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bump this back up im looking for clear hedalights and marker/signal lights gonna run stock style bulbs just like the clear look any opinions on what is good junk etc ?
Sorry Brad... I didn't mean aftermarket clear headlights, I meant the factory marker light lenses on the outboard side of each headlight. Those are clear, but contain an amber bulb.
My 96 is around 16 years old now, and those marker lenses are still clear. Unless the PO replaced them sometime earlier. I doubt it cause my headlights themselves are starting to become noticeable yellow. I'll be replacing them soon, for safety's sake as well as freshening the front end up.
my guess is it has to do with heat. a 9007 or 9004 puts off a lot more heat than say a 194 or 3157 bulb. I imagine it degrades the plastic more?
Guys, I ended up buying the Anzo 111247 FORD F-150/250/350 / BRONCO 92-96 CRYSTAL H.L CLEAR headlight assys. Haven't installed them yet,truck in shop. They are heavier than others I've seen. I had gotten the Depo brand and glue came apart in hot weather. It's best to put a bead of clear silicone around these new plastic headlights. The Anzo's are built very solid, even though made in Taiwan. They have metal clips on the side to hold lens and also have a silicon bead bead around the lens. The clips can be undone to get to the bulb. They also come with bulbs.These have gotten good reviews for having great light beam, whereas the Depo's I had really sucked, and I had paid around $60 3 years ago. I saw these on Ebay for $95, on Amazon for $121. OEM from Ford cost about the same. I want a clear lens. A few 4X4 shops carry these. BTW, these can be used to upgrade to HID's also. May do that later sometime. I also have the RJM headlight harness.
Guys, I ended up buying the Anzo 111247 FORD F-150/250/350 / BRONCO 92-96 CRYSTAL H.L CLEAR headlight assys.
Good, thanks for the recommendation! I like the aftermarket clear lenses too, instead of that diffused pattern the factory lenses have that makes the truck look like it has cataracts. Especially mine, they're turning yellow. Tried cleaning them when I bought the truck, which helped a LOT, but still not as bright as I'd like them to be.
The clear running lights (on the front ONLY, leaving the stock red tails in the back) look good too, but only if used with amber bulbs. I've seen some folks put BLUE bulbs in there... looks stupid if you ask me, not to mention it's just asking for the law to stop you.
I wouldn't use these housings for HID conversion though. Whenever I see a truck that's been converted to HID using the factory halogen lamp housings, it's blinding everybody else on the road due to the housing/reflector not being meant for HID lamps and the beam pattern they put out.
Good, thanks for the recommendation! I like the aftermarket clear lenses too, instead of that diffused pattern the factory lenses have that makes the truck look like it has cataracts. Especially mine, they're turning yellow. Tried cleaning them when I bought the truck, which helped a LOT, but still not as bright as I'd like them to be.
The clear running lights (on the front ONLY, leaving the stock red tails in the back) look good too, but only if used with amber bulbs. I've seen some folks put BLUE bulbs in there... looks stupid if you ask me, not to mention it's just asking for the law to stop you.
I wouldn't use these housings for HID conversion though. Whenever I see a truck that's been converted to HID using the factory halogen lamp housings, it's blinding everybody else on the road due to the housing/reflector not being meant for HID lamps and the beam pattern they put out.
That's roger on that! I really don't like them either. I got new amber lenses and new side marker assys too. Plastic just isn't as good IMHO.
For the price of one headlamp and one door from FORD you can get the whole front end aftermarket SHIPPED from Rockauto.
I work for the dealership and bought the doors, turn signals, park lamps, headlamps and a new grille from a business called SIMCO here in Houston for 120$ out the door. If you can find a local shop that sells this stuff you can get it even cheaper than rockauto. I'll have to swing outside later today to take a picture of how everything fits - I am quite pleased. My only complaint (and this is the same with all a/m lamps of this vintage!) is the adjuster will squeeze apart and wont work anymore. This can be fixed by vice gripping it together while adjusting when the headlamps door is OFF!
OBS means old body style (so I guess "OBS body style" must be "old body style body style"). It refers to the '92 - '96/7 trucks (also known as gen 9), and was intended to differentiate them from the new body style F-150 and F-250 introduced in '97 (especially important for those of us with '97 F-250HD which still has the old body style).
It's all part of the jargon we use here to try to make sure new people are confused The others (regarding truck generations) are bullnose ('80 - '86, aka gen 7) and bricknose ('87 - '91, aka gen 8). The way I remember which is which is that they're all wrong:
the '80 - '86 trucks have sharp, angular corners, like a brick, so that's the bullnose
the '87 - '91 trucks are still very blocky, but with rounded off corners, more like a bull, so that's the bricknose
and the '92 - '96/7 are the newest of the bunch, so that's the OBS (old body style)
For the price of one headlamp and one door from FORD you can get the whole front end aftermarket SHIPPED from Rockauto....
Are they as good though? I replaced my driver's side headlight assembly ('97 F-250HD) with one that I think I got from Jeff's Bronco Graveyard. It fit fine and looks great, but the yellowed 20 year old factory passenger side light throws a much more even pattern and does a better job of lighting up the road. I really wish I'd have found a factory light.
Are they as good though? I replaced my driver's side headlight assembly ('97 F-250HD) with one that I think I got from Jeff's Bronco Graveyard. It fit fine and looks great, but the yellowed 20 year old factory passenger side light throws a much more even pattern and does a better job of lighting up the road. I really wish I'd have found a factory light.
Cannot complain about the pattern. If you are stuck on OEM lamps, wet sand and buff your original lights.
Here are some photos of the 120$ on my '92.
Most people complain about the gap between the door and the front of the fender. Not a problem here.
Cannot complain about the pattern. If you are stuck on OEM lamps, wet sand and buff your original lights....
I'm OK with my yellowed OEM lamp. I want to replace the replacement lamp that has a huge bright spot on the road right in front of the truck, but doesn't put as much light up ahead where I need to see. (The original drivers side assembly was broken when I bought the truck.) But in all likelihood I'll just keep living with what I've got.
I wish all the aftermarket replacement or reproduction headlights for our trucks weren't junk. They best I have found is TYC. I have not found one better. OEM is discontinued. It really is a shame that someone reputable won't make a light assembly. I wonder if there is a setup from maybe an Australian or South American truck that allows the use of a sealed beam lamp for our trucks. If that were true, then you could use an H4 sealed beam conversion light from Hella or something similar. I wouldn't care if it looked a little funky, as long as it worked really well. Does someone make a bezel for this application? Also, I'm completely opposed to the illegal and blinding HID retrofit stuff.
11-09-2013, 08:42 PM
The others (regarding truck generations) are bullnose ('80 - '86, aka gen 7) and bricknose ('87 - '91, aka gen 8). The way I remember which is which is that they're all wrong:
