Tail Light Stud Removal! I'm Stuck!

[Guitar3dt]

Hi guys,

I have a problem and was hoping somebody would be able to offer me some advice. I have a 2000 SLE and when I purchased it, it had previously been hit in the rear drivers side. It's since been fixed, but the dopes that did the body work ordered a 2002 Tail light for it.

Needless to say, this bothers me as my taillights don't match. I bought a used 2000 tail light on ebay, but the threaded studs that attach the tail light to the car were not included. I can't seem to get the old studs out of my other light.

The company I ordered from on ebay said to heat them up with a hair dryer, which I did and I just can't get them out. Any ideas? I don't know if I can purchase just the studs and still, I'll have to get them into the plastic slots on the new light.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks,
Tim

[AguinaldoHomes Inc]

you're in luck man coz i just bought some 99-10 tails for my 03 solara and the tails did not come with studs...what i did was buy a new set of screws with hex nuts from home depot....i then glued the home depot screws(make sure it's straight when gluing it to the hole where the studs go) into the taillamps and i have a dremel tool that i used to cut off the flat head part...if you have any questions just pm or call me directly...

[ArizonaEagle07]

I just bought a New Pair of Tail Lights too from eBay. One light came with the studs and the other light didnt?!

So what I did was on the old lights take a pair of pliers and grab the stud on the bottom and bend it and they will snap out of the housing.

To put them in the new housing. I took a lighter and softened the plastic than took a hammer and pounded the stud into the new housing. Be sure to have a thick cloth so you dont scratch the taillight.

This is with the Gen 1 model & taillights. It took me awhile to pund the new studs in btw.

hope this helps.

[AguinaldoHomes Inc]

dude that's too much work...save some time and buy the screws at Home Depot like i mentioned above...

[Guitar3dt]

Thanks for the tips guys! I think I might try the screw idea. What kind of glue did you use to hold them in?

Thanks again,
Tim