Shogun
New member
This post details my removal of the chrome LE headlights and bezels and replacement with the smoked and black TE headlights and bezel. This method does not involve removing the entire bumper cover.
Like Others I didn't like all the chrome on my 2013 MGM LE T4R. I have a list of mods I want to do and started going after the low hanging fruit. (read cheapest stuff first).
I want to thank [MENTION=51186]philsey[/MENTION], [MENTION=48772]Jesse1983[/MENTION] and [MENTION=68685]Ducmonsta[/MENTION] for advice and going before me on the mods. I used info in their build threads to make my game plan and study pictures of the inner parts of the front end before starting this mod.
Please forgive my crappy pics I am by no means a professional photographer but I wanted to make a contribution back to the site with a documented mod.
Tools required:
Several towels or movers blankets
Painters Blue tape (easy release)
Flat blade screwdriver
Philips screwdriver
10mm socket
socket wrench
socket wrench extension
magnet extension (optional but helpful)
plastic trim removal tool (optional but helpful)
Approx. Time required
1.5-2 hours.
Instructions:
Step 1:
Park the vehicle near a wall or if your garage is large enough, back in so that you can mark the beam of your OEM Lights. This will be helpful so that after the install you can check to see if the lights are aligned properly. I turned on the lights and shined them on the garage door and used blue tape to mark around the pattern of the R/L lights and high beams. I also applied tape to the floor to mark where the wheels were in case I needed to move the vehicle I could line them back up later. You can see the mark I made on the garage door in this photo.
Step 2:
I was paranoid about scratching something on the vehicle so I used blue tape around the bumper and light as seen in the photo below.
Step 3:
Remove the plastic cover that covers the Radiator. There are 13 black push pins that will need to be removed. Push down on the center pin and then you can pull them back out. (A note of caution here. When I was removing the pins one popped out and landed who knows where. Cover them with your hand when you pop them back out so this doesn't happen to you) Photos of the 13 pins below. Place the pins and bases in a plastic bag or container and set aside with the black grille cover that just lifts off after the pins are removed.
Step 4:
Remove the screws from the bumper cover inside the fender well with a 10mm socket. There are 3 screws. The top screw is different from the middle and bottom.
Not sure if this screw needs to be removed but I removed it anyway. It is just forward of the tire /fender well. This is a photo looking up at the screw. It is also a 10mm.
Step 5:
Start from inside the fender well and lift the bumper cover off of the stud where screw #1 is at the top of the fender well. The plastic fender lining material is tucked into the middle and bottom clips where screw #2 and 3 were. Lift the bumper cover out of the fender liner and peel it out. It will make a LOUD POP and scare the chit out of you but nothing is broken. I will insert the fender well image again here for reference.
Keep peeling the bumper forward and it will pop out of the clips. It is good to place a towel or moving blanket between the bumper and the vehicle and light to minimize risk of scratch or ding. I ran the blanket all the way from the lights to the fender well.
Step 6:
There are 3 10mm screws holding the headlights in place. 1 is very obvious in this photo.
The other is also on top of the fender and you will need to wedge the plastic trim over just a little to get at. Sorry, I didn't get a photo of it.
Screw #3 is exposed after you peel back the bumper cover. It is a 10mm screw. Be careful when removing this screw. It is recessed and can be easily dropped into the guts of the vehicle and you will have a hard time retrieving it. If you have a magnetic socket great, if not then you may want to loosen it and then pull it with a magnet extension (harbor freight $3) or just be careful. Here is the screw in the photo below.
Step 7:
Remove plastic pin holding top of light. Labeled HL5 in the photo below. I had to remove this one with a flat blade screwdriver.
Step 8:
At this point I decided to disconnect the Hi/Lo wires. Label one of them so you know which one is which. I disconnected the wires to the bulbs leaving the bulbs in the headlight assembly. I did not disconnect the turn/parking light yet. No pic of this. pretty straight forward.
