Lets discuss headlights and "clear corners"

[Relwarc]

I feel like with my 3" lift with 33" tires thread... i want to keep stirring the pot and making people think... so here goes...

i had clear corners (from altezza) for my old ZJ... i went to auto zone and had them set me up with some amber bulbs to keep the ZJ legal... trust me, the last thing i needed to be pulled over for was illegal turn signals with 33" tires and a backwards flowmaster 40 without a cat (i know, i was asking for it)

but.. i digress....

From my readings... it seems as though people have been thinking about it, but the headlights would need to be opened up and something would need to be fabbed up....

I like the stillens, but i dont like how they cover the corner marker and make for legallity problems..

lets brain storm...

#1 how to safely open and close/seal the housing

#2 how to remove the amber reflector

#3 what/how to replace it with

I have lots of fab experience and would be more than willing to grab some headlights off E-bay and do some tinkering.

so lets hear it guys, lets make some "JG original clear corner lenses"

[saleen032]

I guess the legality of the Stillens depends on the state and each individual inspector. I recently went through NJ state inspection twice with the stillens on, and they didnt say a word.....

[Relwarc]

true... its not as much a legal worry as it is another option for headlight mods...

also looks like a minimum of about $120 for a pair off of Ebay.

[White WK Swagga]

I'd be into it for an 09 wk. I think clear reflector with an amber bulb should be legal.

[DirtyBlackJeepSRT]

I passed my inspection and I have front tint and tinted tails. NY is pretty strict, so you shouldn't have any problems.

[White WK Swagga]

I've had cops, sheriff, state troopers ride next to me and behind me and one pulled me over and mentioned nothing about my tint windows or tails. (knock on wood) Im sure if my car was dirty, had mis match wheels, and dents I would get messed with. Keep it clean, classy, yet sporty is my motto...

[DirtyBlackJeepSRT]

So I got pulled over because I was dirty? :lol:

[White WK Swagga]

No prob because you were doing 50mph over the posted speed limit. LOL

[DirtyBlackJeepSRT]

Only 17 mph over, but it jumps from a 30 mph zone to 40 mph. It was also the Town/City border which has a 5 mph variation. I follow the rule of 7 on city roads. Or so I thought.

[White WK Swagga]

Lol

[DirtyBlackJeepSRT]

/thread jack.

Anyway. You shouldn't have any legality problems. ;)

[B.P.O.D]

is the yellow part in the lens easy to take off with a knife? anyone ever try this? is it built on top of the plastic or is the plastic molded yellow?

[Scottina06]

Robpp has opened up a set of aftermarket headlamps to paint. I believe he used the oven methos and baked the lamps to soften the adhesive that holds them together. He then pried the lamps open.

The stillen have a template on the back side for a cutout for the sidemarker lamp on the headlamps. Any good bodyshop would be able to cut that out to allow the sidemarker lamp to shine through.
There is also the Lund covers that have been trimmed similar to the stillens that allows the sidemarker to show through.
An option for the orange removal is a product you can buy at the home depot or lowes. Its a replacement material for overhead fixtures that can be cut to size. I have seen some other model cars(one was a 2002 cougar) use it for clear corners on their lamps. It can be cut to size and then heated up and bent into shape to match the stock piece. very easily done from what i remember.

[B.P.O.D]

scott do you have a pic of this? this goes on the outside? i would really love to be able to open them from the inside and remove the yellow all together if possible. i know rob has stated how to open up the lights. i think it was 250 degrees and 15 mins. that isn't 100%

[Relwarc]

if they are sealed, we will need to epoxy them back together to avoid leaks etc.

also, lets come up with an accepted way of opening them... 250 for 15 mins?

[Scottina06]

you would open up the lamps, remove the orange lens and replace with the new one

[Relwarc]

if you remove the lense, is there anything else in there? is there a hole? bare plastic housing? can it be peeled, buffed, and left clear?

[robpp]

230 degrees for about 13 14 minutes and lots of patience. may start to come apart, th3en cools, back in the oven again.

Ill get some pics in here of the headlight taken apart and the orange piece and options................soon but I have the alternative to the stillen, the Projektorz and you can see my side marker. I do have some stick on tint under the cover to tone the orange down a bit.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn11/robpp/base/IMG_0503.jpg

[White WK Swagga]

Can you pull the amber reflector out and spray tint them and put them back in?

[Relwarc]

good question, if you can get the surface to be smooth and clear, tinting is an option.

I personally like the crystal clear look for headlights... thats why i wanted to do a clear corner..

anyone know where i can get a set cheap? Ebay is giving me a minimum of $120 plus shipping...

id be willing to do a pictorial test of all of our ideas... and come up with something

also, another question, can we get a part number for that corner bulb? lets see if we can even find them in amber.

[robpp]

you wont find much cheaper for new aftermarket than about that, 120. i can telll you there are at least 3 diff mfg of aftermarket lights. like rockauto, they list 2 diff qualitiy levels for headlights.

i can assure you it is NO EASY TASK to open them without it looking like a failed school project. Also

Here is a pic of all the parts. what might not be clear is on the middle piece, the amber piece snaps over it. it has a trapezoid shape where the light shines thru. you need to put something in that void or else you'll have raw bulb shining thru, so amner bulb is required for sure.

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn11/robpp/_whistler/baked_light.jpg

I got to run but I can get better pics iof whats under the amber. its chrome. I can mock up mine without the amber to see wjhat it looks removded, or like said, nightshades it. or what I am going to do, paint all inside my body color including the amber piece except for the trapezoid, ill leave that amber......

