# Aftermarket Tail Lights



## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

Does anyone know of any websites that sale aftermarket tailights for the 98-04 frontiers? I only found a few, and they did not have what I was looking for. I saw a black Toyota 4-runner with some black euros yesterday and it looked really good. So now, I am considering buying some several months from now. 

Also, will freezing weather cause a small crack in one of my tailights to worsen? My dad was helping me load me and my wife's bikes in my truck one day and the metal pedal hit the tail light and put a slight crack in it. This will be a good excuse to eventually put some new tail lights on. :thumbup:


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## johnnyhammers (Oct 13, 2005)

Plastic doesn't expand and contract with heat/cold quite like glass. For one thing, it's a lot more flexible than glass, but it does get brittle with extreme cold. as long as you don't whack it with any more pedals it shouldn't grow a bit.


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## EckoUnlimited (Dec 5, 2005)

i don't know if u would trust ebay but i've found some black euro lookin tails, they looked ok but i didn't want any chromed out ones, ew. but i was thinkin about them too. i might smoke the though.


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## jerryp58 (Jan 6, 2005)

mitchell35758 said:


> Does anyone know of any websites that sale aftermarket tailights for the 98-04 frontiers? I only found a few, and they did not have what I was looking for. I saw a black Toyota 4-runner with some black euros yesterday and it looked really good. So now, I am considering buying some several months from now.
> 
> Also, will freezing weather cause a small crack in one of my tailights to worsen? My dad was helping me load me and my wife's bikes in my truck one day and the metal pedal hit the tail light and put a slight crack in it. This will be a good excuse to eventually put some new tail lights on. :thumbup:


You've probably seen my taillights , so I guess that's not what you're looking for (they're still available and I've seen them on at least one Website).

I don't think you'll have a problem with the crack expanding, but you may get condensation inside the housing which could cause poor lighting and eventually corrosion.


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## Gerald (May 23, 2005)

*Tail light lenses*

Jerryp58,

Where did you get your tail light lenses and how much were they? I like that look and my wife does too. This might be a modification she would not object to.

OkieScot






jerryp58 said:


> You've probably seen my taillights , so I guess that's not what you're looking for (they're still available and I've seen them on at least one Website).
> 
> I don't think you'll have a problem with the crack expanding, but you may get condensation inside the housing which could cause poor lighting and eventually corrosion.


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## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

jerryp58 said:


> You've probably seen my taillights , so I guess that's not what you're looking for (they're still available and I've seen them on at least one Website).
> 
> I don't think you'll have a problem with the crack expanding, but you may get condensation inside the housing which could cause poor lighting and eventually corrosion.


Actually, after a long search last night, I've come to think that is what I want. The black 4-runner had the 3d black housings. That is the look I wanted. I seen a couple trucks last night, white one and a black one on the internet that had these lights and it looked good. Problem was I could not find anyone but DEPO that makes this style tail light that I want. Are these the same brand as yours? I checked your website to see if you had any info, but I can't find any other manufactures, so it must be the same brand. 
I think they look good on the color of your truck, just can't wait to see what they would look like on my truck. Thanks


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## jerryp58 (Jan 6, 2005)

mitchell35758 said:


> Actually, after a long search last night, I've come to think that is what I want. The black 4-runner had the 3d black housings. That is the look I wanted. I seen a couple trucks last night, white one and a black one on the internet that had these lights and it looked good. Problem was I could not find anyone but DEPO that makes this style tail light that I want. Are these the same brand as yours? I checked your website to see if you had any info, but I can't find any other manufactures, so it must be the same brand.
> I think they look good on the color of your truck, just can't wait to see what they would look like on my truck. Thanks


These are the lights . I've been pleased with them. Two things about them that I would have liked better: (1) the angle, like I said on my Web page, there is a slight angle to the tail light. I would have prefered no angle at all. (2) there is a one piece plastic cover over the housing and lenses. This isn't bad, and I'm not sure how else they could have done it, but I would have liked more of a separate lens feel to it. They look like separate lenses from afar, but close up you'll see the one piece plastic shell over everything. BTW, the seal is not perfect on them; I can get water inside that outer shell when I wash the truck, but it hasn't caused any problems and I don't see any condensation in there under any other circumstances.