Step 9:
I removed the bolt that holds the front grille on. It is dead center of the grille. Then I pulled the front grille out of the tabs on the bottom of the grille. This will help when removing the light. Also, there is a plastic clip on the bottom of the light that holds the light and a plastic tab at the top of the light that goes through a plastic assembly at the top. It is fairly obvious when inspecting the light.
Step 10:
Make sure that the front bumper cover is removed from the clips on the bottom of the light before you start to pull the lights. These clips seen in this photo at the bottom of the light.
Step 11:
Start pulling the light out slowly. You may have to twist and contort the light to get it out. Just be careful and at some point you will need to disconnect the turn/parking light. Again, just the wire, leave the bulb in there to minimize risk of damage to bulb. Now you should have the light free. Place it on a towel or blanket next to the new light.
Step 12:
Remove the black plastic trim with the tabs from the old light by removing 2 phillips screws at the bottom and transfer this piece over to the new light.
Next remove the bulbs and reinstall into the new light housing exactly as they were in the old/OEM housing. The screws are on the back and can be seen in this photo.
Step 13: Optional step if you want to replace fog bezel
Now that the light is out it is a great time to replace the chrome bezel if you so choose. This was very fast. I didn't take photo's of this because it truly is easy and takes less than 5 minutes. There is one small philips screw holding in the fog light. Remove it and then slide the fogs over out of the tabs. Push the tabs that you can see holding the chrome bezel in place and the bezel will come out to the front of the vehicle. Slide the new bezel in and replace the fog lights in the tabs and then the screw holding them in place. It is that easy.
Step 14:
Re-Install the light in reverse order of above. Be sure to connect the turn/parking light before you install the light. It is difficult to get to. Test the lights before buttoning everything up to make sure connections are good. Be careful about installing that 3rd screw behind the bumper cover (don't drop it)
Repeat for the other side.
:cheers:
Disclaimer...I am not a certified mechanic. Should you choose to follow the information in this post I am not responsible for any accidents or damage that may occur to either person,vehicle or any other object as a result.
Like Others I didn't like all the chrome on my 2013 MGM LE T4R. I have a list of mods I want to do and started going after the low hanging fruit. (read cheapest stuff first).
I want to thank [MENTION=51186]philsey[/MENTION], [MENTION=48772]Jesse1983[/MENTION] and [MENTION=68685]Ducmonsta[/MENTION] for advice and going before me on the mods. I used info in their build threads to make my game plan and study pictures of the inner parts of the front end before starting this mod.
Please forgive my crappy pics I am by no means a professional photographer but I wanted to make a contribution back to the site with a documented mod.
Tools required:
Several towels or movers blankets
Painters Blue tape (easy release)
Flat blade screwdriver
Philips screwdriver
10mm socket
socket wrench
socket wrench extension
magnet extension (optional but helpful)
plastic trim removal tool (optional but helpful)
Approx. Time required
1.5-2 hours.
Instructions:
Step 1:
Park the vehicle near a wall or if your garage is large enough, back in so that you can mark the beam of your OEM Lights. This will be helpful so that after the install you can check to see if the lights are aligned properly. I turned on the lights and shined them on the garage door and used blue tape to mark around the pattern of the R/L lights and high beams. I also applied tape to the floor to mark where the wheels were in case I needed to move the vehicle I could line them back up later. You can see the mark I made on the garage door in this photo.
Step 2:
I was paranoid about scratching something on the vehicle so I used blue tape around the bumper and light as seen in the photo below.
Step 3:
Remove the plastic cover that covers the Radiator. There are 13 black push pins that will need to be removed. Push down on the center pin and then you can pull them back out. (A note of caution here. When I was removing the pins one popped out and landed who knows where. Cover them with your hand when you pop them back out so this doesn't happen to you) Photos of the 13 pins below. Place the pins and bases in a plastic bag or container and set aside with the black grille cover that just lifts off after the pins are removed.
