I know I can buy a new set of headlight. Or have them polished by a shop, but for my vw I was able to just buy the clear lens to replace the fogged up one. Does anyone sell just that for our 4runners? Mine are fogged up bad.

Looking at the parts diagram:

2006 Toyota 4Runner Parts - Conicelli Parts Center

Seems like they don't have just the clear lens. They only have the whole assembly for $200+.

If I were you, I would sand off all the parts that were damaged by UV, clean it up real good, they apply the optimum opti-lens coating. It's a resin-based stuff that permanently bond to your headlights and protect them from UV and hazing. You only need to apply it once. I did it with my headlights and it has been more than 1 year now and they still look like new.

Considering how badly and relatively quickly headlights can cloud up these days, you would think that this would be a good idea for OEM's to adopt (I've only seen a handful of car models that do this). But on the back end, they'd rather you just buy a whole new set of lights. This has been one of my growing concerns with OEM's using LED technology in headlights and tail lamps. What happens when an LED headlamp goes out? Technically they're not serviceable rendering the user to buy a new assembly (especially if out of warranty). I see a new market for retrofitters becoming LED repair services now.

One of the problems of sanding down the headlights for the restoration process is what little UV protection that is on there is taken completely off (ever seen headlights peeling like sun burnt skin?). They'll usually yellow up pretty quickly after the resto. Go to Rock Auto and by some replacements if you can. It'll run you a couple bucks, but should last a while.

Sorry for the thread-jack, but when you said "opti-lens" it reminded me of Steve Martin's "The Jerk Opti-Grab" and how he had to repay millions of people one dollar and NINE CENTS!!!!!



Anyway, as you were.

FYI eagle brand headlamps suck. Optics on oem head lights are far superior. Well worth the money. I would do this though. My suggestion is do a projector retrofit buy a set of eagle headlights. Harvest the lenses from the Eagles , yes they fit and work. I have tried. I have done that. I have done a projector retrofit using this recipe. Oem rear housings, oem inner bezels with projectors, new eagle lenses. Cheap effective and looks darn good.

I'm considering doing this with some cheaper replacement headlights off amazon--just harvesting the lenses, that is. My question is would you suspect that pretty much any aftermarket headlight is able to be taken apart just to harvest the lens? I've never disassembled a headlight like this before but am pretty mechanically savvy and don't think I'd have a problem with it.

The key is when you restore the lens to apply a new UV protectant.

All composite headlights these days have to be "baked" to release the butyl (I could be wrong on the name) sealer used to glue the lens to the housing.
@Mike07SE
As for LEDs, current factory lamps are in the same situation. HID modules/ballasts are located inside the housing, some Toyota ones are supposedly removable; but in my experience that's barely true. The Prius one I've done almost had to break the internal to get it in and out, there was almost no room to work with.

Not to mention self-leveling or height adjusting units are also internal. Some high end lamps like Mercedes, BMW, ect; need to be programmed to the vehicle when replaced and will output DTCs that can only be read with factory scantools.

Basically, your hypothetical situation already happened a while ago. Most of the time the only fix is a new housing anyways.

Bingo, BlackWorksInc nailed it! That is exactly how you do it. Do not buy replacement lenses, they would be pain to replace as you need to take off your headlights and bake them. Simply wet sand them with 1000 and 3000 grit and polish after. Then apply UV protection (I use Mcguire headlight protectant) and they will be like new and never turn yellow. Re-polish your lenses as needed, they will outlast your 4Runner

Thank you both for responding! My situation might be slightly different from other's. My lenses aren't just hazy or yellow, they seem to have stress cracks in them--not from an impact or anything, I assume just from age...perhaps extended UV damage or something. I've sanded and polished before (although not up to 3000 grit, just used one of those kits from WalMart) but these cracks remained so I assume they are not just superficial, like hazing or yellowing. Maybe if I sanded a bit more they would come out but it seems they are deeper within the lens, which is why I've considered this process of replacing the lens completely.
I've also been drooling over some of the HID retrofits on here (paraordinance your retrofit actually inspired me more than anything to look into this!) so, what I was considering doing would involve taking the headlight out and baking it to disassemble it anyways. I just thought rather than drop a lot of money on Toyota replacements, I'd spend 100 on some cheap ones from amazon, bake, take the lenses, do an HID retrofit, then put the new lenses on the Toyota housing. Then I would also coat the new lenses in UV resistant clear coat and polish them out.

