i've been searching but cant find anything on tail light removal for my 89'. is it difficult? are there any special "tricks" i should know before starting the task?
thanks in advance.
thanks in advance.
Tail Light Removal
- Thread starter edi
- Start date
take off the rear interior panals and there should be bolts to take the lights off. I think 6 per light and about 6 for the center. oh and there are some on the molding on the center light also.
Removing tail lights is an easy job. Deep socket 10mm and a strong back (to bend over for a while) and wah-lah. 
As for new seals, Some RTV Silicone does the job.
Got desperate after I installed my 89+ tails at a buddies house, started raining, needed something to seal it, and it still seals good as of today!
As for new seals, Some RTV Silicone does the job.
Got desperate after I installed my 89+ tails at a buddies house, started raining, needed something to seal it, and it still seals good as of today!
I almost mentioned that option...but even at that, I'd thing it would be a little uncomfortable with the chassis brace behind the seats and all the mis-shaped interior.
Then again...All my interior is completely gutted so I'm not used to carpet/seats in the back.
Then again...All my interior is completely gutted so I'm not used to carpet/seats in the back.
Even the high density adhesive backed foam strip you can get at Home Depot works great as a replacement seal. I myself would stay away from using RTV there though... If you do too good a job cleaning up the area you apply it to getting the lights back out (if you ever need to) is going to SUCK.
Yeah not quite as comfy as mine... and I wouldn't say it was comfy. My back was much happier though!
Boost Lee said:All my interior is completely gutted so I'm not used to carpet/seats in the back.
Yeah not quite as comfy as mine... and I wouldn't say it was comfy. My back was much happier though!
I don't have any plans to remove them. If so, assuming I've got all day to do it, I'd go ahead and replace them with new seals...but I wouldn't hesitate to do what I did last time. As I'm a strong go'er on this, I HATE hearsay...so don't disapprove of something unless you've tried it...and failed miserably.
bad advice runs rampant these days huh?
sometimes you can reuse a seal with some rtv and everything goes well. ive done it, most people have.
but there is a chance if it not working. many people on here might not have enough experience to decide if they should reuse a gasket or a seal.
why give advice that is not 100percent?
new tail light seals are cheap and easy to get. every toyota dealer can get it for you next day if they dont have a set in stock already.
of course its easier to whip out the rtv or what have you and cross your fingers and hope it wont leak.
but is giving advice like that the goal of this forum? not in the slightest.
to anyone out there removing their tail lights, do your self a favor and just get new seals. it shouldnt even be an issue.
sometimes you can reuse a seal with some rtv and everything goes well. ive done it, most people have.
but there is a chance if it not working. many people on here might not have enough experience to decide if they should reuse a gasket or a seal.
why give advice that is not 100percent?
new tail light seals are cheap and easy to get. every toyota dealer can get it for you next day if they dont have a set in stock already.
of course its easier to whip out the rtv or what have you and cross your fingers and hope it wont leak.
but is giving advice like that the goal of this forum? not in the slightest.
to anyone out there removing their tail lights, do your self a favor and just get new seals. it shouldnt even be an issue.
I'm with Lagged and everyone else in favor of just getting stock seals.
Boost Lee, my post wasn't intended in anyway as an attack... just a word of caution for edi. You may not be planning on taking out your tals again any time soon but he *might* be planning on swapping out for some JDMs in a few months... you don't know and neither to I. I have used RTV for similar applications and as long as the bead is thick enough to ensure there are no breaks it DOES work wonderfully.... I've also had to remove some of those parts later though and it was a massive bitch with half of them. So chill, I'm just trying to make sure edi's got all the facts he needs before he does something he might not intend to. But YES, RTV works, so does foam tape.
Boost Lee, my post wasn't intended in anyway as an attack... just a word of caution for edi. You may not be planning on taking out your tals again any time soon but he *might* be planning on swapping out for some JDMs in a few months... you don't know and neither to I. I have used RTV for similar applications and as long as the bead is thick enough to ensure there are no breaks it DOES work wonderfully.... I've also had to remove some of those parts later though and it was a massive bitch with half of them. So chill, I'm just trying to make sure edi's got all the facts he needs before he does something he might not intend to. But YES, RTV works, so does foam tape.
Boost Lee said:
As I said, lagged. Will using RTV sealer work 100% of the time? Probably not. But if you do it right, chances are, it WILL do the job.
As for "the goal of the forum", this is not a political board with debating teams and trying to decide what is better or what works better. I was simply stating what I did, how it turned out, and as long as it's done correctly, given he is no where near a Toyota Dealership or doesn't have time, he can do this. I'm not going to sit here and argue with you, lagged.
CRE - I, in no way took it as a personal attack! Sorry for the bad vibe. I just get very frusterated sometimes, and as goes with last night, I was looking for a reason to be in a bad mood (rough day). Apologies.
To sum it up? Of course, using the factory tail-light seals are going to be your best way to go, but don't hate on some home-made sealer.:icon_bigg