Step 4:
Remove the screws from the bumper cover inside the fender well with a 10mm socket. There are 3 screws. The top screw is different from the middle and bottom.
Not sure if this screw needs to be removed but I removed it anyway. It is just forward of the tire /fender well. This is a photo looking up at the screw. It is also a 10mm.
Step 5:
Start from inside the fender well and lift the bumper cover off of the stud where screw #1 is at the top of the fender well. The plastic fender lining material is tucked into the middle and bottom clips where screw #2 and 3 were. Lift the bumper cover out of the fender liner and peel it out. It will make a LOUD POP and scare the chit out of you but nothing is broken. I will insert the fender well image again here for reference.
Keep peeling the bumper forward and it will pop out of the clips. It is good to place a towel or moving blanket between the bumper and the vehicle and light to minimize risk of scratch or ding. I ran the blanket all the way from the lights to the fender well.
Step 6:
There are 3 10mm screws holding the headlights in place. 1 is very obvious in this photo.
The other is also on top of the fender and you will need to wedge the plastic trim over just a little to get at. Sorry, I didn't get a photo of it.
Screw #3 is exposed after you peel back the bumper cover. It is a 10mm screw. Be careful when removing this screw. It is recessed and can be easily dropped into the guts of the vehicle and you will have a hard time retrieving it. If you have a magnetic socket great, if not then you may want to loosen it and then pull it with a magnet extension (harbor freight $3) or just be careful. Here is the screw in the photo below.
Step 7:
Remove plastic pin holding top of light. Labeled HL5 in the photo below. I had to remove this one with a flat blade screwdriver.
Step 8:
At this point I decided to disconnect the Hi/Lo wires. Label one of them so you know which one is which. I disconnected the wires to the bulbs leaving the bulbs in the headlight assembly. I did not disconnect the turn/parking light yet. No pic of this. pretty straight forward.
Step 9:
I removed the bolt that holds the front grille on. It is dead center of the grille. Then I pulled the front grille out of the tabs on the bottom of the grille. This will help when removing the light. Also, there is a plastic clip on the bottom of the light that holds the light and a plastic tab at the top of the light that goes through a plastic assembly at the top. It is fairly obvious when inspecting the light.
Step 10:
Make sure that the front bumper cover is removed from the clips on the bottom of the light before you start to pull the lights. These clips seen in this photo at the bottom of the light.
Step 11:
Start pulling the light out slowly. You may have to twist and contort the light to get it out. Just be careful and at some point you will need to disconnect the turn/parking light. Again, just the wire, leave the bulb in there to minimize risk of damage to bulb. Now you should have the light free. Place it on a towel or blanket next to the new light.
Step 12:
Remove the black plastic trim with the tabs from the old light by removing 2 phillips screws at the bottom and transfer this piece over to the new light.
Next remove the bulbs and reinstall into the new light housing exactly as they were in the old/OEM housing. The screws are on the back and can be seen in this photo.
Step 13: Optional step if you want to replace fog bezel
Now that the light is out it is a great time to replace the chrome bezel if you so choose. This was very fast. I didn't take photo's of this because it truly is easy and takes less than 5 minutes. There is one small philips screw holding in the fog light. Remove it and then slide the fogs over out of the tabs. Push the tabs that you can see holding the chrome bezel in place and the bezel will come out to the front of the vehicle. Slide the new bezel in and replace the fog lights in the tabs and then the screw holding them in place. It is that easy.
Step 14:
Re-Install the light in reverse order of above. Be sure to connect the turn/parking light before you install the light. It is difficult to get to. Test the lights before buttoning everything up to make sure connections are good. Be careful about installing that 3rd screw behind the bumper cover (don't drop it)
Repeat for the other side.
:cheers:
Disclaimer...I am not a certified mechanic. Should you choose to follow the information in this post I am not responsible for any accidents or damage that may occur to either person,vehicle or any other object as a result.
