10/16/03

This evening I installed clear corners on my 2002 Ranger XLT; since I haven't found here or elsewhere any documentation for the process, and since I struggled just a little with the first corner, I'll outline below the steps I took (for any who tackle this project in the future).

1) Remove the dust(?) covers above the headlight. Two hex-bolts.
2) The headlight is secured by two pull tabs holding three mounting points. Lifting the pull tabs will free the mounting points and the headlight can be removed--no bolt-turning required. Disconnect headlight wiring.
3) Remove the two hex-nuts securing the existing corner blinker.
4) GENTLY pull the corner towards the front of the the truck to free the mount from its fixed plastic jacket.
5) Remove the lamp holder assembly. Think child-proof medicine bottle--you'll need to push and twist the whole assembly counter-clockwise 1/8th of a turn to remove it.
6) Change out stock clear bulb with an amber bulb so as not to violate D.O.T. regulations!
7) Reverse steps for installing the new corner. Make sure you've got it aligned the way you want it before tightening the two corner hex-nuts.

The second one will go much more quickly once you've seen how everything fits together on the first. Some real **** types suggest painting a very thin coat of silver over the amber bulbs, which will disguise the color until they light up; they should still light up amber. I didn't try this (yet), so I can't comment on how well it works.

Anyway, the clears look great even with being able to see the unlit amber bulbs, and in my opinon are well worth the $40 or so you'll spend on 'em.

 

Just a follow-up note to the installation...

Having read a lot about moisture finding its way into aftermarket lenses, I decided to seal mine up with silicone. When I pulled them off, I also decided to try that painting the bulbs silver bit. It looked great for a day, then the corners turned faintly foggy. I thought I'd sealed up humidity, and finally tonight got around to trying to dry them out. The fogginess wouldn't go away no matter what I tried, so I finally boiled the lenses to pull them apart and find out just what the heck was going on.

Apparently the lamp heat caused the silver paint to fume, and the fumes affected the plastic lenses. Nothing will turn them completely clear again.

D'oh!

Moral of the story: don't paint your bulbs silver.

The real kicker is that it turns out clear bulbs are legal in corner lights (and turn signals) in CA. I could've just used the original bulbs and never had a problem. Live & learn.