Drop-in headlight upgrade?

[Ed_C]

I bought a pair of 99-02 TYCs from Rock Auto earlier this year, running them for the time being while redoing my HID projector retrofitted pair.

The beam pattern is actually pretty decent, but horizontal alignment is terrible on the driver side so there's a lack of illumination to the left. I already maxed out the adjuster so I ended up adding some washers between the mount where the adjuster rod pops into and the headlight housing itself. It did help a little, but cosmetics wise the headlight definitely doesn't sit as flush with the grill and hood compared to when I had OEM headlights. In fog I can actually see how the driver headlight's beam has a definite inward "tilt" to it

 

[cblock406]

Err... wouldn't you use the OEM housings you're going to replace right now? No heartburn at all to use something that you otherwise have no use for (and has zero resale value). Or did I miss something?

And I've been stuck with this too. I don't mind doing the HID work, but they look atrocious to my eye, I just don't think I could drive the truck knowing those were visible... shallow? You betcha! But we all have personal taste preferences. I've most everything I need to build a relay harness, just haven't don it yet (building one for a '66 Beetle too, which has better lighting than the 4-runner even on stock sealed-beam bulbs).

No, you need the 99+ style to do an HID retrofit. I did an HID retrofit on mine and love the functionality and looks, but I get it's more work than some people want to do. FYI, I used DEPO housings for mine and thought the quality was great.

 

[texadelphia]

I bought a pair of 99-02 TYCs from Rock Auto earlier this year, running them for the time being while redoing my HID projector retrofitted pair.

The beam pattern is actually pretty decent, but horizontal alignment is terrible on the driver side so there's a lack of illumination to the left. I already maxed out the adjuster so I ended up adding some washers between the mount where the adjuster rod pops into and the headlight housing itself. It did help a little, but cosmetics wise the headlight definitely doesn't sit as flush with the grill and hood compared to when I had OEM headlights. In fog I can actually see how the driver headlight's beam has a definite inward "tilt" to it

That's disappointing to hear. I wonder how much variance there is between batches. I have one of my current original headlights maxed out on the l/r adjustment similarly. So I wonder if there's just some variability to how it was assembled. I guess I'll get these mounted and see if they're off and if so return them and get the OEM ones.

 

[texadelphia]

Err... wouldn't you use the OEM housings you're going to replace right now? No heartburn at all to use something that you otherwise have no use for (and has zero resale value). Or did I miss something?

And I've been stuck with this too. I don't mind doing the HID work, but they look atrocious to my eye, I just don't think I could drive the truck knowing those were visible... shallow? You betcha! But we all have personal taste preferences. I've most everything I need to build a relay harness, just haven't don it yet (building one for a '66 Beetle too, which has better lighting than the 4-runner even on stock sealed-beam bulbs).

The lens on the 97s is textured so I don't think HIDs would work very well with that set up compared to the "clear" lens of the 99+.

 

[pluton]

I looked at the structure of my ≈1 year old 96-98 OEM headlight assemblies and found that, from what I could see, there is a metal screw attaching the reflector/lens to the bracket that is threaded into plastic. I've already had this screw fail on one of the original OEM headlight assemblies that came in my 97 SR5. I'm not willing to tamper with this weak design point in order to transplant a 99-02 reflector/lens onto the 96-98 brackets.
However, today I found that Amayama still sells (from the UAE) the OEM 99-02 complete headlight assembly, and, feeling stupid and richer than I really am, I ordered one each, left and right.
I'll report back here when they come.

 

[Twan]

Retrofits are super easy on these, especially since you just remove the little bulb shroud, stick the projector through, and use a tabbed locating washer. I just used a set of TYCs and swapped them out with the stockers after I spent a couple hours building them.

