How about Pre-Punched out ?
The point is , FORD does not just drill and touch up paint it.
How ever you do it , It will never be a like the factory job.
Like I pointed out above , I am sure there will be no problems, but let's be honest.

If 2 truck's were sitting on the lot would you chose the factory cab light model or the Dealer drilled model ? .

 

If they were ford factor lights, would you know? I dont think there is a place on the sticker that says dealer installed. It would just say clearance lights, right?

 

if the hole is drilled in the same spot and the same diameter and the same lights and the same wiring with the same connector, then whats the difference??? do you have 1 single mod on anything you own? if yes, thats the same thing. thats like if you install a new radio, that you would be afraid to buy that vehicle because the factory wiring was altered and there might be a chance that it will catch on fire. or if you replace the front hubs with manual hubs that the wheels might fall off.

point is, if the job is done with quality factory parts, by a quality installer, whats the difference?

i dont mean to start a war or a pi$$in contest but........and sorry if i seem like i want to start smething..its not meant to be like that.

 

That's kind of a stupid question but : YES I would know right away.

Factory lights and dealer installed are not the same period !

FORD Will Not honor the Rust-thru warranty If you or Dealer drill those holes , call and ask.

You have a lot more faith in dealer's and service than I do , Anything they touch you can be pretty sure they took some shortcut to save time. Take a walk thru the Bone yards in the rust belt. It will take you 1 minute to spot a cab that had aftermarket cab lights installed
Half the roof is gone.

So in summary: you buy the drilled with whatever ,maybe a little cockeyed, Maybe touched up ,maybe Not ? version ,and I will buy the factory version and we are both happy.

 

As long as you put primer/paint on the bare metal of the drilled thru holes...Its not going to rust. At that point your doing the same thing the factory did...Covering the bare steel. Aftermarket lights are not the same as going the OE route. Aftermarket lights do not always fit the way they should, use cheap screws, and well for the 20 bucks most sets cost...are flat cheap , hands down.

If somebody is so **** to believe that even after drilling, priming, painting, and installing the lights you can always Silicone the hole, and around the edges to keep out water.. Heck Ive got most rust starting on the Ext Cab Doors because ford DIDNT seam seal the skin to the frame...

 

I installed a set on my SD. bought them on ebay from a Ford dealer (Heller Ford) for $80. included the wiring harness. Took just over 2 hours to do and that included time for a cold beer. Did a search on here and found good instructions and photos too. I primed each hole and used the Ford touch up paint too. Have had some terrible rain storms since and no leaks.

 

did mine myself and its every bit as good as factory. We are not talking rocket science here, we are talking about drilling 15 holes in a pickup truck!!! A trained monkey could do it. Just do it early on a saturday morning, before you mix any drinks and you will be fine.

 

Here is some info that I used.

Motoman's Madness

shadowgray's photos and albums on webshots

Bought them from Ford Parts and Ford Diesel Parts at Powerstroke Shop
60 bucks shipped

 

I know its been a long time Since I started this thread, but Im finally getting around to picking up the stuff to add cab lights... You know how it goes, life gets in the way of our plans sometimes (between starting a new business and a weak economy).

I decided to order all my OE parts thru Ed (www.partsguyed.com) and I've gotta say..I'm super impressed! I wish my local dealer had that kind of service.
Since, everybody had added five lights, and since I'm also a trucker (at heart and professionally) Ive seen alot of customized rigs. Some choose to remove the cab lights, some add more, I think they look nekkid without the lights, so I'm going to add Seven instead of the standard five.

I did a quick and crude photoshop job on the lights just to see how it'd look, I think it looks great! I borrowed the photo off FTE I Think, chose it cause it was a good front on shot, that was focused.

 

I've seen a pickup running around here with 7...or 9 I couldn't count them all in time.

Don't forget they are Clearance/ID lights. The outer two are the "clearance" part, and the middle three identify a wider vehicle (required on dualies for this reason).

Just don't want you to mod yourself out of an inspection.

 

We dont have inspections here in the bluegrass! But thats a good piece of advice about keeping your states laws in mind when you do mods

 

who's your daddy?






thank you for the kind words!

 

hey...you forgot to photoshop the two new reflections

 

oh, and to run 7 instead of 5, you will have to create your own wiring harness.

The factory harness comes with 5 connections that are nicely spaced for the 5 lights as they are factory spaced. you might also have an issue with the fuse being too small...

7 Lights will draw 40% more current than 5 lights.

 

Jeez Seriously?

I have already spoken with Ed about adding the plugs to the harness (wanna see the emails?) its not that Friggin hard to modify a factory harness...
Two bulbs = 40%? Uh, No. But to save the argument... LED bulbs will be installed. I have had great luck with them in the past, and am switching them out when a Reg. Bulb blows.