2004 - 2008 F-150
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by: Real Truck

How to: 04-08 OEM headlights FX-R Projector HID retrofit.

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old Mar 2, 2011 | 05:21 AM
  #151  
mblouir's Avatar
Senior Member
Truck of the Month
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,042
Likes: 1
From: Clemson, SC
I was debating whether or not I wanted to spend the money to do this. You just convinced me....


Did you purchase everything that Powerz listed in the first post? Follow the instructions to the T or did you do anything different? This will be my first time doing something this in-depth so I don't want to screw anything up...
 
Reply
Old Mar 2, 2011 | 09:08 AM
  #152  
SoonerTruck's Avatar
Senior Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 2,230
Likes: 21
From: Broken Arrow, OK
Beautiful work, mSaLL150.
 
Reply
Old Mar 2, 2011 | 09:12 AM
  #153  
TruckGuy24's Avatar
Senior Member
15 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,730
Likes: 42
From: Concord, NC
Yeah That looks amazing.... I'm just nervous on the ballast life
 
Reply
Old Mar 2, 2011 | 11:16 AM
  #154  
eghead's Avatar
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 104
Likes: 0
From: MS
@mSall150 - looks great!
 
Reply
Old Mar 2, 2011 | 12:22 PM
  #155  
mSaLL150's Avatar
Technical Article Contributor
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 7,862
Likes: 0
From: Northern California
Thanks guys, it feels great knowing you can do this yourself and its actually a pretty fun project.

mblouir, I followed powerz guide pretty much to the T. I did a couple of things different though. Once I had the projectors aimed and bolted, I use high strength epoxy cement between the projector and reflector and on the bolts to ensure it would never come loose. I do a lot of hunting and outdoors activities, my truck sees a lot of offroad use and I would hate to have the projector come loose on big bumps and such. I also used 4ft zipties instead of clamps when I sealed the housings back up. I went to theretrofitsource.com and bought the FXR stage 3 kit, it comes with everything you need for the retrofit besides the tools and glues/screws etc. which you can get at homedepot. I used a set of extra lights off ebay so I wouldn't have downtime on the truck.

I recommend signing up at hidplanet.com and do some reading, I got a lot of tips and ideas there and it made me feel more comfortable about what I was doing.

TruckGuy, you don't need to be worried about the morimoto ballasts, they are absolute tanks and completely waterproof. Would love to see someone's cheapo ebay ballast do this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVuIba2kZ9I
 
Reply
Old Mar 2, 2011 | 12:24 PM
  #156  
mblouir's Avatar
Senior Member
Truck of the Month
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,042
Likes: 1
From: Clemson, SC
Thanks for the reply, man---I was reading through this whole thread again just now. Was about to pick up a lot of little things for the truck, but I think this is what I want to do the most. I miss my HIDs, but refuse to run them without projectors.

Time to place an order.




I think I'm going to paint mine like Steve (NCSU_05_FX4) had his done. All black except for the projector itself and the turn signal reflector.

Name:  DSC02473.jpg
Views: 286
Size:  137.2 KB
 
Reply
Old Mar 2, 2011 | 12:56 PM
  #157  
mblouir's Avatar
Senior Member
Truck of the Month
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,042
Likes: 1
From: Clemson, SC
Question: Which wiring harness relay should I get? I understand our stock bulbs are H13, but not sure since these aren't stock bulbs...

Also, are the halos listed for +$25 the 100mm size?
 

Last edited by mblouir; Mar 2, 2011 at 12:58 PM.
Reply
Old Mar 2, 2011 | 01:32 PM
  #158  
mSaLL150's Avatar
Technical Article Contributor
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 7,862
Likes: 0
From: Northern California
Not sure on the halos, I didn't use any. You want the H13 harness so it connects to our factory relay. The bulbs are D2S but remember the harness doesn't attach to the bulb, it attaches to the ballast and these ballasts are D2S.
 
Reply
Old Mar 2, 2011 | 01:35 PM
  #159  
mblouir's Avatar
Senior Member
Truck of the Month
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,042
Likes: 1
From: Clemson, SC
Ah, yeah, you're right. Thanks!
 
Reply
Old Mar 27, 2011 | 01:55 PM
  #160  
mblouir's Avatar
Senior Member
Truck of the Month
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,042
Likes: 1
From: Clemson, SC
Sold a camera lens, so I'm about one order of Dominos away from purchasing everything I will need for this.

Dominos will be here in 20 minutes.
 
Reply
Old Mar 27, 2011 | 04:06 PM
  #161  
Carolinaboy32's Avatar
Senior Member
Truck of the Month
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 2,178
Likes: 0
From: Bluffton, SC


Do it Matt
 
Reply
Old Apr 9, 2011 | 01:14 PM
  #162  
mblouir's Avatar
Senior Member
Truck of the Month
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 2,042
Likes: 1
From: Clemson, SC
Thought I had already posted this, but THANK YOU for the awesome how-to! Without it I would never have tried this.


Thanks for helping more of us do HIDs the right way!









I don't think I could rate the entire project with a single score....instead I'll try to break it down. I found more difficulty in certain aspects.




Out of 10.....1 is easiest and 10 is hardest. I consider myself pretty mechanically-inclined, so this was an easy project with the How-To.

Breaking open headlights: 2/10 (I had done this on my last set so it was much easier the 2nd go-round.)
Cutting hole in reflector bowl for projectors: 3/10 (It was touch-and-go to get it the right size, but the How-To is a great starting point.)
Drilling mounting holes in reflector bowl: 3/10 (I will say go slow here....if your drill gets through too fast you risk widening the hole too much.)
Cutting shrouds to size: 2/10 (Not hard at all, especially since most of what you cut won't be seen.)
Wiring up HIDs: 3/10 (Only this because mine did not come with installation instructions.....luckily had done this in the past so it wasn't an issue.)
Aiming projectors: 4/10 (This is difficult if you have trouble finding a level parking surface. The rotation is probably the hardest part to get right. I'm fixing mine tomorrow morning. This is also the most crucial step.)
Putting it all together and re-sealing: 5/10 Wasn't necessarily hard....just a PITA. I like to go back around the exterior of where the headlight halves come together and lay a bead on the outside to make sure there is no condensation. Let's just say I was covered in RTV sealant by the end of this. )
Seeing the results: 10/10 (It is that hard to believe. )
 

Last edited by mblouir; Apr 10, 2011 at 03:25 PM.
Reply
Old Apr 9, 2011 | 06:00 PM
  #163  
TruckGuy24's Avatar
Senior Member
15 Year Member
Liked
Loved
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 10,730
Likes: 42
From: Concord, NC
 
Reply
Old Apr 10, 2011 | 01:46 PM
  #164  
MedicF150's Avatar
Technical Article Contributor
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 510
Likes: 0
great write up !!!!
 
Reply
Old Apr 10, 2011 | 02:31 PM
  #165  
powerz69's Avatar
Thread Starter
|
Technical Article Contributor
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 566
Likes: 0
From: ED, AB, Canada
Originally Posted by mblouir
Thought I had already posted this, but THANK YOU for the awesome how-to! Without it I would never have tried this.


Thanks for helping more of us do HIDs the right way!
Thanks! That means a lot.
Can you edit your last post and rate the difficulty of this project. From 1-10 10 being hardest. And anyone else that did this project as well can you edit you last completed post with a difficulty number. Thanks. use the line below.

I found this project to be a _ , out of 10, 10 being hardest.


Originally Posted by MedicF150
great write up !!!!
Thank You!
 
Reply



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:39 AM.