 

[texadelphia]

I looked at the structure of my ≈1 year old 96-98 OEM headlight assemblies and found that, from what I could see, there is a metal screw attaching the reflector/lens to the bracket that is threaded into plastic. I've already had this screw fail on one of the original OEM headlight assemblies that came in my 97 SR5. I'm not willing to tamper with this weak design point in order to transplant a 99-02 reflector/lens onto the 96-98 brackets.
However, today I found that Amayama still sells (from the UAE) the OEM 99-02 complete headlight assembly, and, feeling stupid and richer than I really am, I ordered one each, left and right.
I'll report back here when they come.

Looks like it, I looked up the rear housing p/ns '97 vs. '00 and they are the same. (p/n 81105-35231 and 81106-35211) and they appear available too. ($23 each) So even though the complete headlight assys are not available, each individual component seems to be. I could take a couple of photos, I've got a loose pair of headlights if you want.

Not sure if you saw this but you can still buy the rear bracket separately. Just buy a new lens/reflector and a new bracket and assemble.

 

[texadelphia]

Retrofits are super easy on these, especially since you just remove the little bulb shroud, stick the projector through, and use a tabbed locating washer. I just used a set of TYCs and swapped them out with the stockers after I spent a couple hours building them.

But you still have to take the lens off the reflector housing correct?

 

[pluton]

Not sure if you saw this but you can still buy the rear bracket separately. Just buy a new lens/reflector and a new bracket and assemble.

That might solve the problem of the metal screw into plastic....doing it once, like the factory did when they assembled the headlight. I wish I had scoped out this possibility when I had the old headlights out and before I threw them away!

 

[Rallysport]

Weird, I think retros look great...

 

[Twan]

But you still have to take the lens off the reflector housing correct?

Yeah, but even that is easy. Just need to strip down the housing, pop it in a 200 degree oven for 15 minutes, then gently pry the lens off and make sure you don't get sealant on the reflector.

 

[alia176]

I read the entire thread and saw that TYCs being mentioned frequently but DEPOs were mentioned only once. Are the DEPO lights not the shiznnit any longer like they used to be?

 

[19963.4lsr5]

Toyota headlights in this generation of 4Runner, the FZJ-80, and most of the other vehicles I've driven and worked on are utter shiite. You'd be better off driving with a decent LED flashlight hanging out the window.

The root of the problem is the wiring. In order to get full power out of even the stock bulbs, you need heavier gauge wire and a direct connection to the power source. Stock runs through the switch in the dash, and the power drop is atrocious.

Slee sells a harness kit that will be a drop-in replacement for the FZJ-80. Did that in mine, and it solved the problem, along with using the HIR bulbs. For the 4Runner, I did something similar and wound up commissioning a custom harness from Susquehanna Motorsports that would replicate the setup I have on the FZJ-80. That setup gives me a relay-switched direct connection to my battery/charging system and allows fully power to the bulbs. The other thing I did was add a set of Hella driving lights, also from Susquehanna. Between those and the now fully-powered stock headlights, I've got an easy half-mile visibility at night in the mountains around here. Also, the driving lights turn off with the dimmer switch, so I don't blind oncoming traffic with them. The power switch for those pops right into one of the standard dash locations, and looks like it's stock. I think the switch is even original Toyota...

Fix the wiring, and solve your headlight issues legally. I don't think there's a single HID retrofit kit that's truly DOT-legal, and the downside to a lot of them is the issue I had with the ones that the previous owner put in--The damn projectors kept falling apart inside the headlight, and would not tolerate any kind of vibration at all, like off-road driving.

Does your high beam indicator work with that wire harness from Susquehanna motorsports?


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[Ed_C]

That's disappointing to hear. I wonder how much variance there is between batches. I have one of my current original headlights maxed out on the l/r adjustment similarly. So I wonder if there's just some variability to how it was assembled. I guess I'll get these mounted and see if they're off and if so return them and get the OEM ones.

I believe I found the issue. The glare cap inside the driver headlight is crooked, as in it probably shifted when the light was being assembled. It's pointed down and inwards (towards the grill), I removed the headlight and stuck the handle end of a large screwdriver through the bulb hole until it looked like the cap on the passenger headlight. Will post an update later when it gets dark.

