Si Speed
04-15-2007, 05:02 PM
This shouldn't be a long process but if this is your first time, or if you have short attention span like me, plan at least half a day to do this. If you can stick with it or have done similar work, it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. Let's begin.
1. Start by removing the tail lights from the car. there are four nuts holding it in place. You can pinpoint them on the red circles in the picture below.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00006.jpg
2. Use a phillips head screw driver to remove the 2 screws in the yellow circles. Then simple pull the wiring loose in the big yellow circle in the picture above.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00007.jpg
3. Next, preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Grab yourself a cookie sheet as well. (Tip: If you have some Mechanix Wear gloves, use them so that you don't have to keep taking the oven mitts on and off.) Place the tail light on the cookie sheet and put it in the oven. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes to melt the factory glue. (Hint: Do NOT let it sit longer or damage may be done to the tail light itself!)
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00009.jpg
4. Remove the tail light from the oven. You will see 3 clips at the bottom of the light, go ahead and pry those away from the black plastic. Then start at the corner (You're still on the bottom of the tail light) with a thin flathead screwdriver or chizzle and SLOWLY begin to pry the cover from the plastic. After about a minute or 2 of this, place the light back in the oven for about 1-2 minutes. Reason for this is to keep the glue hot. Once the glue cools, you WILL break the light trying to get it apart. You will probably need to do this process several times. Every inch or so of prying, place a penny in the slot to keep it apart so it doesn't glue itself back together when it's in the oven.
5. Move on to the inner trunk side of the tail light and pry it apart. Step 4 also applies here. Don't get in a hurry. When you're done with this, go to the curved side.
6. When all the glue is loose, just slowly wiggle in all places and cut the clue when it stretches until it comes apart.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00010.jpg
7. Now, just use your finger or a blunt object to poke the amber lense out. I used the bottom of a paintbrush. Don't throw this piece away, you'll need it in the next step.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00011.jpg
8. Now, grab your sheet of fluorescent plastic and place it on a level surface. Place the amber piece on the bottom of the sheet. Take a permanent marker and make a mark above it. Slide the piece over, make another mark and over again until you get to the end.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00012.jpg
9. Get a straight edge such as a yardstick and a box cutter. (Be careful in this next step. The plastic is very fragile.) Place the edge of the yard stick on the very top of the marks you make so you have a straight line. Take the box cutter and go down the edge 4-6 times. Then put then peice on another edge like a table and break the piece off. (Tip: I recommend doing this on the flat side rather than the diamond side)
Optional Step: You can probably use a Dremel tool to do all the cutting but since I don't have the right tip for mine, I had to do it this way.
10. Next, flip the cover back over to the diamond side and put the amber peice on it, preferably somewhere near the corner. Use a Sharpie to trace the corners.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00014.jpg
11. Get a sander and sand down the new clear piece until you get to the marks then gradually sand down little by little, checking every so often to see if it will fit. You want it to have a snug fit when you put it in the tail light. It should look something like this:
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00015.jpg
12. Put the cover back in the over for about 2 minutes to heat the glue back up then scrape off what you can. Do the same thing with the housing.
Optional Step: If you want to customize the tail lights a little more, get some black spray paint. Tape off the top of the housing and paint the blinker/reverse housing black to give it a shaded look that is much easier to do than Nightshading the outside.
13. Get some Butyl (Nissan sells it) and re-glue the lights back together. If you can't get any, go to the hardware store and get some Silicon Window & Door adhesive. Put a line around the edge of the blinker/reverse housing and put your new clear piece in.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00017.jpg
14. Now put some butyl/adhesive around the outside housing. Put it in the over for about a minute and a half. Take it out of the oven and put the red cover back on. It may not fit perfect but just work with it. You may need to put it in the oven a little longer.
Optional Step: You may want to put some extra butyl/adhesive around the inner edges just for a precaution to keep moisture out but if you did a good job to begin with, this isn't very necessary. Just don't put it on curved part since it's exposed when the trunk is shut. Also, you may also want to get any excess adhesive off the edge before it drys because it could still be exposed some even with the trunk shut. I happened to have some touch up paint so I went over it with that as well.
15. Enjoy a new set up tail lights for under $10!
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00019-1.jpg
As you can see, I got ahead of myself while putting it back together and cracked the bottom a little. :redface:
DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any damage done to your tail lights during this process. Do this modification at your own risk!
Note: If you have any altezzas laying around, I recommend cracking them open and getting the lense out of it instead of the fluorescent cover and using that. if you want to be cheap, don't put anything in and just put the cover back on but I don't recommend it.