---------- Post added at 10:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:35 AM ----------

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn11/robpp/_whistler/lamp3.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn11/robpp/_whistler/lamp1.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn11/robpp/_whistler/lamp2.jpg

[B.P.O.D]

great pics and thanks rob!!!

+rep

[White WK Swagga]

Looks GOOD Rob!!! I wish I could trust myself to try that. LOL

[robpp]

now when we ever get the freaking halos, i can put all this crap back together......

[White WK Swagga]

Yeah the LED halos w/ painted housings are going to look awesome!!!

[Relwarc]

awesome, good info.

my problem is, i dont really like the aftermarket headlights i have seen. does anyone have any links to these different types?

[White WK Swagga]

Yeah I can't find any for 08+...

[Scottina06]

Yeah I can't find any for 08+...

there arent any.....

[B.P.O.D]

^^^ it's pretty dumb!!! why make it for the 05-07 and not for the 08+????

[White WK Swagga]

Thats sucks big bull balls... I wish they came out with the projectors w/o the led lights and halos

[Relwarc]

Thats sucks big bull balls... I wish they came out with the projectors w/o the led lights and halos

agreed! i dont like those LED's ad halos

[Scottina06]

Thats sucks big bull balls... I wish they came out with the projectors w/o the led lights and halos

LOL....they do. The 08-09 oem HID headlights

[White WK Swagga]

Um yeah Scott. I just can never find a pair for under $500.

[Scottina06]

IJeep found a pair for $250

[B.P.O.D]

what?!?!?! fabian only paid $250 for those?

[White WK Swagga]

I know but I've been looking but I can't find them that cheap. He got REALLY lucky...

[Scottina06]

ya gotta be diligent on ebay and car-prt.com

[B.P.O.D]

fabian paid $450 for his. just checked his thread! $250 seemed too good to be true

[Scottina06]

oh....sorry....LOL. Somebody I know paid $250. Maybe a member on the red site?

[Relwarc]

lets talk about housing deconstruction...

how did you separate? pull it apart? use a screw driver?

what did you use to remove the adhesive? how did the remover not ruin the clear plastic?

what did you use to re-glue it?

[robpp]

first I took out every chisel, scraper, screwdriver, plastic pry bar, I had in tool box and brought in the kitchen. you have to start off gently and with something rather thin. you start at the end away from the amber. there are 4 locating pin like things. you can start near one of those. so you heat it for 13-14 minutes at 230. get some good leather gloves, no holes to handle the freaking light. it ****ing hot and its big. also be careful not to break the mounts. they stick out, you are trying to apply pressure to the pry tool, i used a towel kind of trying to make sure the mount wasnt unsupported or covered. you may even need 2 towels on the table. ok so you first need to start prying with something thin. you have to kind of break the seal. youy can start to see the edges seperate. so you do that for a few inches, then you get the next size tool. now remember, as you try to pry if you twist too hard, the tool digs into the bottom black part. that can be easily chewed up by the tool you are using. so there is no exact science here. my very first one went easy oner I broke the initial seal. I have done 5 more since then, none have been that easy. 3 of them required a cool down then a complete re-heat. like leftovers. so you work that one end, those two corners. once you get it to start, you progressively use a bigger tool or more pressure to get the seperation moving along. Like I said, it may taker to long and you need a reheat. so when you got an inch or so back there you can start pulling the halves apart. you may need to use a tool to loosen glue as you go. once you have a few inches and cang et your fingers in the opening, add more force to pull them apart. the amber end is last, and it is a bit more difficult to seperate that end. lots of glue and the parts just fit together deeper.



I left the adhesive, you reheat before resealing to reuse it, plus add some clear silicone too.




NOTE: Rumor has it that aftermarket OEM look headlights, exact aftermarket replacements not the projector or anything. supposedly open easier. ALl my expereince is with OEM Factory lights.

[Relwarc]

got ya, how about the adhesive remover, and what you re glued it with

[robpp]

left the old glue unless it was easily removed, i will reheat when i reassemble.

Waiting on halo's so have NOT put them back together yet.

[nifty97z]

Let me add a little to what Rob has stated thus far. DEPO headlamps open up like BUTTER after 240 for 13 minutes!! Using nothing more than two small-sh flat head screwdrivers to get things started..then you can "peel" the lens out by hand once that is started. Do NOT try to use TYC brand headlamps...WAY worse to take apart than the stockers.

Overall I have openend THREE diferent styles of our headlamps (05-07): Stock, DEPO, and TYC. If you can afford it, buy a set of DEPO brand headlamps from eBay and save your stockers and yourself a huge headache!

Again, DEPO brand..240*..13minutes!

And don't forget to remove EVERYTHING from the headlamps (including the rubberish rings on the backside, lol!)

[robpp]

Nifty - I see lots of headlights on eBay. How do you know which ones are DEPOT?

Or do you have a place to share where we get them?

[Relwarc]

awesome info, thanks nifty!

[nifty97z]

AutoLampsPlus on eBay. They sell DEPO (not depot).

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jeep-Grand-Cherokee-Head-Light-Lamp-05-06-07-LEFT-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ65Q3a12Q7c66Q3a2Q7 c39Q3a1Q7c72Q3a1205Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZ p3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem1e57678c4bQQitemZ130315 422795QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessor ies

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jeep-Grand-Cherokee-Head-Light-Lamp-05-06-07-RIGHT-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trkparmsZ65Q3a12Q7c66Q3a2Q7 c39Q3a1Q7c72Q3a1205Q7c293Q3a1Q7c294Q3a50QQ_trksidZ p3286Q2ec0Q2em14QQhashZitem1e57678c4cQQitemZ130315 422796QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessor ies

There ya go :D