I am VERY critical of headlights and taillights because it is very rare to a find a set that I would actually consider to be of high quality. I have seen A LOT of cheap and cheesy lights that leak, crack, fog, or just fall apart and I can’t stand that. So, when Anzo came out with these new taillights for the Toyota Tundra I told them that I was going to be very critical and I would not hold back. Long story short…I am VERY impressed with these taillights. Fit and finish is absolutely perfect. The clarity of the lights is very nice. In my opinion, these are more of a safety feature than an aesthetic improvement.

To start with I took some shots of the stock taillights for comparison.

Now to the work itself. The tail lights are pretty straight forward and easy to figure out.

Before you actually remove the light you’ll want to disconnect the wiring harness from the frame rail. These lights come with a complete wiring harness that clips right into the factory connectors. Don’t worry about damaging the little black clip that mounts into the frame. Anzo provides you with a new one, just be careful with the connector ends.

Now you can unbolt the light from the bed rail.

The lights won’t immediately fall out because there are two little pressure clips around the back of the light that need to be unclipped first. To do this just give the lights a firm tug and they’ll come right out. Here is a picture of the clip from the inside (the little white thing).

Once you have the factory wiring harness and tail light out of the way you are ready to install the new Anzo tail light. Go ahead and feed the wiring harness through the openings and install the tail light. I recommend inserting at least one or both bolts to secure it in place. The clips should hold it, but I wouldn’t risk it. Once the light is supported jump back under the truck and plug in the connectors.

Here is a picture of the clip that will hold the wiring to the factory mounting location. I have to admit, it really impresses me that these are included. I did not expect that.

The passenger side taillights are exactly like the driver’s side so I don’t see the need to repeat the step by step instructions. However, I do have some comparison pictures.

Once you have finished up the install this is what it looks like.

Overall I am VERY impressed and happy with these taillights. The installation was very easy and straight forward. The lights are MUCH brighter than standard. I tried to get a comparison shot of their reflection on a white wall inside the shop but it didn’t turn out very well…The flash took over the shot. I have a third brake light ready to install as well. Unfortunately Anzo has two third brake light options (one smooth and one with 4 screws) well, mine mounts with 4 holes and they sent me a smooth one. So, as soon as I can get the new one I will put that on to finish it off. Here is a teaser shot of the third brake light.

Article and photography by Kyle Millen

A few years ago the DOT (Department of Transportation) cracked down on all of the replacement light manufacturers due to their non-compliance.  After that a few companies have risen up and shown themselves to be of superior quality.

Because of the history of poor fitting, sealing, and cracking problems I have seen over the years I was skeptical about the overall performance and quality of aftermarket lights.  Recently we started working with a headlight manufacturer known as Anzo and they were confident that I would be nothing less than impressed.

We figured we’d put them to the test.

Well, after installing the Anzo’s and driving with them, and trying to flood them with a hose we can say that Anzo lights are phenomonal. We are very impressed with their ease of installation, the perfect fit and finish, and the awesome light they put out. We have no problem recommending these to all of our customers.

Anzo Projector Headlight Installation Article

Anzo LED Taillight Installation Article

Look back in the near future for a how-to on installing HID conversion kit into these head lamps.  (Which basically voids the DOT approval but perfect for off-roading…)

Why did I take the time to write up a full installation article of this project? Well, it’s simple. I’m scared of wiring. I hate wiring things. I am comfortable building engines, wrenching on suspension, and basically EVERY other part of a vehicle. But, wiring is not something I’ve ever felt comfortable with. So, I figured that if I can do this, anyone can.

To remove the O.E. headlight you must first remove the lower panel. That is a bit of a pain to get off. There are two little button clips on the inside (image below) and there are two additional pins that have to come out of their mounting locations on the other side. These are TIGHT and require a firm tug to remove them.

At this point I got smart and decided to tape up my front bumper to protect the paint. I highly recommend this as you will be leaning the headlight against it quite a bit. When you are ready to remove the headlight unbolt the two 10mm screws on top and the one on the outside of the headlight (attached to the fender.) Removing the headlight is pretty straightforward however there is a little clip built into the factory light that is locked in by a metal brace. Just release that clip and the headlight basically falls out. This step does take some maneuvering and tolerances get pretty tight. Take your time and be careful.

Go ahead and remove all of the clips from their lights. Just leave the light bulbs inside the headlight housing as they will not be re-used. I did pull out my bulbs first and happened to notice that the amber bulb that is always on gets REALLY hot!!! Up to this point I have not made any modifications to my lights and the truck only has 25,000 miles on it. You can clearly see that the bulb is burning in its mount.

Once you have the old headlight out of the way you will need to begin preparing your new Anzo light. Begin by wrapping together the red wires then the black wires (red to red and black to black.)

Next, locate the parking light connector. This is the smallest of all of the connectors. It uses a tiny little bulb and is located in the top corners of the headlight housing. Go ahead and strip the protective black plastic shell and the electrical tape. This will expose the green and white wires. Once you’ve done that, go ahead and splice in the wiring to the new headlights. Red wires go to green and black wires go to white. Anzo recommends just wrapping them up and connecting them with electrical tape. I don’t personally think that’s good enough so I went ahead and soldered them together. Then I wrapped them all up in electrical tape. I would have used some heat shrink tubing but I didn’t have the right size handy.

At this point you will want to make sure that your halo’s and lights are fully functional before bolting everything back into place. Go ahead and clip everything back together so you can confirm that everything is working.

Once you have confirmed that everything is working perfectly go ahead and re-install the headlights and proceed to the other side. Here are some more comparison pictures.

And some completed pictures…

And some outdoor night time pictures…(With the hood up ‘cuz you know, that’s how EVERYONE drives at night…Gimme a break, it was midnight by the time I finished.)

Article and photography by Kyle Millen