Headlight replacements - from ebay

Has anybody replaced their headlights buy purchasing them through ebay and if so, can anyone recommend a brand. The oem headlights on my tacoma are yellow. When my dad owned the truck he used the restore kits 2 times, but they ended up yellow within a few weeks. Also, has anyone upgraded to led headlights and if so, are you satisfied? Its getting hard to see at night and some cars passing me the opposite way are flashing their high beams to turn on my lights, but they are on and the bulbs aren't out, its just that the lens is really yellow and cloudy. Time to replace/upgrade. Thanks.

 

Caveat Emptor on ebay stuff. I buy a BUNCH of stuff on Ebay, a lot of what's out there now is basically identical items with different names. Headlights can be found really cheap, but IME the output or aiming is pretty poor. The tend to look nice though. The entire company (back in the day) were people selling their used stuff, the whole 'worldwide garage sale' was their thing. Now it's primarily 10 million identical items with 10,000 names that rolls off the same line in china. Best bet to go that route is find a brand you like and then see if you can find the identical ones on, not looking their and hoping to find a good set.

 

likely left parked outdoors, allowing the sun to roast off the morning's dew or sprinkler chit...
and probably never never once treated the lenses, with a UV protectant, after cleaning them.

yeah that'll see the yellow returning promptly.

I restored my original headlamps and stowed them away
because the factory originals are of better quality, then most aft. mrkt. headlamps.
And for that reason alone are worth hanging onto... for future use.

I purchased a pair of lowbuck ebay headlamps for daily use instead.
But they really were crap quality IMO.

But their quality can vary primarily on the chinese quality controls/production runs.
Of which there really isn't much quality control in that land.
And so the distributors on ebay sell/offer what they get.

So basically it's like any other chinese mfgr'd chit...
and can be a hit or miss deal when they do arrive.

Most important thing...
is that the ebay vendor backs up what they sell
and offers a customer satisfaction. (returns or refunds)

ebay, PayPal and a credit card purchase offers the consumer
3 times their purchase protection if the item needs be returned
and the vendor doesn't follow thru or respond.

So select an ebay vendor with high sales rankings
and with the least amount of customer complaints.
But keep in mind...
High volume sales will always find some
dissatisfied customers whining regardless.


good luck with your selection.

Pics of mine can be seen in my links below.

 

I just pick up 2 headlights from rockauto.com
I paid $53.00 deliver.
They worked great, I can see at night now.

 

Do not go that route unless you replace the "reflector" based headlights with "projector" type retrofit. Despite all marketing BS there is no direct LED replacement of halogen bulbs. Unfortunately I see a lot "uneducated" drivers who put LED bulbs ("they are so cool and so white") into old reflector housing and then drive blinding everybody ("how can it be - it's low beam?". In simple terms LED bulb geometry is is different from halogen bulbs and that throws away the cut off designed for lo-beam. LED bulb in reflector housing can be used in hi-beams but only if it is in separate housing from low beam (and quite often the result is still worse than halogen bulb as the LED light is reflected into different directions than intended).

It is a shame that so little truthful information is published about LED retrofit, most information on the Internet is incorrect marketing BS published by "offspring of China manufactures".

 

Thanks for the replies. I will try to use a lens cleaner this weekend and then use a UV protectant. The car was left outside for years. Dad lives in NYC and only has a driveway. I have a garage, but it only fits 1 car and that's not the one that goes in there. I will also see if I can upgrade the current bulbs in there to something brighter. I discussed the issue with my mechanic and he stated he could restore them using a wet sand method and it would be around $100, give or take a few dollars, which he recommended since they are not leaking and have no condensation. Mechanic stated he would need 2 days to do it since he removes the headlights and checks for leaks prior to doing the work and once he does it he lets it dry overnight. I'm not going the LED route right now, there are other pressing concerns such as rust around the windshield and frame rust inhibitor that need done and are more pressing issues with winter around the corner.

