100 series headlight variations

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E

ericbauer

10 Year
Joined
Sep 8, 2011
Threads
23
Messages
83
Location
Los Angeles CA
Hi all

While my 100 was in the shop to fix some front end damage I ordered used headlights from two different junkyards.

What I got surprised me.
Both are genuine oem Toyota parts, but one has a satin finish headlight housing while the other has a mirror chrome finish.

With both installed there's a noticeable difference in the amount of light each puts out at night. Even the DRLs look different side to side.

Does someone know which year model 100s have the satin ones and which years have the chrome mirror ones? I want to make a matched set...

Thx

-e
 
I didn't know there would be any variation so I specified any year for the 100 series model.

It turns out one yard had a left, and the other yard had a right - so I know they came off different years.

They didn't specify what year trucks they came off when they sent them to me...
 
You mean like this?

787293_29.jpg


6dd5_4.JPG


...as in different model years or just that the trim is different?
 
nope, not different designs.

same design (the earlier 98-02 one, as you have in the first pic)

but on one headlight the chrome bezel (the reflective part of the headlight) is satin, and mirror chrome on the other - I'll take pics to show you all the difference...

There's a significant amount more light that comes out the satin one, than on the chrome one.

-e
 
Pics would help.
 
image-2333808985.webp

Chrome finish reflector on driver side



image-2989398856.webp

Satin finish reflector on pass side


Sorry it took me a couple days to add these pics to thread.

There's also a clear difference in how much light actually ends up on the road too

What do you think?
image-2333808985.webp
image-2989398856.webp
 
Mine are in between the two, probably more close to the satin one. Hence my other thread about pulling the glass out of the housing to clean. Definitely 'dirt' on mine contributing to the lack of luster, however not sure to what extent.
 
Really?

Dirty?

That's crazy
It looks so even - like it's factory

And it puts out a lot more light than the chrome mirror one

So it's actually a good thing...
Thanks for the posts guys..
 
So the satin one puts out more light? Surprising. Maybe I won't worry about cleaning after all.
 
Mine are the same way. One shiny, the other dull. Both are OEM lights, so I have no idea. Light output looks much weaker too due to the dulling of the reflectors.
 
I had the same thing on mine. One had been replaced at the dealer by the previous owner. I bought a "shiny" one on ebay an sold the satin one on ebay to another lc owner who said they had satin already on theirs. My truck was a 99.
 
ericbauer said:
Really?

Dirty?

That's crazy
It looks so even - like it's factory

And it puts out a lot more light than the chrome mirror one

So it's actually a good thing...
Thanks for the posts guys..
Click to expand...

Consider swapping the bulbs between the two, and see if the difference in light output is bulb related, not reflector related. Just a thought...if you put in two new bulbs, is the light output the same? OTOH, Perhaps the output is related to the aim of the lights?

I am surprised the satin is brighter. For the record, I have an 03, and I have the lights you have on the right, the Chrome, not the satin.
 
Yeah

I checked the bulbs

I even put brand new ones in to eliminate that possibility

You can even see a difference with DRLs
I'll snap another pic and upload later today
 
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