Morimoto MH1 Bi-Xenon Retrofit in Tahoe - Build Thread - FINISHED

[Geoffsfas10]

I got the mini Gatling gun shrouds and demon eyes which both screwed on to the projectors. That made that part of it easy. Which ones did you get? Here’s some shots of mine on my Silvy. I also had TRS do their lens etching service as you can see.

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I got the E-46r extended shrouds. If you use a larger D2s projectors, they will sit essentially flush with the outter ring of the low beam reflector but since these tucked up and in there, i had to cut them down. which cutting a consistent radius was tricky, and i screwed it up, so then i had to modifiy it but i think it turned out alright

 

[992dr]

I was in the same boat. I tried LEDs are about 30 minutes one night they just werent the same. Having a retro iin the past made the comparison worse for me, since I was already used to it. With how simple this ended up being, im glad I went this route.

if I were to redo it though, I think I would have gone with the mini gattling gun shrouds, since they screw on to the projector flange from behind, vs having to JB weld the shourds and concentric rings on but such is life. Its all good. Now just to re-aim the passenger side. think im gonna wait til its warmer though.

I'm glad you did as well, because I ordered my kit last night and they shipped already haha.
Oh and by chance, I got the mini gattling shrouds.

 

[kbuskill]

Yes unfortunately I will have to open it back up

However since its all sealed up with butyl now, it opens easily with a heat gun.

So what will be involved in re-aiming it further toward the passenger side?

Will you have to shim it with something?

Sorry for what may seem like noob questions, I've just never done a retrofit and wasn't sure.

 

[Rocket Man]

So what will be involved in re-aiming it further toward the passenger side?

Will you have to shim it with something?

Sorry for what may seem like noob questions, I've just never done a retrofit and wasn't sure.

When I did mine I tightened up the big nut that holds the projector in place until I could barely rotate the projector, then installed the headlights with the lenses still off. Then I waited until night and aimed the truck at my garage door where I had taped off horizontal lines at the correct height. The horizontal adjustments were made by rotating the projectors, and I adjusted the up and down with the headlight adjusters. Then I removed the headlights and did a final tightening of the nuts which, like mentioned, kinda crushes the washers in place so they can’t move. Then I reinstalled the lights and double checked before pulling them off and baking the lenses on.
Edit: I see he has an issue with left-to-right adjustment. Nevermind. I had no issues with that and don't see a way to adjust that easily or with precision. I would be tempted to shim the headlight assembly left-to-right by enlarging the mounting holes like I mentioned earlier as opposed to opening up the headlight and trying to adjust the projector itself especially since it’s pretty locked in place now. A tiny adjustment in the headlight will be a big adjustment at 20-30 feet away.

 

[Geoffsfas10]

So what will be involved in re-aiming it further toward the passenger side?

Will you have to shim it with something?

Sorry for what may seem like noob questions, I've just never done a retrofit and wasn't sure.

I will just have to re-seat how the projector is sitting in the opening. I have an idea on why its sitting that way, I think it might be hitting the left over bit of the anti glare tab that was removed. It also might be as simple as filing the one side of the opening a little flatter so it doesnt put a kink in the projector. Like Mark said, the tiny amount its off up close, like 2-3" from off center, causes it to be like 10' off at driving distance.

I suppose I could adjust how the headlight is mounted but it doesnt really want to change it position from where its at. That would make sense though since the bumper cover thats right next to the headlight kept hitting that corner when I was installing it and was fighting me a bunch, so maybe i do need to shift the headlight. it only need to move over like 1/4" or something. I will look at it some more later when its not so cold and mess with it then but for now it works. My biggest thing is i need them 100% fine tuned before vacation in June which I better have done by then haha

 

[kbuskill]

I will just have to re-seat how the projector is sitting in the opening. I have an idea on why its sitting that way, I think it might be hitting the left over bit of the anti glare tab that was removed. It also might be as simple as filing the one side of the opening a little flatter so it doesnt put a kink in the projector. Like Mark said, the tiny amount its off up close, like 2-3" from off center, causes it to be like 10' off at driving distance.