I guess all that sounds pretty critical, but all that aside, I like them better than stock and (knock wood), they seem to be holding up fine. I can try to take some more pictures if you think that'd help. Installation was easy. I did want to have the brake lights on top and the turn signals below, but the Nissan connectors (and the sockets on the lights) are keyed to accept only turn on top and brake on bottom (I didn't want to try to file the keyways to make it work the other way).

Hope this helps.


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## Gerald (May 23, 2005)

jerryp58,

Thank you for the website. It doesn't look like they offer a conversion for the '05's yet, maybe soon I hope. I can't tell
what you are talking about on the angle thing. Maybe a
photo from another angle would help with that.

Are you talking about water getting into the light housing
when you wash your truck with a hose or with a power 
washer?

Thank you for your help,

OkieScot

QUOTE=jerryp58]These are the lights . I've been pleased with them. Two things about them that I would have liked better: (1) the angle, like I said on my Web page, there is a slight angle to the tail light. I would have prefered no angle at all. (2) there is a one piece plastic cover over the housing and lenses. This isn't bad, and I'm not sure how else they could have done it, but I would have liked more of a separate lens feel to it. They look like separate lenses from afar, but close up you'll see the one piece plastic shell over everything. BTW, the seal is not perfect on them; I can get water inside that outer shell when I wash the truck, but it hasn't caused any problems and I don't see any condensation in there under any other circumstances.

I guess all that sounds pretty critical, but all that aside, I like them better than stock and (knock wood), they seem to be holding up fine. I can try to take some more pictures if you think that'd help. Installation was easy. I did want to have the brake lights on top and the turn signals below, but the Nissan connectors (and the sockets on the lights) are keyed to accept only turn on top and brake on bottom (I didn't want to try to file the keyways to make it work the other way).

Hope this helps.[/QUOTE]


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## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

Am I correct in assuming that the angle thig means that instead of the "3d" portion of the light being completely parrallel with the rear end, it slants off the the outer side on each side of the truck? 

Also, the water leak issue, do you think it is something that a little silicon could fix? Could it be just your tailights?(like a minor defect quality control missed during inspections?)

It turns out that my wife is buying me these also as a Christmas present in return for an agreement that I do not buy anthing thing else for my truck for at least half a year. Great for me because this is the final thing that I could want to put on my truck. All my other possibilities have been shot down by (positive) constructive criticsim from fellow Frontier owners. ( I Love Nissanforums.com, they saved me lots of money from buying crap that I would have otherwise regreted. Much thanks to everyone that gave me some input.) :thumbup:


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## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

EckoUnlimited said:


> i don't know if u would trust ebay but i've found some black euro lookin tails, they looked ok but i didn't want any chromed out ones, ew. but i was thinkin about them too. i might smoke the though.


I just bought some from a guy called spyderbone. Good deal. Slightly cheaper than elsewhere on the web(from what I found already). $120 with shipping and insurance. Same brand and everything. The cheapest I found elsewhere was 125. Yeah, its only 5 bucks, but every little bit counts. :thumbup:

Heres the ones I am buying.(or I am buying for my wife for me  )
98-04 NISSAN FRONTIER JDM BLACK TAIL LIGHTS 99 00 DEPO
Copy and paste if you are looking for some decent ones. I found a couple of people on Car Domain that have these and on Jerry's website that look great!