 

Got my headlights and blinkers on ebay and so far so good! Had them about a year

 

Refinishing the headlights is easy enough to do. The issue is when you sand the lens you remove the UV stabilizer coating off the surface of the plastic. Meaning the plastic will yellow/haze at a new unprecedented hyper-accelerated rate. In order to prevent this, you need to reapply a UV stabilizer to replace the one you removed, such as meguiar's headlight protectant. This is not a one-and-done finish. This is now a maintenance item and I would suggest reapplying with a bi-annual waxing schedule.

If you do decide to replace and are looking at aftermarket instead of OEM, look for the CAPA certification. Many aftermarket headlights are actually downgrades in terms of quality and optics than stock. CAPA is independently certified to meet the same engineering standards as the OEM units, meaning no loss in performance. They will cost more, but also be higher quality than other aftermarket units.

If you are looking for the best possible bulb to run in your stock setup, without having to run a standalone harness or go to full projector retrofits, I would recommend these:
http://store.candlepower.com/64205.html

If you do want to go LED or HID, be sure to get the appropriate projector retrofit first so that you do not induce glare and scatter blinding oncoming drivers.

 

I upgraded to LED's from Putco and they're a world of difference! They aren't really much brighter, but they carry the light better so you can see better and they reflect off objects really well. I've never been brighted so it's good to know I'm not blinding people with them. What attracted me to them was they use a metal braid heat sink instead of a fan so they're virtually fail proof since they don't have any moving parts to go bad. The only thing I'm worried about with them is they don't create any heat in the headlight bucket so snow and such will build up on the lights in the winter and block them.
Here's where you get them: http://www.putco.com/products.cfm?a...Category=2d6754bd-9be8-c408-ae66-fd8037d1078d

 

If you have put LEDs in a halogen reflector you have done it wrong.

The reason they reflect signs better is because the beam cut-off pattern has been lost, and you are now seeing the scatter and glare that oncoming drivers are dealing with every time they pass you, as a reflection in reflective steel signs. The heat sink is a massive upgrade over the earlier cooling fan models, but you should be running a projector to run LEDs.

If you want a significant upgrade without departing from the reflectors, check out this first gen thread:
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/proper-headlight-upgrade.407879/

 

My '96 Tacoma came with halogen sealed beams - which I'm OK with.
Upgrades are availible, the stock replacements are cheap, and the glass doesn't deteriorate like the plastic headlamps. But -
Years ago, sealed beams had one piece welded glass housings and typically worked for a long time, until they either burned out, a rock popped a hole in them or sand etched & pitted the glass.
On today's sealed beams, the glass front is glued to the housing. Often, the glue fails, then moisture gets inside and takes the silver off the reflector. I had to replace both in my 96 because, even though they came on OK, the silver was gone and they wouldn't light up the road anymore.
The PO claimed he never drove it at night!

Happy Motoring, Mark

 

I used these and love them, look great just like oem and can see very well with them http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Pair-of-Headlights-left-and-RIght-Fits-2001-2004-Toyota-Tacoma-/230573279434?fits=Make:Toyota|Model:Tacoma&hash=item35af3d08ca:g:5PIAAOSwgApXCyV~&vxp=mtr

 

Plenty of people have recommended these on here:

$70 Brock Replacement Pair Set Halogen Headlights Headlamps Compatible with 01-04 Tacoma Pickup Truck 81150-04110 81110-04110

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008G32B1O/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8

Ive cleaned up mine but the haze is slowly coming back. Ill be replacing mine in the future.

 

This is exactly what I was talking about saying "Do not go that route". Let me explain:

The purpose of "low beam" is not to carry light far away, but to light the road surface only, so the drivers of cars if front or pedestrians are not blinded either through their back mirrors or the windshield. This is the sole purpose of the "cut off" in low beam. First years Tacoma models have H6054 lamp/bulb which does not have cut-off (while it is DOT approved it still sucks), but the lamp is designed to create a kind of spot light on low beams that is pointed down and to the right. This is not perfect but when adjusted properly it will not blind other drivers. Newer models use H4 bulb in reflector type housing designed specifically for H4 bulb geometry. It means low beam filament has to be in exactly correct spot in the housing otherwise the cut-off will not exist.

