Hi Ross!
Has anyone done this replacement and can give some guidance. I'm not
thrilled by the prospect of just randomly poking around until I get it
off.
Thanks
Fortunately, your lens is _already_ broken ;-)
Wait til a nice warm day, or leave the car in a heated garage
overnight. Remove the plastic trim from the inside, at least far
enough to access the back of the lamp assembly. Probably will need to
remove the "D"-pillar trim, and the trim across the hatch sill as
well. If the interior is warm, and you're gentle, you can usually
accomplish this w/o breaking anything.
The tail light assembly is held in place with 3 or 4 8mm nuts, and (I
think) a locating tab/socket arrangement at the front. Also held with
a large bead of tenacious sticky black sealer. Once the nuts are off
(double check), use a small prybar or large flat screwdriver (wrap the
end with electrical tape to reduce the likelihood of marring your
paint) to pry the assembly out of it's recess. I usually start at the
top, but whatever works for you will be OK, just do it a bit at a time
as you work your way around the lens. This is pretty much impossible
if the car is cold, but gets relatively easy above 70-80F. If the car
is warm, but the assembly isn't coming out, you've missed a fastener.
Installing the replacement assembly is pretty straight forward. Spread
the remaining sealant around the lip, align the tab to the socket, and
insert the studs on the lamp thru the body. Replace the nuts, and
tighten evenly. Only tighten them enough to pull the assembly into
place; just slightly more than hand tight. Reconnect the electricals,
and reinstall the trim. If there are any of the metal retaining clips
(can't remember if the newer cars still used 'em. If your car doesn't
have them, ignore this), replace them on the tabs on the plastic
before popping the plastic back in.
All in all, a 20-30 minute job if the car is warm. Hope this is
helpful.
ByeBye! S.
Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101
