Anyone upgrade their headlights in the 2nd Gen trucks?

[Me78569]

haha 

 

if someone wants to donate a few hundred to my " write up and good headlight article for crummy 2nd gen trucks"  fund I will do one heck of a writeup for you guys, but since the truck isn't DD my car got the headlights first.   If you want to look over the writeup I did for my BMW 89 750il you can find that here.  It was more complex to do because the bmw has oem projectors with a bosch specific housing.

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?2141684-DIY-E32-Miromoto-Mini-H1-Bixenon-install-Squared-Motorwerks-adapter&highlight=morimoto

 

Keep in mind that when you see the before and after of the light output that the before lights were 4x better than the dodges.

 

I will answer a couple questions in regards to above though.

 

If you live in an area where offroad lights won't work IE: the city, then you will get to the point of thinking the retrofit isn't that much work, or that paying $500 for a set of premade housing with projectors are worth it.  

 

 

Now what bulb, projector, color, etc etc is up to you fully.   they have to match each other though, that is why I suggest Retrofit Source as they sell everything together.  I would suggest that you stay with 35W bulbs as the 55w put out a good bit of heat and they might melt the oem lens.

 

Projector I personally would go with the mini h1's as they are the cheapest, but yet provide great output.  The draw back is they have a "small" lens ,2.5", and reflector so your output isn't as good all around as say a larger 3" or 3.5" lens.  HOWEVER the output from the mini h1 will still be FAR beyond the oem.

 

Color I always suggest 4300k, because it is a whitest light IE: most output in terms of light.

 

Lumens IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND: lumens don't differ much between the bulbs ( within the same watt rating),  all mainstream HID bulbs have the same gas inside of  them (xenon) regardless of h1 vs ds2 etc etc.  The type of bulb is simply what they fit into.  

 

Now for taking about the housing.  This shouldn't be any anyone is afraid of.  it is VERY easy.  You can use a couple of methods,

 

1. (preferred) use a heatgun to warm up the outside lip of the lens causing the glue to soften and let go.  Gently use a flathead to slowly pry the lens away.  Don't use very much force, once the glue is to the right temp the lens should pull away pretty easy.  

 

2. turn your oven to warm or lowest setting and put your housing in there for 20 minutes checking to ensure it isn't too hot and melting the housing regularly.  Your oven shouldn't get hot enough on the lowest setting to do damage, but sometimes the thermometer in your oven is way off.  Once the housings are warm use a flat head to pry the lens off in the same manner.  be slow and gentle, it should come off easy.

 

Now for installing the projector into the housing once the lens is off.  This again is VERY easy, the morimoto projectors are made to fit inside the hole in the housing that holds the bulbs, once you use a dremel or similar to cut the bulb alignment tabs out of the housing.

 

in the end if you are handy with a wrench and know how to connect + to + and ground to ground you can install morimoto projectors into your truck. 

 

I know Mike has said that he doesn't like the morimoto setup because it requires a specific bulb etc, but I simiply have a spare set of bulbs on my shelf ($40) for the day when they burn out ( rated at 2000 hours)

[ronman]

Put it in the oven for 20 minutes at 250, then use a screwdriver to separate the clips and pull steadily apart, while wearing welding gloves.

[ronman]

So now that I just saw the last post...

I installed Morimoto Mini D2S in my truck with 35w 4300k bulbs. Not sure what "special bulbs" people think Morimoto uses, they're standard HID capsules, of which there are currently like 5 types.

Cheap ballasts like you find on eBay are absolutely terrible. Good Mori ballasts are just over $100 a pair, and are worth every cent.

I bought a set of cheap Taiwan replacements on eBay that were as close to stock-looking as possible while still having a clear lens (obviously very important!) for like $60. They're already a year old and aren't fogging and haven't showed any signs of water intrusion. I probably went overboard on revealing them, though. The Retrofit Source (another recommendation for those guys, their service is second to none in the HID business) sells fairly inexpensive rolls of replacement butyl rubber sealant.

[rburks]

IS IT BETTER TO BUY ALL morimoto components or are there better manufactors for certain components,,, 

[rburks]

IVE got a buddy with a 98"2GEN and wants me to help him upgrade lights but wants HID's instead of sports, reason for all the questions

[Me78569]

for your first time just get a universal kit from Morimoto rather than trying to piece it together.  

 

They have quality stuff at The retrofit source.

 

 

Good practice for you as you will be placing an order shortly once you see how well they do.

[rburks]

for your first time just get a universal kit from Morimoto rather than trying to piece it together.  

 

They have quality stuff at The retrofit source.

 

 

Good practice for you as you will be placing an order shortly once you see how well they do.

 

I don't know about that.....im pretty satisfied with my setup,  can't see ripping something out thats working REALLY well.'IDK,  They have to be really good..maybe if i hadn't already dropped the coins for the mopar sports id be inclined to maybe try it. 

I'm sure they would be good after seeing the links you provided....I GUESS I've spent enough now on LIGHTS for my "Crummy 2nd GEN"

Edited July 15, 2015 by rburks

[Me78569]

"crummy 2nd gen" was more aimed to the lights in the truck hahaha.  

[rburks]

"crummy 2nd gen" was more aimed to the lights in the truck hahaha.  

 

I KNOW ,  JUST MESS'N WITH YOU..HAA.HA

[rburks]

I do appreciate the info you all posted, don't feel as ignorant about HID projectors now anyway.. and you got me wanting to go search the junkyards for a set OEM Housings to cut open ... I MEAN heat and pry open

Edited July 15, 2015 by rburks

[Me78569]

I want to do the same thing, problem is the junk yards want like $40 a light here,  it is nuts.  

[CSM]

Not the cheapest option, but here is a sport headlight install.  

 

http://articles.mopar1973man.com/2nd-generation-24v-dodge-cummins/31-exterior/489-csm?hitcount=0

[flagmanruss]

I'm actually quite happy with my OEM standard lights in my 01.5.  Now my truck is low mileage & limited sun exposure...  so my lenses are good.  My question is what, if any, differences between early & late issue?   If I did anything, I'd stay with Halogen but go to a relay for full voltage.