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Tail Light Positioning ????

2K views 41 replies 12 participants last post by  harcosparky 
#1 ·
Ok this is nuts ......

I got replacement taillights from an online source.

Mounted they up and the right side is LOWER than the left side by a difference of over 1".

Is that normal????

I'm smelling some modification work in the air!!!!

THANKS
 
#3 ·
Are the old ones mounted level?

Is the light with the license light in it mounted over the license plate?

Yes, post pics of the old ones mounted and the new ones mounted.

Have you compared the back of each side to each other, old to new, bolt to bolt?

Seems curious.

Good Luck, L.M.
 
#4 ·
^^^Agreed

I would measure and check heights using your factory ones to see if the mounting holes on your tub are off or not. This way you'll be able to tell if it was a problem out of the factory or if it's your aftermarket tail lights.

Looking forward to some pictures!

-Jake
 
#5 ·
Old ones are gone.

Yes they are mounted on the correct side ... license plate light over license plate.

Both light came from Quadratec.

I will take them off tomorrow and measure mounting hole placement but as I recall from bolt placement inside the lights ...... the actual mounting holes are where the issue resides.

Now it is a 95 YJ ...... but I could see no visible signs of any sheet metal work being done.

Will get pics tomorrow.
 
#8 ·
I would see if I couldn't move the holes in the light before I mess with sheet metal...I would check holes with a tape from top of tub or HT.
 
#9 ·
I will measure holes from top of tub down, but I know the bolt holes in the lights are in the same position on both ...... moving them down will be tricky because there is a metal backing plat inside the light but it does not extend down below the bolt holes.

I have another option I am working on ...... I have a pair of DOT legal, military surplus LED tail lights and this might be the time to do them. Just need to get the plug for them to plug into the YJ harness. I could hack it off the existing taillights .... but that's messy.

The mil-spec ones look like this ,......


I can separate the lamp assembly from the back shell and " flush mount ". To do this requires a would require a square hole .... 2.5" X 2.5"
 
#15 ·
I will measure holes from top of tub down, but I know the bolt holes in the lights are in the same position on both ...... moving them down will be tricky because there is a metal backing plat inside the light but it does not extend down below the bolt holes.

I have another option I am working on ...... I have a pair of DOT legal, military surplus LED tail lights and this might be the time to do them. Just need to get the plug for them to plug into the YJ harness. I could hack it off the existing taillights .... but that's messy.

The mil-spec ones look like this ,......


I can separate the lamp assembly from the back shell and " flush mount ". To do this requires a would require a square hole .... 2.5" X 2.5"
That would be a really nice addition to my YJ! Thanks for the idea!
 
#12 ·
I have a drill bit that drills a square hole. No Kidding..

It's for wood only and I bought it at Harbor Freight. Still no kidding.

It's called a mortising bit and chisel. Look it up.

Good Luck, L.M.
 
#13 ·
hehehe ..... ok now!

I have a couple of those ... the drill bit drills a round hole and the chisel squares it!

They don't work well on sheet metal thought!

If I do not have a large enough chassis punch, I have a plasma cutter.

:)
 
#14 ·
It's a JEEP thing ...... ROFLMAO

Mounting holes for tail light is LOWER on the passenger side than on the driver side.

I guess I could drill new hole for the passenger side to match the drivers side for the current tail lights and fill the old holes.




 
#19 ·
I looked at it again and was thinking of relocating the light higher up. But if I did that it might put the light in danger of being smacked by the tailgate hinge when the tailgate was opened.
 
#17 ·
KISS!!

No need to drill a square hole.
If you have access to the backside of the taillight mount area (I could go outside to check my Jeep to see if there is access but it's 21* outside), You can simply epoxy a piece of heavy sheet metal to where the light mounts. Then drill and tap 3 holes and mount the light. The screws that hold the light will hold the home made nut plate in place even if the epoxy fails.
Heavy sheet metal like a piece of automatic transmission pan.

If you are deep enough into repairs to own a plasma cutter, you have the skills to do whatever is necessary to make all this work.

If that were my Jeep, I might just leave the light mounted cuckoo to see who ever notices. At least if you did this, you wouldn't have to fill the old misplaced holes and do bodywork and paint.

Good Luck, L.M.
 
#18 ·
Looking at the back of the YJ .... if the holes on the passenger side were as high up as the holes on the driver side, when the tailgate is open .... the hinge would hit the light.



If that were my Jeep, I might just leave the light mounted cuckoo to see who ever notices. At least if you did this, you wouldn't have to fill the old misplaced holes and do bodywork and paint.

Good Luck, L.M.
A total repaint is in the near future and there will be plenty of body work to take care of anyway.

I still like the idea of those flush mount military lights. I only wish they were OD green, the color of the new paint to come.

.
 
#21 ·
Do you know what vehicle that is mounted in, I see a lot of rivets in that pic.

I saw that setup before and didn't rally like it for some reason.

It's like the tail light itself is mounted in a buck and the bucket is mounted to the tub.

When I first talked about flush mounting the lights I was 'warned' about some 'bracing' that is inside the tub around the tail light area ..... not that it too could be cut out and reworked but I want to do as little of that as is possible.

The other thing holding me back is getting a spare set of tail lights or two. It'd be a little disheartens to go through all the work, hove something go bad on one and not be able to get a replacement.

EDIT: Ok just found those buckets on Ebay .........
http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/111906343610?dest=http://www.ebay.com/itm/111906343610



The allow you to mount the complete military tai light. What I want to do is separate the light assembly from the back of the light assembly.

The military tail light is an old design, the outer dimensions have not changed. What has changed are the light assembly inside the can. They are no longer as massive as they once were ( I know because I worked in them back in the 1970's ).

You really could not 'flush mount' the early ones because all the electrics would be exposed when taken apart.

On the newer unit the back shell does nothing more that keep all original dimensions intact.

I will post a pic of the newer light assembly removed from the back shell in a little while.
 
#25 ·
Come on guys, you're missing the obvious and easy solution. Just let some air out of the driver's side tires until the lights are level. Problem solved. ;)
 
#33 ·
The broach would be the best method.

Using a milling machine or a hand drill with a jig would require a hole larger than the item being inserted assuming the item is truly square ( 90 degree corners ) because both the milling machine and the drill use round bits which would leave a radius in the corners.


Not sure how we even got onto 'drilling' a square hole when I mentioned using a chassis punch in the sheet metal. Chassis punch is the preferred method. Drill a pilot hole, and the punch does the rest.

These are expensive and I am lucky to have a few here and access to any size I need.

 
#34 ·
Why not just use a hole saw? Any reason in particular that you want a square hole? Looks like the back of that light will cover the excess hole that the round hole would create.
 
#36 ·
If I did not have the correct tools available I might be tempted to go the hole saw route, you are right it is big enough.

Trying to remove as little metal as possible though.
 
#35 ·
I really don't see how the tail lights are in different locations, as far as I know all YJs came with the same tail gate hinges, so no reason to move one light.
If it was mine, I'd be reaching up inside and checking if the right side had been patched or filled.
No big deal if it was, but at least you'd know why.

Cheapest/easiest way to make a one-off square hole is to drill the corners with a small bit, then the center with a large bit and file it square.
 
#37 ·
Using those insert bucks show earlier will not work .... at least not with the license plate mounted in the stock position.

At this point I will install the military lights flush and move the license plate anyway.

The plate bracket will force the light to be mounted too high for my tastes.

I placed one of the lamp gaskets over the license plate bracket to show spacing.



 
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