gc9538

Have 2004 GX470 with 330,000 miles. Vehicle is in great shape but has signs of age like the headlight assemblies. I have had them refinished several times but plastic is just aged too far. I bought new factory assemblies off ebay at very good price. I am very proficient with tools as I grew up with Mechanic father and fixed all my own early on, now just because when I can. I tried removing passenger side assembly and got all the bolts out including the very hard to get lower one. Just could not get unit out of hole. Don't know if this requires dropping front bumper or doing something I am just not seeing. Does anyone have any experience with these and able to offer suggestion or copy of page from shop manual that can enlighten? Thank you

RCsGX

Yes you have to remove the front bumper.

gc9538

Thanks for the input. I thought this might be the case. Since I probably need to remove the battery anyway to get better access to the back side of the drivers side for bulbs and such I shouldn't have to worry about any mishaps with airbag sensors, right? Any hints on proper alignment in getting the bumper back on? Again, much appreciation for taking the time to respond.

YoshiMan

330,000 miles huh? I bet you have the record on the forum!

RCsGX

You don't need to remove the battery to get to the bulbs. It'll be easier if you do but it's not necessary.

Sorry I don't have a larger picture but this is of the passenger side.


Once you remove all of the clips, bolts, screws etc. pull the part w/ the red line towards the front of the GX. Once you do the alignment tabs, circled in green, will pop away from the quarter and you can then remove the bumper cover. You have to give it a good tug though to get the alignment tabs to pull away from the quarter, so don't be scared to use a little force to get it to separate.

Putting it back is easy. Get it centered and push either alignment tab in and it'll hold the bumper cover up while you pop the other side pin in. It's hard to explain but you'll see what I mean once you remove it.


EDIT:

Found a pic online. You can see the tabs circled in green.

gc9538

Thank you for more detail and pics to help illustrate the proceedure. This weekend will be new headlight exercise. This will make vehicle look ten years newer. Already popped in new fog lights and noticed immediately the improved illumination so really looking forward to how bright the headlights are going to appear.
So the 330k miles is a lot, it is really on the way to where I intended to go when I bought it. Started with 24k and have just maintained along the way. Only minore repairs in the whole scheme of things. Evaporator, timing belt, radiator, front hubs, rear air bags and shocks. The rest is tires brakes and batteries. Greatest most reliable car ever owned. I do 50k a year for work so I keep driving.