Headlight And Taillight Bulb Replacement '93 Es

[Ronald]

Anyone have any suggestion to replace bulbs on the headlights and taillights on a '93 ES? I tried to do a search on the forum site and all I got were error messages.

The Lexus service manual provides very little guidance on this, but my guess is the whole front light assembly needs to removed to get to the backside to remove screws that hold the bulb seats in place. Otherwise, one has to fight the battery on the driver's side and the air conditioner on the passenger's side.

For the taillights, which nuts needed to be removed to remove the assembly? I removed the cloth cover in the trunk and I was unhappy to see that there a number of nuts and bolts, my guess about ten on each side. Also, does the license plate light assembly need to come off to remove the taillight assembly?

Also, to get to rear bank of sparkplugs, does one need to remove the intake manifold or is there way to maneuver to get to the rear center plug? Or should I just let the dealer do it and pay the big bucks for the plugs? The NGK plugs are much cheaper at Auto Zone or BAP Geon than at the dealer.

Thanks.

[Lex3486]

Wow, I can't believe no one else has jumped on this! I'll help ya out man. First off, yes- it is much easier to replace headlight bulbs when you remove the assemblies. It isn't however 100% neccesary. If I were gonna suggest replacements, I'd go with Sylvania Silverstars for the bulbs; much brighter, and a nice white color too. Anyhow, on the taillights, the bolts that hold the units in place are all 8mm; all the rest of the nuts are for other stuff, so just look for the ones that are 8mm; some are down inside little holes and are sorta hard to get to, but you should be able to see them just fine. If I remember correctly, there should be about 5 or 6 of these, but don't quote me on that number. One thing you should be sure of though is to get the one that is on the far corner of the lights. I always forget that one. And yes, the license plate lights come off with the rest of the taillights, so no need to worry about that. And while you're at it with the taillights, be sure and replace the corner marker bulbs too (on the far ends of the taillights). These go out often and sometimes will set off the taillight failure indicator light, so while you're at it, go ahead and replace them too. As for the spark plugs, I removed the intake myself; can't afford dealer prices, but it wasn't too bad of a job for someone with a little experience under their belt, just a 2 or 3 hour job I'd say. I used Bosch Platinum 4 plugs (I was drawn into their trap by the cool look of the plugs; don't know if they're any better or not), but I've been told by Lexus mechs that the NGK's will last longer...oh well.

[HoeBag]

platinum 4's suck... stick with oem spec spark plugs

[Lex3486]

Man hoebag, you're just raggin me and my car all over the web tonight! :( What'd I do man?

[Ronald]

Thanks for the help. The front lights are much easier than I thought. Where did you get the Sylvania Silverstars?

Yes for the trouble of replacing the rear bulbs, I plan on replacing all of them instead of just the burned out one. I don't want to go through that disassembly six times on each side! Any suggestions for the reverse lights?

[Lex3486]

I got the Silverstars at Wal-Mart; best price on 'em around. They sell the lows in pairs at $35 a pack. They're $25 a bulb at my fav auto store, so. Good idea on the taillight bulbs; that's what I'd do. After you take em off, it tends to rattle some of em out for some reason, so yeah just go ahead and save yourself the trouble and replace em all. Gonna have to buy alot of bulbs though! 7 bulbs in each!!