[flatlander757]

So I was busy today cutting holes in my Jeep and putting some CJ style tail lights in. As many of you know, the 03-06 TJs need the evap canister relocated or at least spaced forward enough for a recessed flush tail light to fit.

I chose to use non-LED style 1) because of cost 2) bulb replacement is easy and 3) I honestly hate the LED look, normal incandescent bulbs look more uniform and better IMO. They're these $6 jobbies from Wally World. They take the same 2-filament bulb that the OEM lenses take(the number skips my mind right now, but in a nutshell I've got 2 spare bulbs).



Alright onto the write-up. First thing I did was pop off the OEM lights.



Here is what you will find after you rip your inner fenderwells off... See the 13mm bolt under the wiring connector? Remove it and also disconnect the that connector while you're at it. There is a red safety tab that must be pushed sideways(physically down in relation to the ground, sideways relative to the connector) before you can squeeze the tab and unplug it.



Now, further above you will see this plate(removed for clarity). Pull the 13mm bolts on the left and right, and the 13mm nut up top in the center.



There's also this 13mm bolt on the bottom which needs loosened so the entire canister can be slid forward. This pic is actually taken after it's been done, the big freaking washer(black) is not there from the factory. More on that later though...



NOW you can pull that evap canister and all forward. It may take some wrestling to get it out enough to do the next few steps, but it is possible. I removed the one giant hose that goes to the very top of the evap canister and that seemed to help a bit at one point.



The absolute worst part of this entire deal for me was removing the stud that the 13mm nut you already removed normally attaches to. Lots of use of a hammer, a punch, some vice-grips and aggression got it out. I removed it because it would interfere with the nut/bolt about to be installed in the next few steps.



Next, what I did was put the nut that I had removed on the back-side of the evap canister bracket(the hole that the now removed stud normally goes through) and prepped the surface for tack-welding it in place.



Shazaam... the nut is welded in place:



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[flatlander757]

......

Now, get back to the plate that was removed earlier. On the right side(closer to the chassis frame rails) there are two holes nearbyish each other, I took my angle grinder and just cut a slot from one to the other. This is done because the innermost bolt is at an angle and when the bracket/evap is spaced away, it won't go in without crossthreading.





Also, don't forget to go back and spray some paint of the exposed metal on the bracket and the welded-on nut to prevent rusting!



Now it is really hard to photograph the bracket when installed in the Jeep, but here is what is basically happening... Take one of the stock 13mm bolts that were removed and attach the bracket to the evap canister "frame" at the top. On the sides, you'll need longer bolts, I used 8mmx1.25 40mm bolts and some old t-case drop spacers(1in) to space the stuff back. I also used a washer for good measure on the slotted hole that was made on the bracket.



Then you'll need another spacer and longer bolt for the other piece that the evap canister frame bolts to the tub...



Also, on the very bottom I removed the 13mm bolt that was previously loosened and put a giant freaking washer under it so that the edge would grab the "notch" it was previously in to keep the evap canister stable.





Now you should have about 2in from the back of the evap canister assembly to the tub! I forgot to take a pic, but the original measurement was something like 1" or 1-1/4" at most.

[2jhanna]

good write up.

another couple of points about standard bulbs over LED's. no change in flasher required, and to me, standard bulbs are more of a jeep thing, like round headlights.

[flatlander757]

Now time to make holes! Where exactly you put your hole is up to you, but what I did to ensure accurately placed holes on both sides was make a template that could be flipped over to mirror the hole on the other side. Basically gut one of your old tail lights(hammer to the back works great!), then take a grinder to the little "flaps" that hole the lightbulbs on to get a flat piece like this.



I drilled my pilot hole a tiny bit to the inside and low enough for the light's "flange" to cover up the tiny bit of the ovalish hole where the OEM wiring comes through...



Not pictured, but you remove the plate/template and flip it and bolt it to the other side and drill the hole. Bam your pilot holes are perfectly opposite of each other.

Remove the template and then go to town with your hole saw. My lights required a 4-1/2" hole. Actually a 4-1/4 would be perfect, but it's fine to be a tiny bit loose, screws hold it in, not a press-fit.





Then put your light housing in place, mark your mounting holes, and get an appropriately sized drill bit and drill your holes.



I decided to actually reuse the stock tail light mounting bolts since they have a sweet engraving star washer which digs into the light's housing to great a good ground(these lights ground through the housing). After they were installed, I painted the bolt heads black for asthetic and rust prevention purposes. Also note that I needed to actually notch my license plate bracket as my tail light mounting bolt was right behind it. About 2 min with a grinder took care of it.



Wiring the lights is very straight forward, two wires. One controls the weak parking light filament and the other controls the brighter brake light filament. I cut the OEM tail light wiring harness on the light side so the factory harness is untoughed. Use a test-light and find out which wire on the vehicle side is reverse, which is tail light, and which is brake. For your tail lights, which wire controls what obviously depends on which you choose. One is green and one is black, I honestly forget which is which, but I do remember that on the right side, the black wire went to the OEM black w/ red tracer and on the left side, the green wire went to the red w/ green tracer.

