Hey ya'll, weird question and am look for advice. I have a 2006 with the newer style headlight assembly. My runner has been an outside beast it's whole life so the headlights are considerably faded. I found someone local getting rid of a basically brand new replacement set after he bought them but ended up finding a deal a month later on a blacked out set so he went with those. I went to pick them up and found out they are the older 03-05 style assembly unit. I also have HIDs. I've read on a few of the different forums on here the HIDs can melt the lower quality assemblies which I assume these are because they didn't cost me an arm and a leg. From what I've read everything else with them matches up correctly it just has a different look. If I like the newer style and would like to stay with it what do you guys recommend? Could it be as simple as heating them up and swapping just the front half of the assemblies, the clear plastic part? As you'll see in the pictures the new ones are considerably more clear than the ones I currently am using.
Headlight questions. 03-05 assembly and 06+ assembly
- Thread starter rpete
- Start date
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hetzler_l33
New member
They won’t fit
The newer ones are better anyway
The newer ones are better anyway
Thanks! And I agree with y’all I like the new ones way better. They are just hazed so bad I was hoping this option would work. I’ve tried a handful of different wax and polish kind of kits and they never seem to last. Any one in particular you guys would recommend?
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Az4runnin
Senior Member
Use a quality kit to make them look new again then use this
Optimum Opti-Lens Permanent Headlight Coating, headlight coatings protectants
Optimum Opti-Lens Permanent Headlight Coating, headlight coatings protectants
On all my cars with plastic lenses I started just sanding them up to 600+ grit or however high you want to go to remove the oxidization. Then I spray with a UV resistant clear coat. You can easily find all this stuff at your local auto parts or hardware store. Makes a good Saturday project and takes 1 to 2 hours tops, especially if lenses are easily removed unlike my 05 Acura RL. I find this method gets me 2 to 3 years before I see the clear coat start to flake and I repeat the process.
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Edit: forgot to say this is also an inexpensive method. You should be able to do this for less than 20 bucks. I imagine removing the assembly on the 4runner is simple. If it isn't just mask around the lens to keep overspray at bay.
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Edit: forgot to say this is also an inexpensive method. You should be able to do this for less than 20 bucks. I imagine removing the assembly on the 4runner is simple. If it isn't just mask around the lens to keep overspray at bay.
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keep the insides of the OEM headlights. Buy a cheap set of headlights for your model year 4R. Take the lenses off by baking them in the oven. Swap out the lenses. I have done this with my OEM reflector headlights in case I ever need them. I currently have HID retrofit with morimotos on my 2005 4R.
