SkySki gave you the very best advice you're going to get concerning headlights...you can choose not to take it I guess.

It's really plug and play....don't get the upgrade bulbs, or the harness......or not.

 

I’m still getting stuff from Riffraff, fleabay and the jungle in 2-3 days and this is as ‘out in the sticks’ as you can get by most definitions. USPS and UPS are on time.

Not fedex though. They are a mess right now.

 

I’m not sure we are starting from the same point. My truck didn’t start with sealed units from Ford, those came along a touch later though both are explained in the owner’s manual, which omits any steps for changing this housing because you can just change the bulb itself. It does lay out removal drawings for the original sealed Ford units. This is what I meant by ‘old’ vs ‘new’ - perhaps the ‘old’ were only in there for half a model year or less.

The tops of the adjusters have torx heads; can be turned by those or 7mm nut.

On the top left is this recessed screw. My original 90 degree screwdriver had a bit too big for the screw but horizontal shaft very short. Bought one with a smaller bit but the horizontal portion behind it is too long to turn the screw as it then hits the housing.











The ‘clip’ has so far resisted letting go via trying to ease a flat head blade in behind it, or pushing on a tab with pliers (can’t get on to both sides of it), or any manuever short of breaking something. I would describe it more as a bracket than a clip.

The bottom left has a screw head accessible from the back. The top right looks to come out via walking the adjuster all the way out - maybe. It starts to bind a little near the end and want to stop turning as the left-right angle gets steep.

 

@dn29626 I too have some of the clear lens headlights that SSJ recommended. Also, I have the relay harness upgrade and Hella 80/100 bulbs and the light out put is good and they look good. For the turn signals, I went with chrome/amber bulbs which appear to be chrome/clear when off and when they blink on or are on as running lights, they look amber like OEM.

I bought some clear turn signal housings from 1A Auto, and like the way it turned out.

https://www.1aauto.com/products/i/1A...nfirmation+Old


Most of the other "clear" turn signal housings available have a bit of a contoured lens to them. These are clear and smooth throughout, just like the headlight housing. All that said, if I ever decide to upgrade my lights, I will go with a Morimoto HID retro kit because the light you get out of HID's is amazing as I have seen on some of my other vehicles. Although, there is a significant price increase involved with that.

Good luck with your choice sir.

 

The headlight assembly I have suggested is a direct replacement for what you have. I’d love to be able to articulate that better. Lemme see if I’ve got any crayons?

Needle nose 90* pliers help with those clips. No worries about destroying them, they are on the ‘help’ aisle at the autoparts stores.

No crayons.... When the ‘99 SuperDuty came out (this body style) it had either modular headlight assemblies like you have or 7” square sealed beam headlights for the XL (stripped down) trim package. In ‘02, the body style remained unchanged, but the truck was updated with ‘diamond’ headlights. All ‘99-04 headlights are interchangeable.

You can even ‘bolt on’ the ‘05-07 headlights with a little modification. I don’t recommend this because what I’ve suggested provides better light output.

 

That thing you’re messing with a right angle screwdriver or whatever is not necessary.

In my pics above, you’ll see 2 clips and one ‘screw’. Just turn that adjuster until it spits the lens out - after removing the clips.

This is like a horror movie when you’re yelling at the TV but the actors can’t hear you.

 

From post #2 above. You’ll notice the truck on the right had the lenses you have now. I changed them to the lenses in the other truck which also started life with the bathroom glass, foggy, dangerous when new and stupid when old headlight assemblies.

I have spent more time typing here than it takes to change these housings out.

Good luck. Feel free to ask questions. We are here to help.

 

I bought the Hella 100 Watt bulbs you recommended in another thread at the same time I got the headlights. Haven't got around to upgrading the wiring harness yet to handle the amperage for the higher wattage, so I'm still getting by with the bulbs that came with the headlights (I think they were the basic Sylvanias).

 

I found those clips to be a real pain to get off....by far the hardest part of the headlight change. As you are looking down at the top (flat) part of the clip there are two little tabs that stick into the slots on sides of the conical plastic piece. Ideally, you woud pry both of those tabs out and then pull or pry up on the flat part of the clip to get it off. However, I found I did not have enough hands to do that and could only get one tab out at a time. I ended up using a mini-pick/scraper type thing to get the tab out on one side and then lifted up or pried on the flat section of clip with way more force than you'd think should be necessary and then the clips eventually popped out.