[flatlander757]

Originally Posted by 2jhanna

good write up.

another couple of points about standard bulbs over LED's. no change in flasher required, and to me, standard bulbs are more of a jeep thing, like round headlights.

Right, forgot to mention that. I don't feel like screwing around with a flasher for the time being.

And finally, the finished pics:



Running lights:


Brake lights:

[2jhanna]

flatlander, a little change of subject here, but if you ever really want to "black" things out. paint your canyons. the clear coat was in bad shape on mine so i cleaned them up and sprayed them with satin black.

[flatlander757]

Originally Posted by 2jhanna

flatlander, a little change of subject here, but if you ever really want to "black" things out. paint your canyons. the clear coat was in bad shape on mine so i cleaned them up and sprayed them with satin black.

No, I've got some DIY beadlock wheels planned for when I go to 35s. They'll be black with probably a graphite color lock ring or something. For future reference, use PM for stuff like this

[jeepbro's]

what do you have to do to the flashers if you use LED's? i want to eventually do this with the LED's that have the ring around them for reverse (I think those exist... can't find them but could have sworn i've seen them)

[flatlander757]

Originally Posted by jeepbro's

what do you have to do to the flashers if you use LED's? i want to eventually do this with the LED's that have the ring around them for reverse (I think those exist... can't find them but could have sworn i've seen them)

Basically the OEM flasher causes the turn signals to blink stupid-fast when one of the bulbs burns out. This is because there is less resistance in the circuit than normal.

By putting LEDs in place of the OEM bulbs, the flasher thinks that a light is out since LEDs draw hardly any current compared to an incandescent bulb. So your turn signals will blink really fast all the time.

The flasher module is located under the driver's dash a bit further up near the steering column. There is a write-up on Stu Olsen's site.

www.stu-offroad.com

[jeepbro's]

Originally Posted by flatlander757

Basically the OEM flasher causes the turn signals to blink stupid-fast when one of the bulbs burns out. This is because there is less resistance in the circuit than normal.

By putting LEDs in place of the OEM bulbs, the flasher thinks that a light is out since LEDs draw hardly any current compared to an incandescent bulb. So your turn signals will blink really fast all the time.

The flasher module is located under the driver's dash a bit further up near the steering column. There is a write-up on Stu Olsen's site.

www.stu-offroad.com

ok that makes sense, yeah i dont think i could deal with that because then the dash signal lights would be on all the time when its dark and that'd be annoying.
was the template just used to make even reference points on both sides for circle cutting?

[flatlander757]

Originally Posted by jeepbro's

ok that makes sense, yeah i dont think i could deal with that because then the dash signal lights would be on all the time when its dark and that'd be annoying.
was the template just used to make even reference points on both sides for circle cutting?

Right. I bolted the template to the right side, and drilled my pilot hole(was something small like 3/16" or so maybe). When you remove the template you have a small hole which is left to guide the hole-saw's arbor in where you want it. Flip the template over and repeat for the left side. Worked like a charm!

[mudb8]

Originally Posted by flatlander757

(the number skips my mind right now, but in a nutshell I've got 2 spare bulbs).



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1157

[Doctor7474]

Originally Posted by flatlander757

Basically the OEM flasher causes the turn signals to blink stupid-fast when one of the bulbs burns out. This is because there is less resistance in the circuit than normal.

By putting LEDs in place of the OEM bulbs, the flasher thinks that a light is out since LEDs draw hardly any current compared to an incandescent bulb. So your turn signals will blink really fast all the time.

The flasher module is located under the driver's dash a bit further up near the steering column. There is a write-up on Stu Olsen's site.

www.stu-offroad.com

Or you could....

Measure the resistance in the stock tail lights.

Measure the resistance in the LED tail lights.

Subtract the two.

Go to Radio Shack, buy a resistor equal to the above, and wire it in the tail light harness while you have it pulled out of the hole installing the LED tail lights. That would work I would think?

m

[KKiowaTJ]

Looks good
I went with L.E.D flush mount front and rear, And all you need is a EP26 flasher, Or have the part store cross the number to the OP who asked about it. Its as easy as this install, Just not as easy to replace bulbs as pointed out.
Again, Looks great, And you did a good write-up for others to follow.

[KKiowaTJ]

Originally Posted by Doctor7474

Or you could....

Measure the resistance in the stock tail lights.

Measure the resistance in the LED tail lights.

Subtract the two.

Go to Radio Shack, buy a resistor equal to the above, and wire it in the tail light harness while you have it pulled out of the hole installing the LED tail lights. That would work I would think?

m

Thats good and all, But for $6 dollars, And all i had to do is un-plug, and reverse it with the EP26, Alot less time and effort. To me, Its worth the extra couple dollars