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## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

jerryp58 said:


> These are the lights . I've been pleased with them. Two things about them that I would have liked better: (1) the angle, like I said on my Web page, there is a slight angle to the tail light. I would have prefered no angle at all. (2) there is a one piece plastic cover over the housing and lenses. This isn't bad, and I'm not sure how else they could have done it, but I would have liked more of a separate lens feel to it. They look like separate lenses from afar, but close up you'll see the one piece plastic shell over everything. BTW, the seal is not perfect on them; I can get water inside that outer shell when I wash the truck, but it hasn't caused any problems and I don't see any condensation in there under any other circumstances.
> 
> I guess all that sounds pretty critical, but all that aside, I like them better than stock and (knock wood), they seem to be holding up fine. I can try to take some more pictures if you think that'd help. Installation was easy. I did want to have the brake lights on top and the turn signals below, but the Nissan connectors (and the sockets on the lights) are keyed to accept only turn on top and brake on bottom (I didn't want to try to file the keyways to make it work the other way).
> 
> Hope this helps.


If you do post more pics of them, could you write just a real short thing about how to get the old lights off. If, not I can always do the search, just being lazy I guess. Oh, one more thing, if your digital camera has the feature of video recording, could you take a short clip of the lights on? I see a lot of euros on chevy full size trucks, and they always look really dim. I just wanted to see how these things look. Thanks and no big deal if you don't do it. :cheers:


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## jerryp58 (Jan 6, 2005)

Gerald said:


> jerryp58,
> 
> Thank you for the website. It doesn't look like they offer a conversion for the '05's yet, maybe soon I hope. I can't tell
> what you are talking about on the angle thing. Maybe a
> ...


I think the lights basically follows the curved contour of the bed at the corners. If you were standing directly behind the truck, you would see the tailgate going pretty much straight perpendicular to you. As you follow across the tail light, it will angle forward as you look from the inner edge to the outer edge. Another way of saying it is that if you were riding in the center lane of a three lane highway, each light would be angled pointing slightly to the lane closest to it (does that make sense). I doubt the angle is even 5*; I just think it'd be nicer if it followed the same line of the tailgate.

The water does enter with a garden hose, but I think it only enters from the bottom. If I'm careful and don't spray the water even with or up from the bottom part of the lens, it won't go in. It could be a defect in my lights, or it could be by design to let any moisture out.

I hope all that makes sense and I'm sure they'll be available for the '05 soon.


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## jerryp58 (Jan 6, 2005)

mitchell35758 said:


> If you do post more pics of them, could you write just a real short thing about how to get the old lights off. If, not I can always do the search, just being lazy I guess. Oh, one more thing, if your digital camera has the feature of video recording, could you take a short clip of the lights on? I see a lot of euros on chevy full size trucks, and they always look really dim. I just wanted to see how these things look. Thanks and no big deal if you don't do it. :cheers:


I saw my lights on a Website way back when I bought them (couldn't remember the link or find it again). The only reason I went with eBay was because they took PayPal and the Website didn't (I like using PayPal).

Anyway, I'll try to take some pics tomorrow. I don't have movie capability and I'm not sure that pics from my camera would be very accurate (lighting-wise), but I'll try. I think the lights are plenty bright.

I'll try to get a pic of the OEM tail light mounting points. That'll help you understand how they come out and how the new ones go in. Basically, there are two bolts (for each light; I'll try to get pics of those too) in the bed (I was able to push the rear edge my plastic bed liner towards the center of the bed to get a wrench on the bolts) and once those are removed, the lights can be pulled straight back. Your pulling against two "pins" that fit snugly into holes. You have to give a little effort, but try to pull straight back and it shouldn't take "Hulk" strength to get them out. Like I said, a picture will help you see how they're attached.

Glad to hear you've got most everything checked off your list. I think I do to. I wouldn't mind a rear stabalizer bar, but it handles well enough for how I drive so that's not critical. I would like a louder horn, but I'm not sure I want to go dual air horn (although I had that on my previous vehicle and I actually liked it). I would like to put a better rain/snow tire than the General Grabber and in 235/75 versus 205/70. It would make me feel better in the little bit of snow we get around here, but I can't really justify that yet. I think I'd like to get some of those Xtreme floor mats, but again, I don't know that they protect that much better than OEM carpeted mats. I don't get a lot of water snow on the mat. But, my OEM mat is looking a bit ratty after just one year so who knows. Other than that, I think I'm set for a while


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## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

jerryp58 said:


> I saw my lights on a Website way back when I bought them (couldn't remember the link or find it again). The only reason I went with eBay was because they took PayPal and the Website didn't (I like using PayPal).
> 
> Anyway, I'll try to take some pics tomorrow. I don't have movie capability and I'm not sure that pics from my camera would be very accurate (lighting-wise), but I'll try. I think the lights are plenty bright.
> 
> ...


