Face Lift for a 2008

Saturday morning:

As of last night:

The fogs have a ring of white LEDs I wired for DRL, then an amber ring of LEDs I wired to directional signals.

hard to see, but the headlight buckets have black surround and “smoke” lenses. Buckets are honking me off. they filled up with condensation their first night on.

Unless you hate yourself, I don’t recommend these: WEELMOTO Headlights Assembly...

$92 WEELMOTO Headlights Assembly Compatible with 2005-2011 Tacoma Headlights Assemblies for 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 Tacoma Replacement Automotive

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C14MFS7Y?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

I would send those headlights back...

 

Yeah not to crap on OP, but more speaking from experience…$100 headlights are going to perform terribly and oxidize fast.

return the headlights and refinish and/or retrofit your stock ones with led strips and HIDs if that’s your cup of tea.

 

Yep. Imported poo. I won’t be able to work on it for at least two weeks. I’m liking scAmazon less and less each order.

 

Where to buy something decent?

 

It really depends on your budget. I would just go OEM and be done if you don’t have a ton to spend. A decent set of new non OEM lamps is going to be north of $700

 

Thanks man. Without looking up the price, OEM is sounding good.

 

Short term condensation fix that worked for me a long time ago. (this was on my OEM housing using HID bulbs and I didn't fully seat the rubber boot). Anyway, I waited for a low humidity/sunny day, removed each boot and then put a wet dry vac on hole on the back of the headlight and just let it suck the air/moisture out of the housing. It took about 20-30 minutes for each side and you could see the condensation slowly disappear until it was all gone....I put brand new rubber boots and and problem was solved. Of course if your housings have a leak, it probably wont work, but if moisture only got in during manufacturing/shipping, it might work.

Front end looks good. Nice refresh & good luck

 

Depo brand are decent and they make black housing ones like you have pictured. Although with every headlight housing I install in these trucks, I always run a bead of rtv around the housing edge before install because they all seam to leak. I have a depo set on my one truck that I have had on there for 3 years now and no condensation issues. Yours will probly be fine if you take them out, dry them out, and rtv the seam

 

Yep they are crap. Send them back. Why not just clean up and polish the originals? I did mine 4+ years ago and they still look like new.. I apply a uv protectant twice a year and they continue to look great. Here’s a pic about 4 years after I originally cleaned them up.

 

Thanks for the tips fellas.

I don’t think what I took out was originals. Really fogged up, clear coating half peeled off, and broken mounting tabs. Appreciate the input though.

I really don’t feel like digging them out, so I’ll try my shop vac. If that fails, Depo or OEM.

 

Hey OP, I think someone on here posted something yesterday about Toyota having a 25% off sale with free shipping. That’s how I bought my new ones several months ago and got them for a really great deal.

 

Hey thanks for the heads up TheJackle. I’ll have to look into that!

 

Hopefully you have low humidity days where you live.....With the shop vac...just be patient, at first it seems like it is doing nothing...just keep your eye on a spot or mark it with masking tap...it will slowly recede. I think I hand held one side and was able to prop/tape the other side, so I didn't have to stand there for 30 minutes. And I as someone else suggested, i I would put a bead of rtv silicon around the edge, just too ensure it is sealed.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

Wow. Nice upgraded look. Where did you get the new grill assembly? Are you planning to paint it or leave black? My '06 is white and the black may look really good.

 

both of these.

With any budget aftermarket lights, i always run a bead of silicone sealant around the housing edge where the lens meets the body. Haven't had issues with condensation since I started doing this.

Current headlights on the tacoma are Spec-D, and have been on the truck for almost 5 years now. Never a drop of condensation, though they definitely need some UV touchup now.

 

Thanks! I’m very happy with the new look. I don’t plan to paint it. I have the original grill with a crack top center. I plan to glue the crack and use some filler to smooth out that section. If that works out, paint the chrome black and have a spare ready. It’s such an easy part to swap.

Amazon link:

$132 Tacoma grille Matt Black Grille with lights for 2005-2011

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CNVJ33NX

 

Thanks for the additional information fellas.

I’m going to try to vacuum them dry. I’m swamped at work for quite a while. I might not have time to pull and seal before the Amazon return window closes. If I don’t get them returned I’ll probably just run them until the halogens go belly up.

thanks again!

 

You might be interested in this, using OE fixtures

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-ultimate-headlight-upgrade-h4-not-led-or-hid.398066/

 

Thanks! I used to do a similar conversion on my off-road Jeeps. It really makes a big difference getting the power straight off the alternator or the battery.