Once you get the first one out, you'll see what you are up against and the others will probably be easier.

 

In between some rounds of rain and the rest of my list for today, I got the clips figured out. The top can be gripped with 90 degree needle nose and then pulled straight up.

For now though I just went with what the Zone could deliver right away. Still unclear if I will need a new locking ring with those but I expect so. I already bought bulbs, 4th most expensive of the 5 grades on the shelf, before I had seen all the damage from the shorting wires.

It appears the Eagle Eyes aren’t readily available on eBay or Amazon right now, at least this model. My guess is a new container of them may not have arrived cuz, 2020. All of the FLAPS had heard of the brand but none of them had access to them right now. Many other brands their databases can pull were 7-10 days out, ‘from factory’ only.

Reworking everything from a new harness to new housings and high end bulbs would be nice. But replacing both lenses plus good bulbs and simply cleaning up and re-shrink-wrapping 2 wires will get me on the road to some work that shuts down about 6 weeks from now. Winter is coming.

 

Shipping options include Friday for $25 for the links above.

New lenses will have new locking rings.

 

www.rallylights.com

This is the part number we use. Feel free to call them. They build these in house here in the USA with the best parts available. Better than OEM quality.

I realize this is more than what the OP wants, but those who are looking for MORE LIGHT but are considerate enough to not want to annoy other drivers - this is a solid investment.

The stock wiring for headlights is 14-16ga (skinny) wire that runs for miles between batterires, fuse box, steering column, etc and finally back to headlights. This has been measured as up to a 2v drop to the bulbs. Even with stock wattage bulbs, this will provide more light. But, with 10ga wire going from batteries to relays to headlights (using relay harness), you’ll see battery voltage at the bulbs. The larger gauge wire and ceramic pigtails on relay harness also allow us to run higher wattage bulbs (100/80watt vs 65/55watt). The HELLA bulbs I use can be purchased for under $3/bulb - but don’t let the low price fool you. These are among the highest quality bulbs you can buy and the difference in SAFETY with increased visibility for night driving is easily quantified. Since these bulbs maintain the factory cut-off lines like stock bulbs, they are not annoying to other drivers the way HID/LED drop in bulbs are.

Nobody who knows better would EVER put the ‘99-01 ‘bathroom glass’ style lenses back in their truck. The clear lens ‘02-04 style not only look so much better - they put more light further down the road.

They horse has been brought to the water........

 

Thanks for this thread! I've got my wiring harness and Hella bulbs ordered.

 

Ive never had a camera that could really quantify the difference this makes - but I have installed new headlight lenses, harness and high wattage bulbs on one side of truck and left the other side stock and foggy like the OP. Stand in front of each light and compare on a dark road. It’s ridiculous the difference it makes.

Since we we are talking about it, curious if @Sous noticed a difference with the HELLA bulbs? Not sure what bulbs you had before....

 

To be fair, I rarely drive my truck at night or in hours of low light. Once in a while I will have to, but it is like once a year. We use the truck to haul firewood locally and tow the 5th wheel cross country. We drive long distance, but plan accordingly to stop well before sunset, when we can.

Prior to installing the Hella bulbs, I had been running the clear lens housings and the relay harness for years. A couple of years ago I installed Phillips Xtreme-vision bulbs and they were great. Again, I rarely have the lights on, but tested them in darkness and set them up properly.

I installed the Hella bulbs and there is a noticeable difference, but I wouldn't say it is a WOW difference. The Phillips are more white and provide a good amount of light. But, at 55/65 they clearly will not be as bright as the 80/100 Hella bulbs.

Take into account the low price of the Hella bulbs and their brighter output, I can easily look past the more yellow color that I generally do not prefer. I keep the Phillips under the rear seat in a bin with tools and misc small parts that I travel with. The Hella may never burn out in my truck, but I like to be prepared when I can.

Bottom line is this, the Hella bulbs are cheap and put out more light thAn high quality Phillips bulbs, but I do prefer the whiter look of the Phillips. I am and will continue to run the Hella during those once a year events that the lights need to be on due to darkness.