I suppose I could adjust how the headlight is mounted but it doesnt really want to change it position from where its at. That would make sense though since the bumper cover thats right next to the headlight kept hitting that corner when I was installing it and was fighting me a bunch, so maybe i do need to shift the headlight. it only need to move over like 1/4" or something. I will look at it some more later when its not so cold and mess with it then but for now it works. My biggest thing is i need them 100% fine tuned before vacation in June which I better have done by then haha

It sounds like they are irreparably messed up... you should probably just send them to me, and I will dispose of them properly, and just forget the whole thing.

 

[Geoffsfas10]

It sounds like they are irreparably messed up... you should probably just send them to me, and I will dispose of them properly, and just forget the whole thing.

seems like the most logical solution

 

[Rocket Man]

It sounds like they are irreparably messed up... you should probably just send them to me, and I will dispose of them properly, and just forget the whole thing.

Oh yeah sounds legit lmao.

 

[Geoffsfas10]

Welp.....I think Im just stupid

So a very me type thing happened with this retro...Remember how I said passenger side was left/right wrong and that it had a little bit of condensation in it and I was going to open it up? Well the other day I opened the hood...for some reason or another...and I noticed that the reason behind the moisture in the lenses was because how it sits in my garage after driving it, the heat from the radiator flows up and out over the tops of the headlights...which warmed the butyl enough to cause the lenses to sag down...haha damn it!! I talked with LightWerkz about this and they said some aftermarket lights have super crappy clips ( which mine do ) and that I might need to add some staples or tiny screws to hold it all in place. So last night I decided to pull the headlights out, heat em up, clamp em closed and screw the lens covers in. At this point I've gotten extremely good at removing the front of the tahoe, ( i can do a headlight swap in under 10 minutes now ) so I got em loosened up, warmed them, used the quick clamps ( that have the trigger you pull to tighten them gradually ) got the lenses pulled 100% snug and screwed them into place. Drivers side went back fine and heres where it gets interesting. When I dropped my daughter off at school that my cutoff lines werent aligned anymore. So turns out I guess I had the stupid headlight in wrong because when i checked it against a co workers free candy van, the lower step of the passenger side is sitting on top of the upper step of the drivers....i had the damn thing in wrong somehow

It seems as though a simple height adjustment with the screws is all I will have to do now, the passenger beam is WAY off to the right now which is how it should be. So thats all it was....i had it in wrong somewhere

 

[Rocket Man]

Welp.....I think Im just stupid

So a very me type thing happened with this retro...Remember how I said passenger side was left/right wrong and that it had a little bit of condensation in it and I was going to open it up? Well the other day I opened the hood...for some reason or another...and I noticed that the reason behind the moisture in the lenses was because how it sits in my garage after driving it, the heat from the radiator flows up and out over the tops of the headlights...which warmed the butyl enough to cause the lenses to sag down...haha damn it!! I talked with LightWerkz about this and they said some aftermarket lights have super crappy clips ( which mine do ) and that I might need to add some staples or tiny screws to hold it all in place. So last night I decided to pull the headlights out, heat em up, clamp em closed and screw the lens covers in. At this point I've gotten extremely good at removing the front of the tahoe, ( i can do a headlight swap in under 10 minutes now ) so I got em loosened up, warmed them, used the quick clamps ( that have the trigger you pull to tighten them gradually ) got the lenses pulled 100% snug and screwed them into place. Drivers side went back fine and heres where it gets interesting. When I dropped my daughter off at school that my cutoff lines werent aligned anymore. So turns out I guess I had the stupid headlight in wrong because when i checked it against a co workers free candy van, the lower step of the passenger side is sitting on top of the upper step of the drivers....i had the damn thing in wrong somehow

It seems as though a simple height adjustment with the screws is all I will have to do now, the passenger beam is WAY off to the right now which is how it should be. So thats all it was....i had it in wrong somewhere

Yeah, because if the heat from your radiator caused that, think what a hot summer day parked in direct sunlight would do. The insides of headlights are like the inside of a car with the windows rolled up. Glad you got it sorted out.

 

[Geoffsfas10]

Yeah, because if the heat from your radiator caused that, think what a hot summer day parked in direct sunlight would do. The insides of headlights are like the inside of a car with the windows rolled up. Glad you got it sorted out.

its gonna ruin that seal faster then the dash will crack!!

 

[992dr]

That stinks, definitely glad you caught that one.
Do you think it could be the quality of the butyl as well?

 

[Geoffsfas10]

That stinks, definitely glad you caught that one.
Do you think it could be the quality of the butyl as well?