I know what you mean about the mats. I bought some rubbermaid ones that had the tall ridges to keep water from the shoes off the carpet. They work great for that reason, but, I have not found any that are contoured correctly for the floor board. They all get caught up on that foot rest and because of that when you are driving, the clutch tends to get caught up on the mat. Very dangerous. I am thinking about cutting the mat so that it fits better, but I will sacrifice the little ridge that keeps water in. Whenever these finally wear out how ever many years from now, I will diffenetly spend the extra money for some off the nissan parts sites. I bet they are well worth it. As far as the tires go, watch out for the 235/75s, from what a friend told me the other day, he had to raise the front end with using the t-bars to make them fit properly. It dosen't sound right, and I plan on checking into how true this really is. Mainly because he has the wheels I want when mine wear out. 235/75/15 
Bridgestone Duelers A/T. They look sharp on his blue frontier. 

I hate for you to have to go through all the trouble of getting those pics. Now that I know how to get the lights off, it is no big deal if you don't get those pics. I just had no idea were to begin looking for the bolts. For a while, I thought you had to go in from underneath the truck to get to them. I can figure it out based off what you wrote, so again, it is no big deal if you don't take those pictures
Thanks

Mitchell


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## Gerald (May 23, 2005)

*Pictures*

jerryp58,

The pictures would help me. If I can see the way the lights
attach it would make me feel more at ease trying this myself.

Thank you again for all of your help.

OkieScot




jerryp58 said:


> I saw my lights on a Website way back when I bought them (couldn't remember the link or find it again). The only reason I went with eBay was because they took PayPal and the Website didn't (I like using PayPal).
> 
> Anyway, I'll try to take some pics tomorrow. I don't have movie capability and I'm not sure that pics from my camera would be very accurate (lighting-wise), but I'll try. I think the lights are plenty bright.
> 
> ...


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## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

Gerald said:


> jerryp58,
> 
> The pictures would help me. If I can see the way the lights
> attach it would make me feel more at ease trying this myself.
> ...


Hey, sorry about that. I forgot there were others interested. :cheers:


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## jerryp58 (Jan 6, 2005)

Gerald said:


> jerryp58,
> 
> The pictures would help me. If I can see the way the lights
> attach it would make me feel more at ease trying this myself.
> ...


I was going to try to get some posted by tonight (hopefully the washing machine repair won't take too long).


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## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

Jerry,
(For making the top light brakes, middle turn signals) Would it be possible to switch the wires going to the bulbs, or are the connectors to each bulb different between brake light and turn signal?


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## jerryp58 (Jan 6, 2005)

mitchell35758 said:


> Jerry,
> (For making the top light brakes, middle turn signals) Would it be possible to switch the wires going to the bulbs, or are the connectors to each bulb different between brake light and turn signal?


I can't really recall if the wires could be switched; I wouldn't think so. I have a picture of the stop & turn signal sockets. They look the same to me, so maybe I was just spazzin' when I tried to swap them, but I swear it wouldn't work. BTW, you'll probably want to replace your stock yellow bulbs with clear bulbs for the red turn signals (if that's what you get).

Anyway, I ran out of space on my ISP Website so I can't post the pics (I need to resize some of that stuff to make more room I guess). I can send you and OkieScot the pics in email if you want. I have the one mentioned above and then two that will give you an idea of how the light mounts. I didn't get a pic of the bed bolts (ran out of light by the time I finished the washing machine repair), but I'll try to get one tomorrow.


