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Got my tail lights converted today. I am thrilled with the difference. I decided not to wait for the body shop to do it when they paint my car in a couple of weeks, and had the guy that replaced my timing belt do it since he used to be a Lexus service tech. I am also glad I sprung for the new ECU as I am kind of OCD and the light would have driven me crazy! I have mad respect for you guys and gals that saved yourself that money though.
I do have two questions for you folks though - when I got home, I was taking something out of the trunk and the plastic Lexus piece that covers the trunk latch (pictured below) popped out. I snapped it back into place, and back under the weather stripping rubber. Is that how it goes or did they forget to put in some retaining clips? It feels pretty sturdy in place now, but I didn't know if it has a locking mechanism that they forgot to replace.
Second, any idea where I can sell the old 2005 tail lights, garnishes and old ECU? I saw lots of folks listing them on eBay but it didn't seem like there were many takers.
Pics of the change and the plastic part that had popped out...
That plastic trim piece is a pain and poorly designed. Unfortunately, that is the way it is. There are little clips down inside that "latch" on to the plastic tabs from the trim piece but they don't hold very well. After it has popped out a few times, the plastic tabs get wear grooves in them and it pops out more easily. I haven't seen a viable solution to it yet. (Yes, it is annoying.)
That plastic trim piece is a pain and poorly designed. Unfortunately, that is the way it is. There are little clips down inside that "latch" on to the plastic tabs from the trim piece but they don't hold very well. After it has popped out a few times, the plastic tabs get wear grooves in them and it pops out more easily. I haven't seen a viable solution to it yet. (Yes, it is annoying.)
Thanks for putting my mind at ease, I was worried they had forgotten something. Thanks for the compliment on the lights too, I love them!
Didn't like the black chromium finish in person . Looked great in the photos. So I painted them to match the car. Black on black everything.
Coilovers installed .
Test fitting the wheels before I painted them.
All the stock and aftermarket suspension that I swapped out. Those are the sway bars from the sway bar upgrade that I found in the archives. Gs300 front / ISF rear..
Steering rack bushing ..really easy to swap out and worth it. No more play in the steering wheel
Got my tail lights converted today. I am thrilled with the difference. I decided not to wait for the body shop to do it when they paint my car in a couple of weeks, and had the guy that replaced my timing belt do it since he used to be a Lexus service tech. I am also glad I sprung for the new ECU as I am kind of OCD and the light would have driven me crazy! I have mad respect for you guys and gals that saved yourself that money though.
I do have two questions for you folks though - when I got home, I was taking something out of the trunk and the plastic Lexus piece that covers the trunk latch (pictured below) popped out. I snapped it back into place, and back under the weather stripping rubber. Is that how it goes or did they forget to put in some retaining clips? It feels pretty sturdy in place now, but I didn't know if it has a locking mechanism that they forgot to replace.
Second, any idea where I can sell the old 2005 tail lights, garnishes and old ECU? I saw lots of folks listing them on eBay but it didn't seem like there were many takers.
Pics of the change and the plastic part that had popped out...
Great looking conversion. Where did you get the lights, and what year are they. My 02 could use an upgrade like that.
Being all black, are you going to name your sc "KIT," like the Knight Rider T.V. series?
Chris.....From OZ.
LOL..kit was pretty badass!...My girl actually mentioned"Darth Vader" or "Vader" for short. Black on black everything !!😎👍🏻I've never given a name to one of my cars , I always refer to it as a "she" tho... Lol but I'm wierd like that...😂😂
Great looking conversion. Where did you get the lights, and what year are they. My 02 could use an upgrade like that.
I ordered all the parts on eBay. If you decide to do it, you will need the tail light for each side from an 06+ model, plus the garnish on top from an 06+ model, new wiring harnesses as they can't use the old ones. I got all six parts on eBay. Finally, because the LED light is different from your current setup, you will have a light indicator on your dash. You can either ignore it (the fiscally less onerous way), put black tape over the light - if you do a search there are instructions on how to do this on the forum, or get a new ECU for the trunk which will eliminate the light. The ECU isn't cheap, I paid over $500 for mine but I'm OCD enough to where I knew it would drive me crazy if I didn't do it. It was well worth it. I really prefer these tail lights, I like the sleeker, more modern look to the rear end of the car.
Could you throw some parts numbers in the mix please. Great work! Looks awesome!
Haven't ordered my "tail light conversion" yet, but I think these are the parts you need...
Junction block - trunk (OCD) 82670-24094
Right tail lamp 81551-24130
Left tail lamp 81561-24130
Right garnish 76801-24020
Left garnish 76802-24020
Wire harness (2) 81555-24140
Bulb (2) 90981-11048
You can find them all on mylparts.com for around $1150 with discount. Leave off the OCD and the price is about one-half. I personally haven't found anything on ebay that is significantly cheaper...and these are new parts from mylparts.com. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the info, sblevins. That really is a great look. The previous owner of my car smoked the tail light lenses and did a terrible job of it. If I can't get the smoke tint off, I'm going to have to replace the lenses. Yours is the way to go, I think.
09-02-16, 01:37 PM