 

[texadelphia]

I believe I found the issue. The glare cap inside the driver headlight is crooked, as in it probably shifted when the light was being assembled. It's pointed down and inwards (towards the grill), I removed the headlight and stuck the handle end of a large screwdriver through the bulb hole until it looked like the cap on the passenger headlight. Will post an update later when it gets dark.

This seems to be a common complaint with these according to Amazon reviews. People believe that TYC is using the passenger side glare caps in the driver side assembly. Did it seem like the glare cap will stay where you moved it to? Is it just held in place by friction?

 

[Ed_C]

This seems to be a common complaint with these according to Amazon reviews. People believe that TYC is using the passenger side glare caps in the driver side assembly. Did it seem like the glare cap will stay where you moved it to? Is it just held in place by friction?

The caps shouldn't move, they're screwed onto the headlight housing with two screws like OEM.

 

[texadelphia]

The caps shouldn't move, they're screwed onto the headlight housing with two screws like OEM.

So how did you adjust it exactly? Did you bend the arms by using the screwdriver handle inside the cap?

After reading some more reviews and hearing your experience I have a feeling I'm going to be returning these and buying the OEM housings. Haha.

 

[Ed_C]

So how did you adjust it exactly? Did you bend the arms by using the screwdriver handle inside the cap?

After reading some more reviews and hearing your experience I have a feeling I'm going to be returning these and buying the OEM housings. Haha.

Stuck the screwdriver handle through the bulb opening until it contacted the inside of the cap then wiggled it around until it looked like the passenger side headlight's cap, won't be sure how identical I have it until tonight...hope it's close enough LOL

 

[raKnizek]

I respectfully disagree. My headlights are amazing and I have halogens at a fraction of the price of retrofits (I'm guessing the OP needs to save his money for some repairs right now).

I've tried a few different combinations and this is what's worked out the best:

New TYC headlights - $80 on Rockauto.com. The old headlights, especially 96-98, lose their ability to reflect light on the road over time. New housings is literally like night and day. Just be sure to adjust the beams after you put them in.

Upgraded wiring harness & 100/80W bulbs - $30. Yes, 100/80W. If you change the wiring setup by adding a pre-made relay harness, it's no longer running the power wire from the headlight stalk in the interior all the way into the engine bay and to both headlights. That wire just become the power wire for the relay with then draws power straight from the battery. No more voltage drop. The harness allows you to safely run 100/80W Hella bulbs. Let's just say I can see everything now with 100W high beams.

Amazon.com: H4 LED Headlight Wiring Harness [Negative Switched Conversion] [Fused] H4 Head Light Relay Harness Kit for 9003 H6054 H5054 H6054LL 6014 6052 6053 Subaru Toyota Head Lights: Automotive

Amazon.com: HELLA (H4 100/80W) 12V Bulb: Automotive

So for $110, you can have fantastic headlights that work better than when the 4Runner was brand new.

How is the quality on that harness in your opinion? I found a way pricier version so I am just curious how its held up for you.

H-4 Headlight Relay Conversion Harness | Painless Performance

 

[T.A.Kirk]

Does your high beam indicator work with that wire harness from Susquehanna motorsports?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Perfectly.

The only issue I have with the setup I have going, which is on a '99 limited, is that there is a behavioral glitch in the foglight circuit that allows the driving lights to stay on if I leave that switch on and stop the truck. I think it's because that relay gets powered up, and stays on. If the switch is off, and the fogs are off, no issues.

The way I had Susquehanna set it up was with a relay-driven circuit for the headlights, low and high beam, a relay-driven circuit for the stock fog lights, and a separate relay-driven circuit for the driving lights that are set up to go "off" when the low beams are on, which allows me to leave the driving lights set "on" and have them supplement the high beams. Everything plugs into the stock connectors for control, and the only thing I had to fuss with was the wiring for the fog lights (I wanted 12ga wire all the way around). Everything else was pretty much plug-and-play.

If you've got zero electrical and mechanical skills, this might not be a good path for you. If you're reasonably 'ept with tools, it's a piece of cake.