01-04 Blinker Relocation Mod

This is my write-up on how to relocate the blinker lights from the blinker housing to the running light housing. I am doing this mod so I do not have to run aftermarket blinkers for my plate bumper I will be getting.

I have not completely finished this mod, but will update as I do.

First off, there is a write-up out there by Blackdawg for this mod. But there are not very detailed instructions on how to do this on 01-04's since it requires us to do some different steps.

So for those of you that own a 96-00 Tacoma, I will refer you to this thread:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/1st-gen-tacomas/186115-free-blinker-light-relocation-mod.html



On to the write-up!



Here are the items you will need to do this:



01-04 corner light housings
01-04 blinker light housings
Drill
Various drill bits
Dremel
Watertight sealant



Cutoff wheel
Grinding stone
Polishing wheel













First thing was to figure out how to cut out the mount on the back of the blinker housing. 01-04 blinker bulbs stick out so far that you have to put the mount on the corner light to keep it back far enough to fit in the housing. And even then, it's a very tight fit.














Began cutting around the edge on where there was plenty of room to cut.













Once I got to this point, I stopped and began cutting from the top down along the side of the bulb mount.



















Once that was complete, I had to find a way to get to the back side of the mount. I was kind of timid on what to cut and what not to. Then I realized that you pretty much just have to cut all of this plastic out of the way to get to the other side of the mount.















Once you do that, the mount should come off and you'll have this! I left the bit of plastic sticking out from the circle to keep as a reference of what's up and down for the mount. Shouldn't make too much of a difference, but this way the socket slides in the same angle as stock.

\
















Next was to test where it would be mounted, so I set it on the back of the corner light housing to see where I would need to trim to get a good fit. I spent about 30-40 minutes trimming little by little, but honestly if you don't care you could just leave it how it was cut and just use the sealant all the way around to keep it in place.




















Here was my final shape for the mount. I used the polishing wheel to clean off all of the plastic burrs.


















Next was to trace out where to drill the hole for the bulb. I just used a pencil to draw the inside circle to get a good idea on where to start.




















Once I got the first hole drilled, I drilled it out bigger by going up one drill bit size at a time until I had this.












Then, I used the grinding stone to bore the hole out a little at a time, constantly test fitting the bulb and mount to make sure the hole was still lined up correctly. Again, I used the polishing wheel to clean off all of the plastic burrs.













Next was to re-route the wiring for the blinker up to the corner light location, very simple. Luckily the wiring for both lights have the same start point.







There are two mounts that hold the wiring in place:
Here:




And here:







You can remove both mounts, but I just removed the lower one by pulling on the wiring until it released itself from the mount and it allowed enough slack to run the blinker wiring up beside the corner light wiring like so.







Next, I test fitted the mount to be sure everything still line up correctly. Once I was sure everything would fit, I cleaned off the area with a rag and the polishing pad from my dremel.

At this point, I made sure to get as much of the plastic shavings out of the corner light. I just shook it around until I was able to get all of it out, but you can use compressed air as well.

Next I began sealing the mount to the corner light. Don't be stingy with the sealant either, apply as much as you want.









Here is the final product with a video. Thanks for looking!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esnGEWquYnI&feature=youtu.be

 

Haha what do you think? Informative enough?

 

Yeah, It's kinda missing the end though.

 

Good write up, I'm fixing to do mine as well!

 

Thanks!


Updated OP BTW...

 

Write-up complete, with video at the end.

 

Note if you use LEDs they are pretty long so you may have to adjust the hole, I did the same but just drilled and made my own locking part with a dremel tool

 

Where did you drill the hole then? That's the point of using the mount so that it pushes the bulb back farther.

 

Basically the same spot lol

 

Then your LED's must be shorter? Because the bulbs nearly touches the lens with the extra 3/4" of mount.

 

They're pretty long, I have them slanted up slightly

 

Hmm, interesting.

 

I would take them out but I'm head to work haha Ill post some later though, nice write up though!

 

Good job, Ill use this once I get my bumper

 

Sounds good! Thanks!

Thanks! My top plate for my bumper came in today! Rest should be here tomorrow.

 

they come in two separate shipments?

 

Yeah, or at least mine did.

Received the top plate that goes across the entire bumper.

 

torture! im hoping mine comes all at once