What do you guys think?

The most efficient use of time, effort, and access to your wallet is to buy a roll of clear film off amazon, and apply it after polishing out the lens to your best ability.

All the UV coatings that you can buy off the shelf are temporary—won’t hide any imperfections and minor swirls
Clear film will last a bit more, dependent on how well you seal the edges, and hide considerably more minor swirls

I bought some film off amazon for my other car for $15.

Well, if you have deep cracks, no polishing will make a difference. Unless you get OEM lenses (which probably cost ridiculous amount of money) you might have issues with fitting non-OEM lenses to OEM housing. Instead, buy new set of headlights. I start with brand new set every time I retro-fit, they only about $80-90 each for a very good brand virtually identical to OEM (don't buy cheapest, I got CAPA certified and they are awesome quality).
The reason for that is retrofit is not a one-day feat, at least for me. I buy new headlights and while my old are still on the truck, I start working on my retro, it can take up to a month if you don't have all parts or wing in it with design, painting, sanding, painting some more like I did. There is no blueprint or step-by-steps on how to mount projectors/halos/etc in 4Runner housing, you will have to figure it out as you go, and it takes time if you want to get it done right. But if you working on your original OEM set, your 4Runner will not be drivable in meanwhile. Of course that may not be an issue for you, I don't know your circumstances.

The main reason I was looking to stay with OEM was simply due to poor quality reports from others that have bought aftermarket, primarily with the reflectors and the way they throw light compared to OEM. This is going on my daily driver, so I should probably go the route you suggest of buying and modifying an aftermarket set so I can take my time and still have a functional vehicle. What brand aftermarket set did you go with? Didn't you go with projectors out of an S2000? Are there any other projectors that are worth considering? What about the high beams???
I really love the looks of the projector retrofits I'm seeing and am really looking forward to doing my own, along with a satoshi grill mod. Also just got some coded paint to color match my mirrors so I've got some projects coming up! Coming soon will be the mirrors, tinting all the windows, installing dynamat, then installing headers and a new exhaust, then....I'm getting ahead of myself for this thread, haha! Either way, really looking forward to digging into my 4Runner and making it mine. This forum has been freaking awesome for ideas and instruction.

I purchased TYC CAPA Certified headlights from rockauto. They are excellent quality and I see no difference compare to OEM. Don't buy cheap ebay headlights or you will have issues with condensation, fit, quality etc. I have none of these issues with TYC CAPA certified. Generally you get what you pay for, so don't fall for the cheapest option. And if you plan to retrofit, beam pattern becomes irrelevant since you will be using projector to focus lights. As for high-beam, I left mine as is - OEM but I hardly ever use it, LS460 overpowers OEM high beam, it basically makes no difference when I flip the switch, except OEM high beam blasts higher on reflective signs, thats about all, haha

In regards to projectors you have unlimited choice here. They will almost all fit if you use 04-05 headlights (huge reflector bowl to accomodate any projector). I got LS460 because they are sexiest projector around, does not need shroud (already comes with clear one), stellar performance and unmatched width and angle. They create uniform slice of light with 170 degree field of view. They illuminate ditch 100 feet each side of the road with same intensity as in front of you. Truly amazing and must be seen in person to appreciate. But there are many other excellent performing projectors like TL, RX330, FX-R or Morimoto-Mini. Some are easier to install, some are a lot more work and creativity required on your part. Its really what are you after.

I applied the Sylvania brand restore kit back in November and they still look clear. Will take about an hour out of your life though.
http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-HRK-B...ock+white+coat

i gave up on using the headlight protectant after polish, it just never last, i just have my tint guy, do a complete polish and he had some left over ceramicpro, and he applied that over the lights, so far its looks new, the only way to keep the lights from hazing again is to apply a good coat of uv protection, opti-coat and ceramicpro is good, there maybe another option out there like clear coat, but aslong you have a good proteactant, itll be fine.