No, its since has been setting up fine, it was the cheap ass chinese headlights. They dont have a clip in a spot where the OEM ones do, and Im also not 100% convinced it didnt have something to do with the fact i STUFFED the channels full of it. Too much could have heaved it out, but also the clips were never really right after the warming sessions. After driving it around today it is holding up just fine and everything is aimed properly now. Going out on date night with wifey so we will see the new beams

 

[992dr]

No, its since has been setting up fine, it was the cheap ass chinese headlights. They dont have a clip in a spot where the OEM ones do, and Im also not 100% convinced it didnt have something to do with the fact i STUFFED the channels full of it. Too much could have heaved it out, but also the clips were never really right after the warming sessions. After driving it around today it is holding up just fine and everything is aimed properly now. Going out on date night with wifey so we will see the new beams

I gotcha.
I got my kit yesterday but, I didn't pick which set of headlights I was going to get. Would you recommend the ones you got or find another set?
Have fun tonight. Date nights are fun. Few and far between here haha.

 

[Geoffsfas10]

I gotcha.
I got my kit yesterday but, I didn't pick which set of headlights I was going to get. Would you recommend the ones you got or find another set?
Have fun tonight. Date nights are fun. Few and far between here haha.

Theres nothing wrong with the lights I got, they just have cheap clips. Obviously OEM headlights are the best but then you have to deal with permaseal which can be super frustrating to open up. It really doesnt matter that much, just buy a pair you like and go from there

 

[Rocket Man]

Depo makes pretty decent headlights for the NNBS SUV’s and Pickups. That’s what I bought for my Silverado, they are decent for the money and fairly easy to work with.

 

[992dr]

Went through my kit this afternoon. They make some quality stuff. Only thing missing was my shrouds, oopsy. They're going to mail them out Monday. Real cool people at Lightworkz, I'd recommend them if anyone was going to get retro parts.

Theres nothing wrong with the lights I got, they just have cheap clips. Obviously OEM headlights are the best but then you have to deal with permaseal which can be super frustrating to open up. It really doesnt matter that much, just buy a pair you like and go from there

Gotcha, I'll check them out again. I got OEM to replace original ones after they frosted over, not sure I want to go through the hassle with them on my first retro.
Also, did you use an oven or did you go with a make shift one with a heat gun?

Depo makes pretty decent headlights for the NNBS SUV’s and Pickups. That’s what I bought for my Silverado, they are decent for the money and fairly easy to work with.

Thanks man, I'll check them out as well.

 

[Geoffsfas10]

Depo makes pretty decent headlights for the NNBS SUV’s and Pickups. That’s what I bought for my Silverado, they are decent for the money and fairly easy to work with.

I wanted depo originally but i couldnt find them...but that doesnt mean my searching skills sucked.

Went through my kit this afternoon. They make some quality stuff. Only thing missing was my shrouds, oopsy. They're going to mail them out Monday. Real cool people at Lightworkz, I'd recommend them if anyone was going to get retro parts.

Gotcha, I'll check them out again. I got OEM to replace original ones after they frosted over, not sure I want to go through the hassle with them on my first retro.
Also, did you use an oven or did you go with a make shift one with a heat gun?

1000% support the Lightwerkz team! great bunch of dudes! They started out as some guys in a garage working on Subaru's and then blew up from there.

The original open was in the oven, then once i realized it was all butyl, i went lazy with heat gun. Use clamps to get em back tight. Since thats happened no issues.

 

[RichardCranium]

Bumping, since its been a good year now since you completed this. Glad to see they made a more suitable projector for these since my adventure, which was pretty extensive with the cutting. These turned out great and got that dreamy result a good quality HID and projector give!

Might be ripping these AlphaRex units out afterall.....

 

[Geoffsfas10]

Its also looks like the output shots might have gone away...no idea what happened there, since I have a Pro flickr account...i pay for that ish to work haha...anyway...i've got some new shots i can post here so you can see the excellence that can be had.

Low beams and fogs out on the skreet

Same spot but with (2) high beams on and the fogs

I dont loose many light flashing battles haha.

heres another on the road....everything is right where its supposed to be, i have yet to get flashed by on coming traffic

original output shot in a parking lot

The wet performance doesnt suffer a bit. Cant say about snow, i didnt go out in it this year but in previous years its like warp speed from star wars hahaha