Clear Corners

May 14, 2002

How-To Guide

Ford F-150 Clear Corner Front Signal Lense Replacement

Tools Needed:

screwdriver with a T-20 Torx bit

Parts Needed:

two clear front corner lenses
two clear #3157 light bulbs (optional)
replacement rubber o-ring or silicone sealer (if needed - see text below*)

Time for install:

3-10 minutes depending on how mechanically inclined you are

Parts Cost:

Varies, I bought my clear corners used. #3157 bulbs are under $5 each. Shop around for the best prices.

Procedure:

Follow my instructions completely at your own risk! I take no responsibility for any accuracy in my instructions.

open the hood so you can access the lense fasteners.
remove the torx bolt on the top of each corner lense as shown below.
the lenses are held in with two nipple-type fasteners, you'll need to grip the lense firmly with both hands and pull it straight out in the direction of your headlight beam. Give it a good yank, mine were in there pretty good as shown below, or use one hand if you're strong.
looking at the back of each corner lense, twist the bulb holder counter-clockwise about 45 degrees and pull it out. On the passenger side you'll need to first remove the electrical connector from the actual bulb socket/holder so that you can twist the bulb holder past the mounting prong.
At this point it's optional to replace your light bulb with a #3157 clear bulb instead of the yellow coated OEM bulb. Whether it's legal or not is up to you to find out. If you re-use the yellow factory bulbs you will be able to see a bit of yellow coming through your new lenses. It's up to you!
Then replace the bulb/socket and twist it in.
Be careful when you re-insert the lense into the body, there is a little rail at the bottom where the lense slides in so that the lower prong fits the mounting hole. There's lots of room to look behind the lense as you put it on. Be careful. Then push it in all the way. It gets very hard about 1/2inch from being fully seated. Use both hands and carefully push it straight back as if you were pushing towards the taillight at the back of the truck (not at an angle). I had to give mine a good shove to seat them.

Tips:

*My clear corners were made in Taiwan, unfortunately they used a slightly thinner plastic where the bulb socket plugs in so the OEM rubber gasket on the actual bulb socket isn't thick enough to seal 100%. It's fairly loose. Kind of dumb if you ask me. The solution is to either replace the OE white rubber gasket with a similar diameter, thicker rubber o-ring from somewhere like Home Depot or your favourite hardware store... just troll the hardware isle.... you'll find o-rings somewhere there. Or you can use something like a clear silicone sealer as well. I'll be looking for an o-ring, I prefer a good mechanical seal to silicone.
You may also want to replace the metal screw retaining clips on the new clear corners with the old OEM ones which are a bit better made. Darn Taiwan quality.

That's it, your done!