Hey HyHoe, need your advice again.
I'm looking to install HID lights on my truck, I've done this mod on many cars and bikes before, but im having a little trouble getting the Tahoe headlight out.

I have read that the third bolt holding the headlight assembly can only be accessed by pulling back the wheel well liner. I can get the bolts that hold the liner off & the one plastic 2-peice fastener on the top, but the "push-pin" style fasteners in the middle are confusing. Im trying to pry them open with a flat head screw driver, but i feel like im applying too much force and might be close to breaking them.



Also do you have any other pointers on the HID install?

Thanks

 

Hey bud,

Okay a couple of things here ... this is the headlamp assy:



The only way I know of to remove it without taking a chance on braking tabs and other bits is by taking the bumper off ... if you're going to be swapping bulbs and adding ballasts/harnesses for hids it will go a lot faster and will be a lot easier if you remove the bumper cover and work unrestricted.

To do that it's actually pretty simple, detach it from the liner as you did, unscrew the bolts in front of the radiator, and there are little screws and a filler type bracket thingie at the top corners of the bumper where it meets the fender (right next to the lowest green circle on your pic). Honestly it takes no mere than 5 minutes to take it off and maybe 10 to get it back on because those little brackets can be slippery to line back up.

Now, about HIDs ...

Are you putting them in your oem headlamps or did you buy some aftermarket lamps from ebay or other vendor?

The way forward there will depend on the answer to the above.

 

At this point i'll be adding 5000k bulbs into the oem housing. The aftermarket ones on ebay all seem to be a little tacky.

Removing the bumper, Really? I though I would just remove/loosen the headlight and hook the kit up.

 

Well, I ve heard that one can swap bulbs without removing the whole bumper cover but I have yet to witness it successfully.

However you're not just swapping bulbs ... you have to add and attach ballasts, wires and so on and you're doing it on both sides of the truck. Every time either I or the shop it has done they have always removed the bumper. Just too tight in there to do serious work. If nothing else you'll end up inadvertently touching the bulb, leave finger oils behind, and those things will burn up faster than Lohan in hell.

Don't be lazy.

And if you need bulbs, I have a new set of H1 35w 6000k bulbs, and a used set of standard 35w ballasts sitting in the closet that I'm selling on another forum (same ones i use on my retrofit).

But yeah, just take the bumper off and it will be a LOT easier ... btw, that's how they handle it at my dealership as well.

And a huge 'phew' that you didn't buy an aftermarket set off of ebay ... I've been down that road before and I depended on driving behind kids shining their dynamo powered bicycle light to see the road.

 

Sounds good... as soon as I get the HID kit in the mail in a few days,ill fill you in on the install.

Also, what are your favorite mods you have done to the Tahoe Hyhoe?

 

Mmm, there's a few ... the ones I'm really fond of:

- CK375 22" Wheel package
- Escalade rear bumper cover and hitch cover
- LTZ Chrome handles and door moldings
- Resonator delete
- Grillecraft front upper/lower inserts
- Black bowties
- Woodgrain console
- Smoked 3rd light
- And although a small mod, I'm really proud that I figured out how to spell hybrid with the tahoe lettering on my liftgate.

And my favorite of all is of course the quad retrofit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWsDhdnb-70

The escalade mirrors I'm somewhat meh about ...

The one mod I don't like and am about to reverse is the running boards. Don't get me wrong, I actually like the chrome boards, but the look is contrived with those stupid wheel arch flares. Truth is nothing is going to look correct with those on other than the stock ones. So I'm going back to stock to reclaim a cleaner line and do away with the gap between my frame and the chrome boards.

 

WOW...I really like the mods you have done so far, and I agree there is enough chrome even without the running boards, the stock ones might give the truck a more streamlined look.

My favorite mod so far has been welding on an OEM chrome tip from the Silverado LTZ.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/?cmd=...K%3AMEWNX%3AIT
(I'll put up a picture of it on my truck when i get a chance)

Also have you considered swapping the third brake light with the one on the Escalade?

 

wow, that looks really nice bud ...

do you get a little extra rumble with it or is it just to improve that catastrophic looking pipe GM blessed us with?

also out of curiosity, did you check that it provides enough flow for our larger engines?

i don't know anything about exhaust so i went with the dual tip that came with my resonator delete kit.

 

Sorry, I didn't see the escalade 3rd question ...

Funny you should ask that because it has been on my mind for a while.

The thing is the whole idea started because i prefer the escalade's D pillar appliques. When I was investigating those I realized that the D pillars appliques on all other versions of these trucks are different than those of the base Tahoe/yukon hybrid. They are in fact much curvier and narrower at the top and sides. How do I know ... cause i bought aftermarket tails once only to see this:

http://gallery.me.com/soulsea/100050...13121638230008
http://gallery.me.com/soulsea/100050...13121638250007
http://gallery.me.com/soulsea/100050...13121638450001

When that happened my first thought was to get the correct appliques. Thankfully that's when I realized that they are not the same at the top because of the different way our 3rd looks and is attached.



If one was to put the regular appliques there would be a huge gap at the top.

Why the difference?
Because the base Hoe/Yuk Hybrids have a completely different liftgate which doesn't have the separate rear window opening. If you look at any of the other trims of our truck they all have a little handle on the rear window so as to be able to open it without opening the gate ... ours is one whole piece.

Because of that the attachment points for the 3rd are on the top frame of the liftgate and on the other trucks like the escalade they are on the top of the window piece.

I'm not done investigating but it is now almost a certainty that this cannot be done without swapping liftgates. This in itself is extremely cost prohibitive just to achieve the esky 3rd and slightly curvier appliques.

We'll see ...

 

I left the stock resonator in place, so there has been no change in exhaust note.
The tip overlaps with the exhaust pipe for about 4 inches, so the flow remains unchanged. Its scary how GM let the hybrid sell with such a cheap and incomplete looking exhaust pipe.

Snapped a couple quick pics...