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## Gerald (May 23, 2005)

*Pictures*

jerryp58,

You can email me at: [email protected]. I'll
appreciate the pictures when you get a chance.

Thank you for all of your help on this.

OkieScot





jerryp58 said:


> I can't really recall if the wires could be switched; I wouldn't think so. I have a picture of the stop & turn signal sockets. They look the same to me, so maybe I was just spazzin' when I tried to swap them, but I swear it wouldn't work. BTW, you'll probably want to replace your stock yellow bulbs with clear bulbs for the red turn signals (if that's what you get).
> 
> Anyway, I ran out of space on my ISP Website so I can't post the pics (I need to resize some of that stuff to make more room I guess). I can send you and OkieScot the pics in email if you want. I have the one mentioned above and then two that will give you an idea of how the light mounts. I didn't get a pic of the bed bolts (ran out of light by the time I finished the washing machine repair), but I'll try to get one tomorrow.


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## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

jerry
you can email me at [email protected]
Thanks again for the help you are providing us. 
If you ever decide you want more webspace, I use Host Excellence. They are a great company. Get tons more space for your dollar compared to Tripod or Angelfire ...etc. 
Thanks again


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## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

*Got them early!*

My wife gave me a early christmas present today for finishing up the semester some great grades. Human Resources Mangement nearly killed me though  

Anyways, she gave them to me early and I actually had time to install them. Imagine that, time to do things other than study. The install was extremely easy. I swapped the brakects over from the orginal light to the new light, just as you did Jerry. I compared the angle of the ones that were supplied with the lights and it was very noticelably different. Wanted a good fit, not a sloppy fit. My whole idea about swapping the plugs on the lights bulbs was no good either(for the brake light on top and turn in the middle), the connecters WERE different. But, I am very pleased with the look of the turns being on top. Also, Jerry mentioned that his lenses leaked a little on the bottom. I was inspecting mine, not sure if I saw a hole or not, very small if it was, but each light has its own lense under the main lense, so I am not the least bit worried. I'll be pretty ticked off though if eventually road grime gets in there, VERY doubtful though. 

I have a couple of pictures, I will post them to my website as soon as I can find the damn usb cable to transfer them off my camera onto the computer.


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## jerryp58 (Jan 6, 2005)

mitchell35758 said:


> My wife gave me a early christmas present today for finishing up the semester some great grades. Human Resources Mangement nearly killed me though
> 
> Anyways, she gave them to me early and I actually had time to install them. Imagine that, time to do things other than study. The install was extremely easy. I swapped the brakects over from the orginal light to the new light, just as you did Jerry. I compared the angle of the ones that were supplied with the lights and it was very noticelably different. Wanted a good fit, not a sloppy fit. My whole idea about swapping the plugs on the lights bulbs was no good either(for the brake light on top and turn in the middle), the connecters WERE different. But, I am very pleased with the look of the turns being on top. Also, Jerry mentioned that his lenses leaked a little on the bottom. I was inspecting mine, not sure if I saw a hole or not, very small if it was, but each light has its own lense under the main lense, so I am not the least bit worried. I'll be pretty ticked off though if eventually road grime gets in there, VERY doubtful though.
> 
> I have a couple of pictures, I will post them to my website as soon as I can find the damn usb cable to transfer them off my camera onto the computer.


Glad it went well. Looking forward to the pics (they should look really good on the dark truck).


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## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

temp difficulty


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## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

Here it is, I am about to go take some more now that I am awake and that the truck got washed last night.


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## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

Jerry
I updated my frontier page on my website with the new pictures with the tail lights.


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## jerryp58 (Jan 6, 2005)

mitchell35758 said:


> Jerry
> I updated my frontier page on my website with the new pictures with the tail lights.


Looks good on the black. How do you like them?

