Retrofitting Foglight Tutorial...DDragon Style *56K

**Ddragon** · 04-21-2009, 08:34 PM

*Warning, a lot of pictures to load*
Thank you Catric69 for helping me out with figuring this stuff out.

~Alright first off, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IN ANY WAY FOR WHAT YOU DO TO YOUR OWN FOGLIGHTS. The same applied to me when I decided to do this. Remember this please...~

I decided to make this tutorial because I wanted to share my experience working with foglights. This tutorial will help you retrofit Yellow Lexus ES300 or IS300 foglight lenses onto your celica foglight lenses. I know the majority of you would rather purchase the overlays and not go through the hassle but I thought you might like this so you can have another way to go about getting that golden glow. *Note: I already have 2500K H3 Nokyas so mine have a nice deep golden shine to them.
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Things needed:
a) Screwdriver
b) Flathead (small and large head size), preferably a thin knife*
c) The tutorial on "removing your front bumper" and also on "replacing your fog lights". They're in the Installs Section.
d) Oven
e) Any floor tile (can get these at Home Depot or wherever). This will keep cool while you place the fog over top and don't have to worry about the hard plastic melting on metal.
f) OVEN MITS!!!! Don't say I didn't warn you...
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1) Here's what you'll be working with:
Your regular celica foglights (2000-02 I believe)

Now next to the lexus ones. I pried them open already with a flat head.(These are going to be retrofitted onto the celica fogs):

2) Now remove the three screws holding the fog in place with the bracket. There's one on each side and also remove the one with the spring.

You should have this now...

3) Use your flathead to remove these bronzish pieces from the fog. They can be removed easily from lifting them from the backside.

4) To get to this point, remove the plastic cover by twisting it and take off the connectors that connect to the bulb and ground next to it. Take out the bulb by pressing the metal wire forward and lifting it up to free the bulb. DO NOT TOUCH THE BULB. Now, remove these two screws so that you can take off this small metal bracket:

5) If you're at this point you're doing great. These are all of the pieces that need to be removed. Note* The rubber little tube needs to be removed as well. That can be found on the back of the housing of the fog. Make sure all of these are off.

**6) OVEN MITS ON!!! There is a very strong sealant holding the glass onto the plastic so what we need to do is soften it up. To do this, you need to place it in the oven for a certain period of time. I preheated mine to 300 degrees and then placed it in for about 20 minutes or so. Afterwards, I tried to take the outer glass piece off but it wouldn't budge so I stuck it in at 400 degrees for about 10 or 15 minutes.

The floor tile is there to keep the bottom of the foglight (which is a stronger plastic) from melting on the metal bars. The tile takes longer to heat up because it's ceramic and can withstand higher temperatures. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN TOUCH IT WITH YOUR BARE HANDS TO TAKE IT OUT OF THE OVEN. IT WILL STILL BE HOT TO THE TOUCH!

7) Once you feel it is ready to take out, place it somewhere where the heat from the tile won't mess up your countertops. Use the small flathead to wedge in between the glass and the plastic piece like so:

When you find a good spot, carefully try to pry it open and don't be too forceful.
This should be the outcome:

~I know you'll do slight damage to the plastic so if you're concerned, purchase some sealant from your local auto store or wherever.~

8) Now look closely... You'll see another metal bracket but this one holds in the actual lens. Remove the two screws to access the lens and take the lens out (oven mits still on!).

Now replace it with the Lexus Yellow lens like so:

Make sure to screw the screws in tightly so the lenses won't move.

9) Place the outer glass case back onto the plastic from where you removed it and place it back into the oven to heat up the sealant again. This should help it seal back up again. Now take it out (with oven mits) and check out your new lexus/celica retrofitted fogs!!!

10) Now when your fogs are cooled down, do steps 5 to 1 in reverse and you'll be set to follow the Installs Section Tutorials.
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Here's my final product:

~Thanks again to Catric69 for supplying me with these lenses and helping me out!~

Remember, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT YOU (YES YOU!!!) DO TO YOUR OWN STUFF!! Just like you're not responsible for what I do with mine.

There are more pics in my member gallery for those interested. I already have 2500K Nokyas (working on the getting HIDs but none yet) so mine give off a deep nice golden glow. The camera doesn't do them justice. If you have any questions or would like to compliment, please pm me and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. The picture of my sig is old so you can kind of compare. Also compare my old pics in my gallery if you're able to.

Hope everyone found this useful and hopefully it'll get stickied.

Ch33z · 04-21-2009, 08:48 PM

Excellent write up thanks bro

**Ddragon** · 04-21-2009, 08:50 PM

^^No prob! Thanks for viewing man!

Pool Playen Bob · 04-21-2009, 08:55 PM

damn well done. hella nice touch.

Kangaruu · 04-21-2009, 08:57 PM

I wanna do this!

I sprayed too much paint on my foglights and I think it's making the whole thing dimmer

**Ddragon** · 04-21-2009, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pool Playen Bob

damn well done. hella nice touch.

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kangaruu

I wanna do this!

I sprayed too much paint on my foglights and I think it's making the whole thing dimmer

Yeah, I was worried too about painting mine so I went about it like this to avoid any hassle. It's a definite plus to have spare fogs too!

