[jcardona1]

Ok guys,

I'm fairly new here and I'm starting to work on my '04 CC. One thing i didnt like about our trucks is the chrome housing in the headlights. and these days, there arent too many options for headlights for our trucks other than the cheap halos on ebay. i would never get these as i know they wouldnt last long, so i decided to work on the OEM headlights and do a write-up on it. actually, i didnt "black" mine out, i used a gunmetal color since i think it goes better with the color of my truck

first off, here's a before pic of my truck. yes i know, a lift kit and bigger tires is on the way soon!!!

to start off, remove the headlights. i was surprised at how easy it was to remove these lights. just remove the two bolts shown in green here and then the light just pops off. its held by two bolts on top and two clips on the bottom.

heres where the lower clips attach to:

and here are the actual clips that hold the bottom part of the headlight. NOTE!!!! be sure to remove the two screws shown in pink!!!! these are holding the lenses to the body. i found this out when i was trying to pry off the lenses!!

now that the headlight is out, its a good idea to remove these two items as you dont want to damage them while in the oven.

ok heres the fun part! i set the headlights on a pizza pan covered in wet towels. i set my oven to about 220 degrees and left the lights in there for about 15 minutes. the actual amount of time may vary depending on your oven. what your trying to do is heat the headlights up just enough so that the glue/silicone softens and you can pry the lights apart. i dont have pics of the actual prying process since i was by myself, but its pretty straightforward once you get the glue melted.

heres the back part of the headlight after the lenses was removed:

and here's the lenses with the chrome housing still attached:

now you gotta remove the chrome housing from the lenses. there are two little screws on the bottom that hold the housing and the lenses together. once you remove these, the chrome housing pops right out.

heres the chrome housing out of the lenses:

next your going to want to remove the orange corner reflector thats attached to the chrome housing. there are 4 small clips that hold this in place. pop out and remove

chrome housings removed and ready for prep work

as mentioned above, i decided to use a gunmetal color. i used Dupli-Color's wheel paint in the gunmetal color purchased from a local Kragens for about $6. i have used this paint several times before on wheels and other projects and i love it! the color is awesome and it covers like no other spray paint ive ever used. they have white, silver, bronze, and gunmetal. if going with black, i recommend rustoleum or krylon fusion.

heres the lenses painted and drying. i sanded them down with some 220 grit sandpaper just to scuff the surface. color turned out real nice!

while i was waiting for the paint to dry, i decided to rip out all the airbox silencer junk! might as well take advantage now that i have the extra room to work with.

now i dont have pics of the reassembly, but its straightforward as well. after the paint dried, i assembled the lenses and the housing then put them back into the oven to melt the glue and get it tacky.

once the glue melted, i took out the headlights and ran a bead of silicone on the back part of the headlight and attached the two pieces together.

heres a pic of the housing without the lenses. just a trial fit

and heres the finished product! the silicone is drying right now, so i dont have any installed pics. i will install the lights tomorrow and take some more pics. stay tuned. i think its gonna look great!

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!Got the lights installed, they look awesome!!! Here's the final pics

OH almost forgot! i also painted my grill bar and the nissan logo on my hood using the same gunmetal paint so it all matches. enjoy

SO, let me know what you guys think! also, let me know if anyone has any specific questions

 

[sweet3rdgen]

Nice project and great write up. Thanks for the thread.

 

[timbobaggins]

great write up, dude. been thinking of doing this, myself.


mods - can we sticky this, please?

 

[Zero Six LE]

great write up, dude. been thinking of doing this, myself.


mods - can we sticky this, please?

Can do. :goodjob:

 

[bigdog]

nice job! Can't wait to see the final pix and thanks for the write up. The lights in the oven is definitely my favorite picture.

Honey what's for dinner? :rofl: Oh no you did not put those stinky car parts in my oven! :laugh:

 

[jcardona1]

haha good thing she wasnt home when i had the lights in the oven and thanks, glad i could be of help. i got a sticky wooooooooo!!!

UPDATE: final pics are up, see the first post!

 

[bigdog]

yea, that pops! :fantastic:

 

[beefy242]

how did you go about painting that bar across the front grille? i dont like mine being silver for some reason...if i could cut it off cleanly i would probably do that instead but it wouldnt come out all that well.

 

[roastbeef]

the grille bar is attatched by two screws and two clips, i believe. i painted mine a loooong time ago. used to be grey. very very easy to take out. get a mirror and you can see where the clips/screws are.

 

[jcardona1]

yup, the grill bar comes off easily. 3 screws actually, and just pops right off

 

[lsufanof09]

did mine white looks great with my white 02 cc

 

[isx_frontier]

nic. very helpful... now i know how to pop up my headlamps....

 

[big red]

what color should i paint my head lights. I have a 2003 red crew cab XE . I have gloss black paint or should i paint it gun metal. what do u think?

 

[dackler]

I just did this mod yesterday.
The key is to not remove the headlights from the oven too soon, otherwise you'll be fighting with the silicone while prying them apart. If they dont come apart easily then put them back in the oven for a couple more minutes.

 

[Andrew Capps]

I just did mine in flat black and it looks sweet... Now I just need to smoke my fog lights and the front will be set. I also painted the bar on the front grill flat black. Thanks for the write up man

 

[Goshred025]

anyone could post pics of it done on a white 04? i want to do it but im not sure of what it would look like.. thanks!

 

[XE_KING]

WOW! I was just sitting here thinking... what can I do the the front of my truck......Great job!!! My front bar is peeling, so this couldnt have worked out any better! Thanks for the great write-up!

 

[Andrew Capps]

I think it would look a lot better if the turn signals and ish were blacked out so...I have two questions

1) Is there something I can paint over the white and orange lenses that will be FLAT black but still let the light shine through? I have a few cans of VHT Niteshades but its glossy. Can I make it flat (besides sanding it down It looks horrible when sanded). Would using the paint I used on the chrome housings be a horrible idea?

2) If there is no flat black way, would the gloss of the VHT look bad with the surround being flat black?

Thanks

 

[zoomzoom]

Not familiar with your housing but if possible, why not pop the orange lens out? Then you have the option of sticking in a clear or orange bulb. My main purpose of taking apart the housing was to take the orange reflector out for a clear look.

 

[Andrew Capps]

If I understand you right, not having lenses on, just the bulbs there, Iw don't think that would look good at all... Plus I would prefer black>clear>stock