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Upgrading / replacing headlights and light guards...

5K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  b_senior 
#1 · (Edited)
I bought a '94 Laredo two weeks ago and I'm still getting to grips with it, and beginning to enjoy it (still can't get over lack of storage areas and lack of dash clock!). She has 297kms on the clock with no history minus some recent work but appears to be running good; a couple of cabin electrical niggles but everything works and the body is pretty sound.

The headlights are really poor though! All the front light clusters are in poor shape so I'm considering replacing them and upgrading the bulbs in the headlights. I don't want to upgrade to anything fancy / HIDs or anything, just new / good condition stock items. Where is the best place to buy new headlights and turn signals and are there genuine and aftermarket types to watch out for? Do you usually get brackets/clips with them also, as mine are very loose and held in place at the top with duck tape; how that got through inspection I don't know! And bulbs, can you get good branded bulbs that are legal and actually help increase distance and visibility over standard ones? Does anybody know if I'd have any trouble fitting some UK spec amber turn signals?

I'm also interested in the Rhino type front and rear tubular guards - are there any other similar and cheaper alternatives worth looking into? I'd love some side steps aswell depending on finances!

I'm in Canada if that helps any. :)
 

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#2 · (Edited)
First off, welcome to the forum!! I'm still rather new myself, and this is a great source of useful information.

As for your lighting questions, there are a few different routes you could go. There are polishes and cleaners that will actually clean up the foggyness from your factory lights. You could try that to keep some costs down. There are two styles of aftermarket headlight clusters (headlight, corner, blinker) that are readily available. Basically, just a shiney chrome housing set and a black set. I purchased the black set for mine, but the output was about the same as the stock style housings.. so no huge benifit except for looks. i know some people on here have mentioned there is a glass housing upgrade that utilizes an H4 style bulb that are supposed to be much better performing then stock, but I am not familier with these...

As for bulbs, I have always ran PIAA bulbs for my vehicles that do not have HID. They are pricey to buy new, but you can always find them slightly used on ebay and get good deals. I like the coloring of them, and the increased output. I have also used the Silverstar Ultra bulbs from Sylvania, but I personally prefer the PIAA lighting over these.

The UK amber turns have my interest, so I will be looking into these... any links to information on these??

You may also want to check over the header panel on the front of your ZJ to check for damage since your current lights are duct taped on. That way you'll know if you need one before taking the lighting off!

My ZJ came with a generic brush gaurd on the front, so I'm sure others can chime in about gaurds and such.
 
#3 ·
Welcome! As far as where to buy new lenses, look at ebay. I purchased all new front lenses off of there for roughly $200. Yes they come with all the mounting hardware also. As for bulbs check out these MTEC. I run a set of the 4x in both of my ZJs but if you go this route you need a wire upgrade as they draw a lot of power and will most likely melt your stock wires. Its all plug and play type set up.

Here are what mine look like.



You should have no problem at all fitting the UK spec amber turn signal lenses.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the welcome guys, and the help!

I’d be interested in learning more about the glass housing upgrade that can take an H4 bulb. I know there are a couple of UK branded upgraded halogen bulbs (Philips in particular) that offer much better lighting over standard, which I used in my previous Volvos with excellent results, although I’m not sure if the bulbs (UK is RHD) would at all affect the direction of the light, and cause blinding to on-coming traffic here?

country_boy454, it looks like you have some nice light coming out there. You don’t know what kind of life the bulbs would have? I don’t know a great deal about lens patterns but I wonder if them bulbs would offer the same results with the stock headlights. Your lights are pretty clear (crystal?). I can’t believe the wiring harness is twice the price of the bulbs!!

Does anybody have any experience with aftermarket (non-Jeep branded) stock headlights? I’m worried about poor quality – I’ve used aftermarket lights before and found them to let water in and gain condensation pretty much within a few days of fitting! Prices on eBay look good with some good deals on the 3piece sets.

I’m from the UK so naturally the UK amber turn signals hit me straight away; the only difference with these is that there are no sidemarkers – only one bulb, the turn signal itself (the UK doesn’t have amber markers/DRLs at all, only amber turn signals). It might be possible to drill a small hole and attach the side marker bulb holder to the end, or better still, convert the wiring slightly so you had a marker/turn signal run off one bulb. I’m not one for playing with electrics though (bad experiences!!), but like the look of the amber lens down under (attached an example). I should be able to source some on eBay UK, ship them to my UK address then have them forwarded – if your after a set I’m sure I could help you out.

On the subject, are there any rear light options for the ZJ apart from clear/LED style clusters?

I like the rear light guards (attached) and would like something matching for the front but can only find bull bars – I take it there isn’t any small guards available that fit and cover just the front lights (basically, the same idea as the rears)? I'm not big on the clear/tinted plastic covers plus I keep reading online of how they like to fly off!!

Oh, and on another note, can you get wind deflectors / vent visors / rain guards (sorry, accessories are called differently than back home!) that tuck into the window rubber (in the door frame) rather than stick to the outside of the door?
 

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#5 ·
country_boy454, it looks like you have some nice light coming out there. You don’t know what kind of life the bulbs would have? I don’t know a great deal about lens patterns but I wonder if them bulbs would offer the same results with the stock headlights. Your lights are pretty clear (crystal?). I can’t believe the wiring harness is twice the price of the bulbs!
I have a pair of them in my 97 also. They have been in there for about 5-6 yrs. Stock fading lenses also. The light output is great in the factory lenses.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I just thought I'd update this topic - I sourced some orange UK turn signals for my ZJ a while back and finally installed them today!! The old ones were cracked and faded plus I'm a sucker for orange lenses up front on the right color of car.

Before:


After:


Looks much better, in my opinion. They are a straight fit, however, the UK lenses don't have side markers on the corner so you have to either, delete this (remove bulb and tape up connection), or drill a hole in the cluster (the plastic is already marked) so you can slot the small bulb holder into. It's perfect for me because I can reuse that wiring to fit some vertical orange markers in the end slats at either side of the grille. :D Once I've done this I think I'll replace the top corner parking light / side marker orange bulbs with normal bulbs to complete the look. I was thinking of buying clear corners but I don't think I'll bother now.

I've got a few ideas for the rear lights also, but need to un-jam my bloody tailgate so I can take the clusters off and see what's what.
 
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