Good Golly that MagnaFlow is loud! I don't think my FlowMaster is anywhere near that loud. I like the sound though :thumbup: 

Now all you have to do is get your fender flares and bumper Line-X'd and you're done  _Just an idea I had looking at the non-painted flares and bumpers on the Frontiers_


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## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

jerryp58 said:


> Looks good on the black. How do you like them?
> 
> Good Golly that MagnaFlow is loud! I don't think my FlowMaster is anywhere near that loud. I like the sound though :thumbup:
> 
> Now all you have to do is get your fender flares and bumper Line-X'd and you're done  _Just an idea I had looking at the non-painted flares and bumpers on the Frontiers_


Thanks
I love them, I was really concerned that they were not going to be all that bright mainly because I see silverado's and surburban's with them, they are never bright. I don't even think they should be street legal. But these, they are perfect. As I said above, I washed the truck last night, and I did notice a litle water at the very bottom, barely enough to even notice. I was just looking for it since you made a comment about that on your lights. As you said, it is most likely there for a reason, probably to keep moisture from building up. 
The magnaflow really isn't that loud, I think. My friends 86 nissan with duals with the flowmaster (4cyl) is three times as loud as that. I took that clip on a really cold night here, and my wife reved the engine to really high rpms. I've noticed that on really cold nights or days, it sounds better than normal. I don't know if that clip really does it justice. If I don't get on it, I can here it barely in the cab, and it sounds mellow. But when I get on it, I can't really here because of the engine. I love it though, I can't complain, especially because it dosen't drone. Thank God for that, that was my biggest fear. 

As far as this line-x thing goes, I'm curious, what exactly did you have in mind when you were thinking it. I don't know if I would like it because of the texture. But I am curious. :thumbup:


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## jerryp58 (Jan 6, 2005)

mitchell35758 said:


> As far as this line-x thing goes, I'm curious, what exactly did you have in mind when you were thinking it. I don't know if I would like it because of the texture. But I am curious. :thumbup:


I can't remember if it was an original thought or not (I know I was talking to a Jeep owner who told me that Line-X will cover the plastic fender flares on the Jeeps), but when I saw the unpainted plastic flares and bumper on the Frontiers, I thought Line-X would be a nice touch. I also seem to remember from an early episode of "Trucks" that Line-X can be sprayed on as different textures, from rough to relatively smooth. I also thought they said it could be sprayed in different colors, but I've never seen anything but black used. Just a wild thought I threw out there.

I've been thinking about have the silver part of my bumper painted to match body color; guess there's always something to tweak on these things.

BTW, I think you've done a really nice job with your truck; it looks great :thumbup:


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## mitchell35758 (Oct 21, 2005)

jerryp58 said:


> I can't remember if it was an original thought or not (I know I was talking to a Jeep owner who told me that Line-X will cover the plastic fender flares on the Jeeps), but when I saw the unpainted plastic flares and bumper on the Frontiers, I thought Line-X would be a nice touch. I also seem to remember from an early episode of "Trucks" that Line-X can be sprayed on as different textures, from rough to relatively smooth. I also thought they said it could be sprayed in different colors, but I've never seen anything but black used. Just a wild thought I threw out there.
> 
> I've been thinking about have the silver part of my bumper painted to match body color; guess there's always something to tweak on these things.
> 
> BTW, I think you've done a really nice job with your truck; it looks great :thumbup:


Thanks again.
I did not know about the different texture possibility. I'll have to look into it. I saw a mustang once, kind of weird, but he had the line-x/rhino stuff sprayed on his car as a front end bra. It looked tacky as hell, especially with the rough texture. That was several years back. I figured after recalling that to mind, that all they had to offer was the rough texture. Thanks, I will look into it.


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## Q-Tip (Sep 10, 2005)

I have heard about the Line-X and/or Rhino Lining stuff being used as sound-deadening material. Gut the interior and have the inside of the vehicle sprayed with the stuff. Floor pans (helps keep them from rusting too), underside of the roof, firewall, inner door panels. Any thickness/color you want and better overall coverage than Dynamat. Heck, Dynamat is so expensive that the spray is probably even cheaper.


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