Keep in mind that the reflector is not a simple "parabolic" shape, but is contains multiple surfaces designed to reflect the light into particular shape of beam. But it will only work if low beam filament is exactly the shape, size as in H4 bulb and it is placed exactly in the spot as designed. Any single deviation as small as 1/16 inch in either direction destroys the light beam shape significantly.

Being "not flashed" is not a correct way to determine if your lights are setup correctly or not. I do only "flash" oncoming drivers if I'm 100% sure, they forgot to switch from high beam to low. If their low beam is screwed up either by incorrect aiming or by using the wrong (LED or HID) bulbs, flashing them will not make any difference for me. In best case scenario I would receive "flash back" or in worse case it would blind the guy causing him to loose control of the car. I just simple address the driver using terms like "terminating end of the rectum" and drive on. If "LED uneducated owner" is behind me, I just flip the rear mirror and ignore the "terminating end of the rectum" driver again.

The only correct way to determine if headlights are setup correctly is to check it on "on the wall". Put the original DOT approved (not Ebay version from China) H4 bulb, to see the pattern, cut-off and the amount of glare above the cut-off. Then put LED bulb and compare the result. You will be surprised.

There has been a long discussions on 4Runner forum about LED or HID bulbs in reflector housing with the same conclusion - they don't work, they are dangerous and they would not pass DOT (or any state if required) inspection at all.

BTW, even if the aim and bulb type is correct the dirty or "fogged-out" glass can create significant glare that might blind other drivers. It is a good idea to keep you headlight glass as clean as you windshield. This is why in some countries HID is approved only in housing that have wipers and cleaning fluid spray on headlights.

 

You forgot to mention people who put LED Pods in their headlight housings. Why? I can see using it as a high beam but on Tacomas you don't have two separate housings like Fords or Chevys that have a high beam housing on top of their low beam housing. It might not be seperate housings but they are seperated one on top of the other with the pod on top and bulb on bottom.

 

High beam is different story. The purpose of the high beam is to see the road far away and of course they can be used only if there are no other cars in front. In that case the better you see, the safer you are.

It may not be the case with all LED bulbs as sellers (especially selling "noname" Chinese brands) have misleading values in technical spec showing for example the absolute maximum values from LED chip (from LED chip datasheet) instead of true values the bulb has. Also because LED bulb has different geometry than incandescent halogen bulbs the light pattern may be "brighter" in some places, but not necessary in the place you would want.

But even that, while high beam bulb (in separate housing) may not always create better result, it is not as dangerous for drivers as low beam with bright glare and wrong or non existing cut off.

But we are talking Tacoma here so two bulb headlight is not relevant here. If you want more "high beam" light I recommend get a good quality LED light bar.

 

Yep! I have a 42" bar across the top of my windshield, a 22" bar on my front TG bumper and pods below the bumper for when it's foggy out. I also have HID Retrofit projectors. But I did have an HID system at one time in my OEM Tacoma housing and that was the worst mistake I ever made! You gotta have that cut off line!

 

I just bought some off of eBay. Made in Taiwan. Came with corner lights. Little over $40. I needed to reuse some of my old clips but they Work and look great.

 

I went with TYC housings. Picked em up on Amazon and no issues.

Arggghh... LEDs. Yeah I went with the briteass LEDs and I have to say, I loved it. Over a year and never flashed by other drivers. One thing though, they are crap and the seller has vanished to the wind. 2 year warranty and pfft. Oh well, nice while they lasted. Matched my crossover DRL LEDs perfectly. Now since one burned out I'm trying to figure out another option. Its really too bad I can't find a retrofit housing on amazon. I really like having LEDs. Don't want to blind anyone though.

 

Being "not flashed" is not a correct way to determine if your lights are setup correctly or not. I love LEDs, and I have them everywhere in my truck except headlights. I run good quality H4 halogen bulbs in Euro-style cut off retrofit housing.

I researched Bi-xenon projector retrofit (It has to be Bi-xenen with shutter in order to work correctly, cheep china projector housings don't work), but it is a long project, maybe some day. And only then I would consider LED.