Just a Bad Day

My original headlights are pretty fogged on my 2003 so was excited about the new set of Dorman's I got from RockAuto for $85.

But changing the lights turned to be more than a bit of a pain.
Neither the front grill or the headlights are coming off without dropping the ARB Bull Bar.
I figure the fogged lights still give off enough lumens so I am sending back the Dorman's.

If this were you (working alone) would you tackle the bumper to change out the headlights?

 

Hard to tell what kind of bull bar from your pic, but if it's the kind I'm used to seeing then they're really easy to take off...just a few bolts on the underside of the truck.

 

Yes. Get a hydraulic jack to support the weight. It's not that bad, just a few bolts...

Alternatively, you'd be amazed what you can accomplish with a 12 pack of beer and a knock on the neighbor's door...

 

Yes I would. ^^^^^^ What he said.
Get a jack and jack stands. Lower it on to the stands. Put lights in and reinstall.

 

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Its an ARB.

 

Ouch. I mean, $85 is still inexpensive, but I would permanently fix the stock headlights for almost half. I don't know how good Doorman products are, but the general consensus is that OEM is best.

https://youtu.be/UEJbKLZ7RmM

 

Bad day indeed. That's a pain in the ass to remove. Pay someone and go home and drink beer. Pick it up the next morning, problem solved.

 

Good point Mercedes,
But I have no confidence that those headlight treatments constitute a permanent solution.
The Dorman's are next to best to the OEMs which are conservatively $340 a pair.

 

All seriousness, it's worth it to have nice clear headlights both for function and style. Good luck OP I know firsthand restoration is a PITA.

 

No, I agree. The Treatment-In-A-Box stuff doesn't work and only makes them worse (ask me how I know lol) I'm just offering another solution that doesn't necessarily require you to remove the bull bar if you have access to the whole headlight surface.

The video I posted involves wet sanding/polishing and applying a clear coat spray paint.
2 years later, and the stuff's holding up just fine.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BC7Ov-zOjLe/

 

I have taken my ARB off by myself multiple times to remove the grille and headlights. There are six bolts to remove and it's free. It will in total take about 10 more minutes of labor. Yes it's a pain in the ass. But not impossible. Yes it's heavy, but you can lift it by yourself. Obviously don't try to do bicep curls with it.

Getting it back on and lined up with the holes is the larger pain, however I like to get under it and use my knees to lift it up and slide each bolt into the respective holes.

 

I am a big ChrisFix fan and I think he's one of the most gifted auto tech diy'ers on youtube, however I tried this method using the same exact products and it only lasted 3 or 4 months before going back to being hazy again. Not a hard job for short term improvements though!

 

They don't. I've tried these kits multiple times. They do a good job of polishing the plastic lenses, but when the lenses are old and the discoloration goes deep in the plastic, there's no amount of polishing that will fix it.

Get yourself some CAPA certified headlights. I got mine from Rockauto.com for like $40 a piece. CAPA is the same certification process the OEM suppliers get.

 

I just did this to my headlights as well. OEM headlights have a UV coating that is baked on, which you will remove when you buff the oxidation out, if you have any left. Once you buff them out the oxidation process will just begin again, and much faster than before.

There are places that will bake the UV coating back on, but you might as well get new headlights at that point.

The rock auto units will have the UV coating. I have some waiting to be retrofitted.

 

Thank you for your suggestions and motivation.
I unbolted the ARB Bull Bar and got the lights in successfully.
(with the help of a friend with a garage)
Like new!

 

Awesome, looks good!

 

FWW the after market Dorman headlight's from Rock Auto ($38 ea.) definitely have poor reflector quality.
While I have a lot more lumens on the road the beam spread is not evenly diffused and scattered.
While the headlights seem to be a bit overlapped in the middle (there is no apparent adjustment for that on these or stock lights) it does not account for the flaws in the the mirrors or lenses.

This picture of the low beam somewhat shows the scattering of the reflected light



The high beam below is extremely bright but broken up as well



I will try the higher quality bulbs that I have from the old lights.
I can also count on my aux. lights to help smooth out the light spread so that it will not be as noticeable

Don't we just love our Taco's no matter what?

 

If we didn't, none of us would be here.

 

The very first thing I did with my truck was sand my lights and put on the clear coat stuff. Has held up for 7 months now.