3rd Gen BHLM + Retrofit Projector

Ya, I am super stoked about MLEDs 2.0s. They require hacking the stock metal mount and some massaging of the Lightwerkz brackets per my thread, but they are so badass. My favorite thing: Instant on, no warm up; turn them on and they're on. It's a flex haha. Also, Bi-LED, so the high beams are awesome if you want to black out the stock high beam buckets, and the output and cutoff is amazing. My truck is pretty lifted and I never get flashed.

 

Link to your thread? Super interested to see how you went about mounting the M LED's, now you got me thinking....

 

Hoping to get some advice - I put a small crack in the outside corner of the black housing while pulling them apart. JB weld and some black RTV as backup? Is there a better way to fix this? Or am I completely hosed?

Also, I have the black housing channel free of permaseal, how aggressive do I need to be with the clear side? It seems like it has just as much in some spots.

Thanks!

 

You’ll need to clean all the permaseal off the lens as well. They don’t need to be spotless, but as much as you can for sure!

 

Anyone that painted the drl orange, did you paint the back or front of the plastic? Or did you do both sides?

 

Has anybody ever disassembled their tail light assembly to de-chrome it? Is the disassembly the same heating and prying process as the headlights?

 

Yes a couple of us have done it but no, it's nothing like the headlights. They are plastic welded shut so you need to cut them open, do what you wanna do inside then close them back up either with plastic welding or some other type of sealant.

 

Anyone have this happen?

I taped the chrome piece around the projector and some of the chrome finish came off after I peeled the tape off. Anyone have a potential solution to fix? Gonna order a chrome paint pen, im sure its not a direct match but ill use it, if it's close enough ill commit to it. Hopefully you guys have some solutions. Thanks!

 

You may not like my answer but honestly I'd say look for another trim piece and start all over with the paint or paint the chrome black or color match to the body. No paint pen will match the chrome that is left and nothing is worse than thinking something is good enough that it won't bother you only to seal it all up and figure out that it still sticks out like a sore thumb so you need to open then back up, fix the issue then seal them back up.

 

Funny you say that. I actually have a botched headlight that I have, that I could source the damage piece from. So its not out of the question of doing this.

So its crossed my mind, all depends on how this "chrome" pen works out.

 

Huge shout out to @motorsport36. He helped me in a huge way getting me started. Anyone needing or wanting help with BHLM, he knows whats up. Super cool dude!

I decided to embrace the amber lights and just a tiny bit of chrome.

 

Well, I finally got these lenses separated from the housings. I was beyond careful and patient, but I still managed to crack a few spots in the plastic housings. I also see these little lines in the lenses, and I can't tell if they're cracks or not. I ended up turning the temp up to 300 F because 250 and 275 wasn't making any progress for me. Will the retro rubber work in spite of the damage? If not, is there anything I can do to semi-fix the housings to the point where moisture won't get in?
@MESO @motorsport36 looking for your expertise!

 

I am certainly not an expert, but I used JB weld and then covered with black silicone RTV as extra insurance to patch the housings.

 

my super cool guy trick that I’ve used for years on these is to use a soldering iron and melt more material into the channel and smooth it out with some sandpaper. Do the inside and the outside. This will give you the best aesthetic appearance. A black lego works amazing. The retro rubber will fill in all the other “gaps” once melted and pressed back together. I’d be more concerned with those cracks in the black housing if they were all the way around to the interior. That’s all exterior cracking. The seal will fill all that in. It won’t look pretty but it will hold. The “cracks” on the clear lense…I wouldn’t be concerned. And I’m 500+ lights opened and sold.

 

Finally did it. Very happy. I have a lot of left over parts if anyone needs them. See my thread here. https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/oem-2016-2019-headlight-parts.801298/

 

Did you install after market DRLs? Since I saw a bunch oem looking led DRLs in your ad link.

 

Yes, I installed the diode dynamics switch back drl boards. Very bright, both white and amber. Very pleased with them. I’m thinking of trying to possibly alter the oems, if no one buys them, because I know some people like just having the drls in all amber. Shouldn’t be hard to solder on new amber leds.

 

Ahhhh I sooo wanted to get those but I rushed to get mine done as it's my dd. Now I'm way too lazy to reheat them to crack them open again. I have't seen them in person but looks sweet in pictures.

 

Keep the boards as backup and get amber LEDs in. The boards are really durable. I kept a pair of modified boards as backup.