Kangaruu · 04-21-2009, 09:08 PM

Yeah...I cracked the glass on my current fogs when I used a heatgun to help remove the old paint

So now I need a new set

**Ddragon** · 04-21-2009, 09:17 PM

^^Yeah me too... On my old fog, it was cracked pretty badly already and I tried taking it off via oven. When I tried tp pry it open, the whole thing just fell apart lol.

Soo__Fuego · 04-21-2009, 09:18 PM

i like this and yellow halogen bulbs for fogs, all the 3k hid fogs ive seen have a mad amount of glare, which sucks for oncoming traffic

anyways,

**Ddragon** · 04-21-2009, 09:26 PM

^^Thanks! I appreciate it! I haven't seen a 3K HID fog yet (well any HID fog...) so I'm not sure about the glare problem.

WakeRider · 04-21-2009, 09:38 PM

^^^ zero has a HID fog kit on his and it looks pretty dam good. I will probably be going that route once I get the new front bumper. He also painted his lights which helped reduce the glare if there was any to begin with.

Kangaruu · 04-21-2009, 09:39 PM

I thought yellow lights produced the least glare in the colour spectrum

**Ddragon** · 04-21-2009, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WakeRider

^^^ zero has a HID fog kit on his and it looks pretty dam good. I will probably be going that route once I get the new front bumper. He also painted his lights which helped reduce the glare if there was any to begin with.

Sorry I wasn't accurate on my post, I meant to say in person. I guess they'd be the same as headlight HIDs...(just haven't seen an yellow HIDs in person yet)

But yeah I just did a search and found his. They look pretty sweet too! I like how when they're warming up they shine green and then go to that super yellow.

catric69 · 04-22-2009, 05:41 AM

Ddragon, you did an excellent write-up. One thing I like to add: On step 7. I would suggest rotating the housing as you are prying the glass off. It seems like you just kept it in one place and pried it off at that spot causing some damage to the plastic portion of the housing.

lamboceliGTS · 04-22-2009, 07:07 AM

Looks really nice.

**Ddragon** · 04-23-2009, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catric69

Ddragon, you did an excellent write-up. One thing I like to add: On step 7. I would suggest rotating the housing as you are prying the glass off. It seems like you just kept it in one place and pried it off at that spot causing some damage to the plastic portion of the housing.

Thanks! Yeah lol I wasn't too sure how to go about that once I started. I just continued working in that one area with a small flathead so I could get underneath but now I'm thinking I should've used a knife to wedge in between or something else that's thinner.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lamboceliGTS

Looks really nice.

Thanks man! I appreciate it.

**Ddragon** · 04-28-2009, 04:32 PM

So I guess no sticky?

lol

dead_star04 · 04-28-2009, 06:53 PM

damn, your oven is spotless

**Ddragon** · 04-29-2009, 01:46 PM

^^hahaaa thanks

**Ddragon** · 05-01-2009, 08:31 AM

*Update:
-When taking off the glass housing, use a thin knife that'll wedge in between the glass and plastic when you're prying it off. This way you'll do less damage to the sealant and the plastic part.

I came across this because I started to notice a little condensation developing inside the glass housing after a few days of rain so yeah...
Therefore with the spare ones I had I'm gonna put the other housing with less damage on so just wanted to let you guys know...

silver_nations · 08-27-2009, 10:25 PM

Hmm. Very nice. Perhaps I'll do this. One quick question, where did you get the Lexus lenses? Just found them on ebay or something?

**Ddragon** · 08-28-2009, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silver_nations

Hmm. Very nice. Perhaps I'll do this. One quick question, where did you get the Lexus lenses? Just found them on ebay or something?

Thank you kindly!

I actually got the lexus lenses from a member on this site but I'm sure you can find them from maybe a dealership parts/services section?

silver_nations · 08-29-2009, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ddragon

Thank you kindly!

I actually got the lexus lenses from a member on this site but I'm sure you can find them from maybe a dealership parts/services section?

Gotcha. Alright cool. I wonder if there is anyway to get matching gold bulbs to go in the sidemarkers(if you have clear ones of course). I recently installed clear JDM SM's but I don't car much for the "off-white" glow. It may not be completely legal but would sure look awesome haha

**Ddragon** · 08-31-2009, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silver_nations

Gotcha. Alright cool. I wonder if there is anyway to get matching gold bulbs to go in the sidemarkers(if you have clear ones of course). I recently installed clear JDM SM's but I don't car much for the "off-white" glow. It may not be completely legal but would sure look awesome haha

Well, My guess is as far as the sidemarkers go, you might be able to find colored bulbs orrrrrr you could paint them yourself with some stained glass paint.

Oochi · 10-03-2009, 07:31 AM

how much do the lexus foglights uses run? as in price

xCraZyEddiEx · 10-03-2009, 07:34 AM

i just did mine.

i got the lexus fogs for 32 bucks!

silver_nations · 10-03-2009, 08:01 AM

I think I stumbled on some others that will work. I haven't got a chance to try them out yet but here are some pics...they look damn close to me. They're JDM Silvia fog lenses. A buddy of mine owns a 240sx with an SR swap and he has a ton of extra parts laying around. I was going through them yesterday and found these. Like I said, I have yet to actually fit them but they look very close. Anyone have the dimensions of the Lexus lenses?

**Ddragon** · 10-24-2009, 06:14 PM

Oh wow, those do look pretty close to the lexus lenses but these look even more yellow. Looks like a decent fit too! Post up pics when you try them out!!