1. Start by removing the tail lights from the car. there are four nuts holding it in place. You can pinpoint them on the red circles in the picture below.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00006.jpg
2. Use a phillips head screw driver to remove the 2 screws in the yellow circles. Then simple pull the wiring loose in the big yellow circle in the picture above.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00007.jpg
3. Next, preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Grab yourself a cookie sheet as well. (Tip: If you have some Mechanix Wear gloves, use them so that you don't have to keep taking the oven mitts on and off.) Place the tail light on the cookie sheet and put it in the oven. Let it sit for 2-3 minutes to melt the factory glue. (Hint: Do NOT let it sit longer or damage may be done to the tail light itself!)
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00009.jpg
4. Remove the tail light from the oven. You will see 3 clips at the bottom of the light, go ahead and pry those away from the black plastic. Then start at the corner (You're still on the bottom of the tail light) with a thin flathead screwdriver or chizzle and SLOWLY begin to pry the cover from the plastic. After about a minute or 2 of this, place the light back in the oven for about 1-2 minutes. Reason for this is to keep the glue hot. Once the glue cools, you WILL break the light trying to get it apart. You will probably need to do this process several times. Every inch or so of prying, place a penny in the slot to keep it apart so it doesn't glue itself back together when it's in the oven.
5. Move on to the inner trunk side of the tail light and pry it apart. Step 4 also applies here. Don't get in a hurry. When you're done with this, go to the curved side.
6. When all the glue is loose, just slowly wiggle in all places and cut the clue when it stretches until it comes apart.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00010.jpg
7. Now, just use your finger or a blunt object to poke the amber lense out. I used the bottom of a paintbrush. Don't throw this piece away, you'll need it in the next step.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00011.jpg
8. Now, grab your sheet of fluorescent plastic and place it on a level surface. Place the amber piece on the bottom of the sheet. Take a permanent marker and make a mark above it. Slide the piece over, make another mark and over again until you get to the end.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00012.jpg
9. Get a straight edge such as a yardstick and a box cutter. (Be careful in this next step. The plastic is very fragile.) Place the edge of the yard stick on the very top of the marks you make so you have a straight line. Take the box cutter and go down the edge 4-6 times. Then put then peice on another edge like a table and break the piece off. (Tip: I recommend doing this on the flat side rather than the diamond side)
Optional Step: You can probably use a Dremel tool to do all the cutting but since I don't have the right tip for mine, I had to do it this way.
10. Next, flip the cover back over to the diamond side and put the amber peice on it, preferably somewhere near the corner. Use a Sharpie to trace the corners.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00014.jpg
11. Get a sander and sand down the new clear piece until you get to the marks then gradually sand down little by little, checking every so often to see if it will fit. You want it to have a snug fit when you put it in the tail light. It should look something like this:
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00015.jpg
12. Put the cover back in the over for about 2 minutes to heat the glue back up then scrape off what you can. Do the same thing with the housing.
Optional Step: If you want to customize the tail lights a little more, get some black spray paint. Tape off the top of the housing and paint the blinker/reverse housing black to give it a shaded look that is much easier to do than Nightshading the outside.
13. Get some Butyl (Nissan sells it) and re-glue the lights back together. If you can't get any, go to the hardware store and get some Silicon Window & Door adhesive. Put a line around the edge of the blinker/reverse housing and put your new clear piece in.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00017.jpg
14. Now put some butyl/adhesive around the outside housing. Put it in the over for about a minute and a half. Take it out of the oven and put the red cover back on. It may not fit perfect but just work with it. You may need to put it in the oven a little longer.
Optional Step: You may want to put some extra butyl/adhesive around the inner edges just for a precaution to keep moisture out but if you did a good job to begin with, this isn't very necessary. Just don't put it on curved part since it's exposed when the trunk is shut. Also, you may also want to get any excess adhesive off the edge before it drys because it could still be exposed some even with the trunk shut. I happened to have some touch up paint so I went over it with that as well.
15. Enjoy a new set up tail lights for under $10!
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d53/si_lude/Tail%20light%20mod/DSC00019-1.jpg
As you can see, I got ahead of myself while putting it back together and cracked the bottom a little. :redface:
DISCLAIMER: I am not responsible for any damage done to your tail lights during this process. Do this modification at your own risk!
Note: If you have any altezzas laying around, I recommend cracking them open and getting the lense out of it instead of the fluorescent cover and using that. if you want to be cheap, don't put anything in and just put the cover back on but I don't recommend it.