you're rich af but love pimpin that poor man Tacoma! Hahahaha

 

Are they a chore to install? I need to replace mine and am a bit intimidated by the replacement procedure, it looks technical. I miss the old headlights on my Chevy truck that just had two tabs you popped out and the headlight came right out easy as could be! Tacoma looks like you have to take the grille out to get the lights off. What a pain!

 

Took me maybe 30 minutes the first time. Half that the second. Nothing to it

 

Couple good YouTube videos on replacing the headlights.

 

I think I'm going to go with the $50 Amazon pair for now. Will order and report once installed, which will not be until a warm(er) day.

 

Order the depo brand and let us know. They have good reviews

 

Too late....

 

So which ones did you end up getting? A link to them would be perfect. I'm not worried about the slop you had with them. I good with modding and making things work like they should. Also, did bulbs come with them? If not, what bulbs do ya have?

Man, mine have been so cloudy that you can't see the bulbs or anything behind the lens for years now. My parking lights are brighter....LOL I'm excited to get my truck all fixed up. Last Spring I had to replace both heads with rebuilt ones. I just this week replaced the radio that stopped working 6 months ago. New O2 sensors are being ordered next week. This Spring I'm replacing my rusted front and rear chrome bumpers with new black ones. Also a new black grill to replace my faded chrome one. My truck will feel like a new one. It's time she gettin some TLC...

Thanks

 

Rock Auto seemed to stop selling the dorman brand headlight for the right side, so I can't link you them. Go on Amazon and search "2003 Tacoma headlights" and buy the depo brand, they have high reviews. They will most likely come with bulbs

 

Quick "teaser" after installing the new side marker lights and turn signals
Will post a better picture after a wash and in the daytime.

 

This right here:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...e-not-led-or-hid.398066/page-28#post-14071942

Basically, new oem reflectors, with a special wiring harness to power the new super bring halogen bulbs. I'm doing this mod next week. All in it'll be about $250.

Do NOT get HID or LED bulbs and put them in your reflectors. Your light will suck, and oncoming drivers will hate you.

Whatever headlight reflectors you get, the ones that are CAPA certified will actually match the quality and fit/finish of factory. They cost a bit more, but rockauto.com has them for $40 a side.

 

Agreed. My stock equivalent lights are plenty bright but don't blind others. Look good too. Love them

 

Perfect, Thanks guys....!!!!

Good to know. What's the brightest bulbs I can use in these lights? I want white, nit any blue tint. SilverStars any good?

Heck, as clouded as mine are, any new crystal clear light will look like HID to me....LOL
Yep, new marker lights are already in my Amazon cart. Now, all I gotta do is wait till Spring so I can install everything. No garage, to cold, and just had a few inches of snow this morning. Gives me time to shop around.

Thanks again everyone...

 

i got mine off Amazon for my 2004. looks great and they were around $70. just clear regular headlights.

 

I have Sylvanias in right now, and they pretty much SUCK. I was driving to the in-law's in the rain for christmas and I could barely see anything, even with my brights. I spent the rest of my time at the in-laws researching light options. I was like "I'm getting LEDs" or something. I happened on the thread I posted above and the one below and it really sold me.

HID's are cool and all, but done *properly* would cost $1000. I can tell who just stuck 10,000k HIDs in their oem housings from a 1/4 mile away (and not just by the stupid purple light).

If you stick with halogens in the stock housings, you should be able to go pretty damn bright. The link I posted above is geared towards the 2nd gens and uses 80/85 watt Osram bulbs ($20 a piece - same german manufacturer that supplies the factory).

Here's the link for the 1st gens:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/proper-headlight-upgrade.407879/

It's basically the same thing as for the 2nd gens, it's just that cool aftermarket housings (like the TRD pro housings for 2nd gens) aren't availble for the 2000-2004. There are are plenty that certainly LOOK cool, but I couldn't find any that where that were function-over-form. So using new CAPA certified OEM replacement housings with the wire harness and Osram bulbs seems to be the bee's knees.

Yes, they are technically illegal for highway use, but both threads address this. Because the super bright halogens are the exact same design as stock, 1) they LOOK stock and 2) throw light exactly like stock, just brighter. As long as you lights are aimed properly in the first place, you won't blind drivers. The problem with the HID and LED "kits" is that they refract the light differently and smear it when you use oem housings (like most people do), so you end up pointing them at your bumper in order to not blind other drivers (defeating the purpose of the new lights anyway).

Just take a look at some of the comparison pics where one light is still oem, and the other is the brighter mod. There is NO additional glare and they look nearly identical until you get in the cab.

I have an '04, and I'm getting new CAPA cert housing from Rockauto.com. The CAPA cert ones are more expensive, but the TYC's are $42/ea compared to $28/ea for the non capa certified ones. Easily worth it, IMO.
http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/toyota,2003,tacoma,3.4l+v6,1418453,body,headlamp+assembly,10762

Keep in mind that brighter = shorter life span. So, you can probably get some 70w bulbs or even less, but your light won't be as bright. And really, it sounds like you could just do the wiring harness and get brighter lights because the harness powers the lights directly from the battery rather than factory harness (higher voltage = brighter lights). My housings are yellow and old, so that right there will make a drastic improvement, too.

Full disclosure: I haven't done this mod yet (however I plan to next week), but I have stayed at a Holiday Inn, so I'm pretty smart.

Read through those links I provided, and decide for yourself.

 

They're there: see my link above... But the Dorman brand are not CAPA certified, which is basically an industry standard for quality and fit/finish, etc... Worth the extra $4 for the CAPA TYC brand...

http://www.capacertified.org/