1997 Bulb Replacement

i just bought some of those new blue looking replacement light bulbs to go into my 1997 tacoma but my dad says they wont work that you have to buy all new head lights for the 97's bc the bulb is part of the whole light. is this true?

 

The bulb isnt part of the head lamp assembly. Pull the rubber liner off the back that protects it from getting water in it and take the bulb out to replace it. It's simple and straight forward, just don't touch the bulb with your fingers.

 

^ Wrong...

Your dad is correct. You need to replace the whole lamp. 95.5-97 used sealed beam halogen lamps (size 6054) while 98+ Tacos use replacement bulbs (size HB2 or 9003 or H4, different names for the same bulb). If you want to do a conversion to use regular bulbs then you need to get some lamps like the ones below. There's usually a crapload on eBay.

 

Cool didn't know that... sucks to have those headlights!

 

dang! thanks man! that was very helpful! and that sucks i cant just replace the bulbs! i actually bought replacement bulbs off ebay for $20 and they didnt work bc of the whole sealed thing. i wish i woulda known this before. is there any headlight replacements like the ones obove that you would recommend? i dont really see a name on them...

 

They're probably all made in China or Taiwan, so it'll be hit and miss. Go on eBay and search "tacoma headlight". You'll have to wade through quite a few pages before you find what you're looking for, good luck.