'94 headlight replacement

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LandStalker

LandStalker

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Seattle WA
I need to replace the headlights in my brothers 1994 4x4 pickup, so I of coarse start without looking at the owners manual thinking it would be obvious what to do. Ten minutes later I am looking AT the manual, surprised that I have to remove the whole grill. There are 11 little plastic tabs to press to remove the grill, and I can't even see the 5 on the bottom row. The 6 on top are no problem, aside from 1 of them breaking. I'm thinking that I will have to remove the d@mn bumper to reach the 5 tabs left on the bottom row of the grill. Has anyone run into this? I can't believe Mr. T would make headlight replacement so ridiculously difficult. Any tricks or suggestions on these little buggers?
 
Yup, the grill has to come off. Get yourself a Petzl headlight, and looong skinny flat-bladed screwdriver, and carefully pop the clips open, pull the grill forward as you get each one so they won't pop back in.

Do yourself a favor and install H4 headlights. These have a separate bulbs that inserts into the back of the lens assembly, by the connector. Much easier replacement when they burn out.
 
Well, the grill doesn't HAVE to come off, but it's a good idea. I've replaced them on mine a couple of times and on other 89-95 pickups without taking the grill off, but it's seriously a pain.

It's simply easier to pull the grill though. It's otherwise an exercise in how much you can bend the grill and screwdriver to get the thing in and out.

The H4 idea seems really good to me, I think I'll go with roundeyes next time I need to replace mine.

Dan
 
Follow what they said. You got no choice but to remove the grill and while the grill is out, you can clean the condenser of any debris stuck to it. Just think of it as a PM, that's all:D
 
From the last time I had to work on my headlights I popped the rest of the clips holding the grill in place.... I bought some new clips from the dealership, but have yet to install them. The grill will hold up fine without them, though it is loose. I wouldn't worry if you break a few clips in the process though.

I'll be installing my clips this spring, not in the mood to work with plastic parts with its in the single digits.
 
Got it done. I removed the one bolt holding the radiator overflow reservoir in place to move it out of the way. This allowed me to unclip one from the backside (second one in from the right on the bottom of the grill). I had all the clips removed and the grill took another 15 minutes of prying and pulling before it came loose.
Friggin PITA!!! One headlight was so bad that the seal had dissolved and the lens just fell off with the grill. Put in a fresh set of SilverStars and threw it back together.
Thanks Truck Forum!
 
Grill removal NOT necessary...

...if you don't mind taking a 1/4" burring tool on a Makita and establishing several(2 or 3 or 4...I forgot) small, almost invisible grooves in the cheesy chrome-plastic headlight "beauty ring". These grooves line up with the headlight retention screws so you can loosen, then pull the headlight right out the front through the beauty-ring thing.
BTW, I second the aftermarket H4 replacement headlights: I currently have the IPF's: they're superior to most new car headlights I've seen. Hella, Cibie also make nice ones.
 
DanS HJ-45 said:
The H4 idea seems really good to me, I think I'll go with roundeyes next time I need to replace mine.

Dan
Click to expand...

X2 on the Roundeyes. I'm very impressed with the ones on my '85. And, yes, then you can pull the bulb from the back and replace.
 
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