I need to replace the high mount stop light and a cargo bed light in my '95 F150. I removed the 2 screws securing the assembly, and it is loosened from the roof. But I can't get it to pull all the way out to access the bulbs, and I don't want to apply too much force and break the assembly. Is there a trick or a tip someone can give me to help remove this assembly?

Thanks for the help!
John

 

Will it pull out far enough to get your fingers behind it?

 

I don't know if the '95 F150 was somehow different, but I too found this a bit worrisome on my '98 chev when I removed the 3rd brakelight to install a sirius antenna. I found there were 2 screws holding the light cover on, plus 2 more holding the back assembly in where the bulbs were placed. Be sure you have removed all the screws. It does sound like yours might be a bit different though (I could access the bulbs by removing only the front cover lens, with the assembly still glued & screwed to the roof). It still won't come off easily. I found the foam insert thing around the light base was sticky on both sides and seemed to hold both the base in place, plus stick to the roof, even after all the screws have been removed. The cover lens and backplate might also be somewhat stuck together after years, you might find on yours that the cover lens comes apart separately from the base so you don't need to actually remove the base from the roof as you might think. In general, some careful wiggling & flexing is usually ok to break this type of plastic stuff apart, and will often be enough to show you where it might still be attached (screws in the dashboard for example might not be easy to see but will become obvious when you see where it just will not come apart). Hope this might give you some ideas to try. Oh and the 3rd brakelight? I put some bathtub silicone caulking around mine after, because the sticky foam pad just doesn't seem to stick well enough after to resist water getting into the roof from say a carwash.

 

Got it done this morning. The whole assembly does indeed come out all the way. Last night it was getting hung up on the plastic shield around the brake lamp. The bottom of it had melted and made it tough to remove. I had to gently pry the whole assembly up with a screw driver.

Thanks!
John